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Around the world (again)
  • Ezyian
  • Florence McGillivray

Around the world (again)

Some highlights from last time, some new places. Same team, mum, dad, Lennox, Lola, Nora, Oscar Read more
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  • Around the world (again)
    1

    This is not Dubai - much nicer

    October 5, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Although the hotel in the 2nd photo has similarities to the famous hotel in Dubai, we are somewhere rather different.

    Here, too, there are mosques, and maybe a 1/3 of women wear headscarves, and it's hot, hot, hot but there is plenty water, and tropical forests and we are surrounded by volcanoes.

    We are in Manado, Northern Sulawesi, one of the larger but seldom visited islands of Indonesia. Of course we're are not really visiting, just stopping over en route to Sorong and then Raja Ampat. Nevertheless, it's interesting to visit places off the beaten track.

    I was expecting a rather poor shabby place, and certainly, most people are poor by European standards, but the city is young and bustling. There has been huge investment in a new, massive shopping centre in the middle of town. People are all smiles and helpful, very helpful.

    The only bad point is we have to get up, yet again very early. Yesterday, we were up at 6. Today, it's 430am , and due to the time shift from Uzbekistan, I only fell asleep at 0130. Oh well, the beautiful green scenery is uplifting, but I expect I'll be having a nap before too long. It's something I am rather skilled at. The attached video proves the point.    Read more

  • Around the world (again)
    11

    Long Journey ends in long boat

    October 6, 2024, Halmahera Sea ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We finally made it to Raja Ampat in Western Papua 🇵🇬. 4 flights, one ferry, one long boat. Well, actually, two long boats because we are 6 plus bags.

    The last ride is quite exhilarating since we feel the speed and the spray sitting so close to the water, it's beautiful and green, and I can feel the excitement of the kids. (My fear that it's maybe not as good as we hope is entirely unfounded).

    I didn't look at my watch, but the long boat took 20 minutes, and when we arrived, the homestay looked just like it did on the Internet.

    Our host really does live here with his family. His hut is just behind ours.

    Soon after we arrive, the food is ready, but we all out first to go for a quick swim. The water is about 30C, so warm, but still refreshing. Super.

    As a bonus, the food may be basic fish or chicken with veg and rice or noodles, but it's well cooked and fresh.

    Our divers, Flo, Lennox, and Lola have arranged their 1st dive, first thing the next day, so it's off to bed early, with a happy and relieved feeling to have arrived after not the easiest of journeys.    Read more

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    Tropical Paradise

    October 8, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    10-Day break from our busy schedule at one of the few marine areas that hasn't suffered directly from human intervention or indirectly ( climate change).

    The islands are all covered in luscious rain forests, and there is practically no concrete or brick construction . Locals and tourists stay in wooden huts with a form of thatched roof.

    There is no shop, no wi-fi, no cars, no mains electricity here. There isn't even any beer 😒.

    We eat what is put in front of us. It varies from middling to good, but we eat it all because we can't buy a single thing.

    Of course, they main activity
    here is sub aqua, and I leave it to Flo to describe that, since I only snorkel due to my recent medical history.

    "Only snorkel" should be put in relation to other places. This is an A+ snorkel location. Right off our beach, we can see enormous numbers of colourful fish, far more than you will see nowadays at the Great Barrier Reef, Tahiti, or the Caribbean .

    So Nora, Oscar, and myself spend long periods of time snorkelling off the beach.

    Thanks to our Dutch neighbour Femke for the videos that give some idea of the number of fish. The poor young woman is alone here with the 6 of us, but to be fair, she doesn't seem bothered. Indeed, she engages with us on the "I saw today.." stories, and we exchange recommendations on which sites to visit.    Read more

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    A day out, snorkelling & diving

    October 11, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    I'm speechless. This place above and below water defies adequate description. It's simply stunning. The aquatic biodiversity unmatched. It's simply the best and easiest place to see limitless shoals of colourful tropical fish. Where else can you walk straight to the coral from a beach hut? I'm sure there are other places, but it can't be many.

    Its remoteness is probably It's saviour, since most people we meet here, are travelling for several weeks or more. No simple holiday makers, as it takes two overnight flights from Europe, and dare I say Americans simply don't have enough holiday days.

    So today, we rode in the boat , the divers dived, and the snorkelers snorkelled. We smiled with pleasure at the endless green rainforest that tops the cute little islands .

    It's simply an amazing place.    Read more

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    Wilson's bird of paradise

    October 13, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Flo and I got up at 5am and hiked up to the top of the hill through the rainforest in the dark. Why? To see the amazing birds that we hear each morning but never really see, except for the odd parrot, hornbill, or goose.

    Our destination was suggested by the lady in the divers shop, and she poo-pooed the idea that using a guide would help.

    We reached the top just before sunrise, and as the light came we had a beautiful view of the treetops and the sea inlet below. We began to hear the birds, but what flew by was bats.

    5 minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour, lots of birdsong, but except for a parrot, nothing to see here.

    Later, we did see some flightless birds in the forest. Flo even filmed them, but the quality is like most Yeti movies.

    So our birding expedition was a flop relative to our original objectives, but it was still wonderful to go through the forest before daybreak.

    As for seeing Wilson's bird of paradise, even for David Attenborough,it took over 20 years to see one in 1996, and I'm guessing he had just a little help. I'm not sure if I have the patience to wait until 2044.

    Photo credit: Wikipedia    Read more

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    Behind the scenes

    October 14, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We are staying in a homestay. There are subtle differences between the huts for tourists (2nd picture) and the huts of the owner and his family (1st picture). Can you spot the three main differences? I don't mean the stuff on the porch.

    It's pretty simple. The tourist ones have windows, or more precisely shutters. They have a wooden door, not a cloth, and they are directly on the beach on stilts, whereas the owners place is back about 10m and not raised.

     In more upmarket places, there are glass windows and more recently wi-fi (Starlink). What I don't know is what the toilets are like there. Here, the toilets are what the Chinese call tourist toilets, I.e. the type we know in the West, with the minor detail that there is no flush, but instead a very large bucket of water and a ladel. As far as I can tell, the locals don't use them, or they only go very early each day. Otherwise, I assume that would have spotted one there in the last 9 days . There are further indications of this , for example, they put the loo roll in the showered area and also the run-down look and feel of the conveniences. They are, after all, less than 4 years old.

    It's humid here, and so after a while, clothes begin to smell a bit, and so Flo and I did a wash today. That involves filling a basin from the shower, adding a bit of soap, and then walking on them for a few minutes, a bit like grape pressing with your feet. After that, 2 or 3 rinses, and you're done for that part. But one more thing is needed, because clothes only dry in direct sun, otherwise they dry a bit, but remain humid. The sun, of course, moves, and so to get a result, we hang up the clothes 4 times in different places.    Read more

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    Hindus, Buddists, and an odd chicken

    October 17, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We are in Yogyakarta ( pronounced more like JoJokarta), the site of two of Java's most famous monuments, namely Prambanan and Borobudur. Both date from the 8th century, but interestingly, the first one is Hindu, and the 2nd one is Buddist. ( Oscar thought that Prambanan was about bananas because "banan" is pronounced like the French word banane). Well, he is almost right since Hinduism really is bananas with its colourful mix of weird and exotic Gods. The temple has a few of the better-known ones. We took a guide who explained to the children how body language in the carvings is to be interpreted, and he helpfully reminded them of the importance of respecting and obeying mum and dad. The thing that stuck me about the carvings at both sites, is that they are much tamer in terms of violence and sex than we have seen in India and Cambodia. Borobudur is, for my taste, the more impressive site. The magnificent backdrop of mountains and volcanoes helps, as does the far more complete status of the restoration.

    After these two religions, we go for a third, namely Christianity, where we all learn for the 1st time about the symbolic chicken of peace. You may misremember this as being a dove, but you are wrong, and the bizarre chicken church is proof of that. It's not clear what happened here. Was this a dove that was so poorly designed that they thought, what the hell, let's go for a chicken instead, or did they not know that a dove doesn't have a red beak or a crown.

    Whatever the case, the place is now a multi faith centre, I guess because the Christians were too embarrassed to use it as a church.    Read more

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    1

    Chilling and diving in northern Bali

    October 22, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Our stops in Indonesia are mostly influenced by one thing, scuba diving. Although I'm fully qualified, I have heeded the advice of a family friend who is a cardiologist, not to do anything risky far from advanced medical care, and so I won't be diving here. I have had a little flavour of it, though by snorkelling, and strangely, I don't really miss diving, even though I have such fond memories of it. I don't know, maybe it's just that the first times in the BVI were so magical that nothing can compete.

    Whatever the reason, I am content to take it easy, hide from the sun at its peak, and swim in the sea, or the hotel's amazing pool.

    This week in Pemuteran, I'm slumming it, whilst the others are somewhere between active and hyperactive with diving, snorkelling, beach cleaning, and long (French style) lunches that I skip. They all seem very happy and content.

    Nora gets a special mention as she passed her open water diving test. Well done!

    The week was nicely topped off with a somewhat romantic sunset cruise. I say somewhat because 4 youngsters, however nice, do crowd out any genuine romance. And before it appears as a comment, yes, I have been romantic at times. Just ask Flo! Not too often, but not never 😀    Read more

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    Ubud central Bali

    October 29, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Rumour has it that Bali has gone downhill, that it's overcrowded with tourists, and that generally there are [unspecified] better places to go.

    Whilst I agree it's a lot busier, it still has loads of beauty and charm, even with the excess of botox and breast implants. Beauty spots are now often blocked by instagramers, even though most of them are no beauties themselves. But at least in October, they are a nuisance, not a killer concern.

    In fact, for Bali's natural beauty, we need a new word that means " more lucious than lucious." It's just so green. The photos in this post are not altered, Central Bali really is that deep, beautiful green.

    Today, we saw these beautiful colours in all the places we stopped at. Rice paddies, temples, waterfalls, and a coffee and cocoa plantation. The last one had the added attraction of Luwak poop coffee. The mongoose like animals literally shit out the beans. You can see the poop before you try the coffee, which turns out to be a very smooth drink.    Read more

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    Ha Noi - a great stopover

    November 2, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We had a simple choice to get from Indonesia to Tokyo. Fly direct for $700, or go via Hanoi for $200. Since we are 6, and we like Hanoi, that is a no-brainer.

    Indeed, we decided to extend the stopover to 3 days, which also allowed us to do both flights during the day, something we always prefer with the kids.

    Most people glancing at our distorted flattened Maps won't realise that this is a longer trip than crossing the Atlantic. Two steps, each of 5 hours!

    So what did we do in Hanoi?

    Eating ( very good food at great prices); sightseeing, in particular the scary train street; shopping for Nora and Lola so that they look a bit fresher in Japan, and visiting a puppet show. Oh, and I nearly forgot, drinking the excellent egg coffee, not forgetting Hanoi and Saigon beer.

    Lastly, the three men go for haircuts, and the women go for a cooking class. Discrimination, I feel. 😉    Read more

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    Tokyo - perfectly normal

    November 4, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We arrived in Tokyo after an uneventful but odd flight from Hanoi. Odd in that they served lunch at 9am.

    We stayed close to Narita airport for the 1st night because the following morning, we picked up Grandpa Bernard, who arrived from Geneva via Zurich. Quite a journey for an 89 year old.

    We had sushi the 1st night in a tiny one man restaurant, where an old master makes everything literally by hand. A real fun place.

    Upon Grandpa's arrival, we moved to the centre of this mega city. Grandpa and one child ( a different one each day) in a hotel near the royal park. The rest in an appartement in Akihabara.

    The next day, whilst Grandpa rested ( jet lag), our gang went street viewing in the best known Tokyo shopping areas. A bit like Piccadilly Circus in London, just much bigger and more modern. There's also the world's busiest pedestrian crossing.

    We never really shop unless we have too, so we limited ourselves to a fancy dress photo.    Read more

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    Miyajima in autumn

    November 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We often get asked, "What is your favourite place?". To which my standard reply is, there isn't just one, and there is no league table. How can you compare all the diverse places, cities, climates, wildlife, and environments? You can't.

    That said, the islands of miyajima , and in particular Daishon Temple in autumn, are fantabulous. The crowds that visit each day show I'm not alone in thinking that.

    Normally, big crowds are a sure turn-off for us, but Miyajima is wonderful all day, and the vast majority of visitors are day trippers, who are there between 10 am and 330 pm. Luckily for us, Bernard could book one of the very few island hotels months ago. The hotel in itself is a treat with high-end japanese comforts such as an onsen ( hot baths) and food. Both nights of our stay we have 10 courses of a wide variety of fish and rice with algae. There are some strange things that none of us eat, but mostly it's very good, even if we are often not sure what it is.

    The highlight of the stay for most of us is the walk to the Daishon. This is an important Budhist temple, so important that a visit here gets you nirvana credits that elsewhere would require visiting temples all across Japan.

    Our trip here was topped off with a boat ride of 2.5 hours around the island. On a sunny day , as we had, a wonderful outing. It's interesting how the Japanese cities and towns are pretty ugly urban srawls, with apparently very few planning or style standards, but the mountains and islands are completely, as in 100%, free of construction.    Read more

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    Monastic Life

    November 25, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    For two days and nights, we are staying in a working monastery in Koyasan . We dress, eat, and sleep like the monks, and we participate in the morning prayers at 7am.

    Sekishion monastery is just one of 20 in the neighbourhood. How you choose one if you want to be a monk is a mystery.

    Life here is certainly not the same as we know from European nuns (if the Sound of Music is accurate) or as portrayed in movies like Kill Bill. It's reasonably relaxed.

    Non-believers are just as welcome as believers, and the head monk does reception for guests. Beer or Saki can be bought with meals, and there are even machines for beer. It gets better. One monk insists the children should all sleep together. I'm fine with that. Brief moments of peace and reflection 😔. Food is vegetarian, not very inspiring, but after eating fish non-stop for 2 weeks it's a welcome break.

    Yes, you should attend morning prayers at 7am, but that's a pleasant experience that wakes you up for breakfast . In fact, prayers end with an announcement that breakfast is ready.

    You can wear the clothes of a monastery worker, though not that of a monk, but it's not obligatory. See the chic fashion photos of our team.

    The highlight of this town of monasteries has to be the walk through the woods to the mausoleum of the monk who started things off here. It's doubles as the main graveyard. A 2km walk of beauty mixed with creepy.    Read more

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    Not a bird of paradise, but..

    December 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    On this trip to Oz, we have two objectives. 1. Fulfil a lifelong dream of Flo to dive at the Great Barrier Reef. 2. Explore parts of Australia that we haven't previously visited, like South Australia, Tasmania, and Melbourne.

    For objective 1, we have been in Northern, North Queensland, for 12 days. Of course, for the objective, we don't need so long, but we add in visits to the Daintree Rainforest, the Tablelands, and Magnetic Island. See the photos of the forests and the beaches.

    Flo, Lennox, Lola, and Nora did 4 dives on two days trips. On the 2nd trip, Oscar and I joined and went snorkelling. The latter was a great day out for all. The diving wasn't all great due to a rather nasty dive master on the 1st trip and poor visibility on the first dive of day 2, but it was as I understand it still worth it. The strange part is that the Reef is in better shape than the news would have you believe, however a bigger and unreported issue is that the number of fish on the Reef is much lower than when I visited last time, and certainly much lower than Raja Ampat and Permuteran in Indonesia. Quite why nobody seems to know.

    Talking of Indonesia, we did not see any birds of paradise in western Papua, but here, just south of Cairns, we saw two Cassowaries. Not very pretty, but certainly exotic and extremely rare, given that the total population in the wild is only 2000. So, bird lovers, you can be very jealous 😀.    Read more

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    Superlatives for South Australia

    December 15, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We moved a couple of days ago from Cairns to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. We stayed there overnight and picked up a mobile home the next morning before heading off on a 7 hour drive to Coffin Bay at the bottom of the Eyre peninsula.

    There is very little traffic, but sadly, there are a lot of dead kangaroos and one dead emu on the route. I learned the high risk time is early evening, so luckily, we arrived at 1830. The animals probably came out later because it was so incredibly hot 44.5C! Directly at the coast it's an amazing 14C cooler, so our aircon can keep the campervan at a comfortable temperature.

    Yesterday we went out to explore the area and we saw a large number of kangaroos, and one emu with 5 little ones. Our 1st emu sighting.

    The superlatives are reserved for Almonta Beach. According to beach fan Flo, this is probably the most stunning beach ever. Even better, we have it all to ourselves with the exception of a sole surfer. Oscar liked it so much that he wants to go again for his birthday tomorrow.    Read more

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    Birds that sound like Monkeys...

    December 22, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    and lots of other animals are what we encounter in Wilpena Pound, South Australia. We came here after a 600km drive from the Eyre peninsula.

    This place was highly recommended to us by hostel receptions in Adelaide and Coffin Bay. However, yesterday, when we toured the area, we were somewhat underwhelmed . Why had they recommended this place?

    Today, we got the probable answer. The magnificent walks from our campsite into the pound. Sandstone cliffs, beautiful trees, and plenty birds and kangaroos, and last night, even a porcupine . The Kukaburra looks like a larger brown Kingfisher, it sings really loudly and not at all harmoniously. A bunch of them sound like a group of Monkeys. You don't believe me? Just Google " bird that sounds like a monkey". That's how I identified them.    Read more

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    White Xmas Australian style

    December 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    That involves white sand in place of snow.

    We spent most of the day at Glenelg Beach. The kids swam, played with a ball, and made sandcastles. We all had a picnic lunch of bread, good cheeses, olives, and crisps.

    It was very hot. The UV Index was 12/12, so we had the curious situation that we abd almost everyone else sheltered under the pontoon.

    Later, we had Xmas dinner at our downtown youth hostel. Nice to know they let me count as youth. The 3 course dinner, prepared by chef Lola, consisted of salad and smoked salmon starter, beef and kangaroo steaks with sweet potato and orange carrots ( sous chef Lennox) main course, and meringues with cream and forest fruits for dessert. It's too much but very good.    Read more

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    Tasmania - a first for me

    December 31, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    I have slept in all sorts of places, including igloos, and on top of mud huts in Africa, but before this week, I have never slept in a tent. All change! 7 nights in a tent here, in 5 different locations.

    First night, we stayed at the Mount Field National Park campsite. We hadn't bought food in advance, so we needed to drive 35 minutes to the next shop. I was pleasantly surprised that the very thin camping matress was actually comfortable. What was less pleasant was getting out of the sleeping bag as overnight the temperature dropped dramatically to about 5C from over 20C. These rapid ups and downs in temperature are normal here and in nearby Melbourne. Might have something to do with Antarctica.

    Mount Field itself has magnificent walks through the ancient woods. Very tall trees, beautiful streams, and waterfalls.

    Unfortunately, the fun was spoiled for Flo, as she twisted her foot. We didn't find a place to assess it until 2 days later, and even then, we just got an opinion since they didn't have any X-ray equipment. Probably a torn liganent. Treatment lots of painkillers and rest. Not the best starting condition for the next 3 days of hiking at Lake St Clair and Cradle Mountain, which Flo largely spent reading.

    Lake St Clair walks were OK, but not exceptional, whereas Cradle Mountain really is quite special.

    We continue to encounter animals we had never seen in the wild before. This time, wombats and various possums . The kids were particularly excited to find wombat poo because it's square shaped.

    I was less charmed by the overnight temperatures, "real feel -1C". So camping is quite fun, but maybe limited to overnight temperatures above 10C.    Read more

  • Around the world (again)

    Change of Scenery

    January 2 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After 4 days in the centre of Tasmania, we moved to the East Coast, camping at the Bay of Fires and Lake Leake.

    The Bay took our camping to the next level since our beach side campsite had no electricity, no camping kitchen, and no fresh water. It did at least have a loo of sorts.

    It was a really beautiful spot, and the lovely turquoise water looked really tempting, but it was very cold. Almost all swimmers wore wet suits.

    After the Bay, we headed down to the Freycinet peninsula. Flo managed a 1 hour 20 hike on her cruches, 👏. Then it got interesting and a bit stressful. This was our 23rd day camping in either a campervan or tent. Up till the last day, we had no problem finding sites, but that all changed today.

    To cut a long story short after several unsuccessful calls, we finally found a site, a mere 70km away at Lake Leake. That turned out to be quite a find, as we had a classic Aussie outback pub that had good beer and even better hot showers and loads of wildlife. The only downside, if you can call it that, was to be woken up by a wombat at 4 am, woken up at 5am by a kukaburra, and then again half an hour later by bush chickens.    Read more

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    End of Part 1

    January 9 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    We are headed back to Switzerland for a short while to see Grandpa before moving on two weeks later to Latin America.

    We have been on the road for 158 days, visited 10 countries, and travelled a total of 75,000 kilometres.

    For me, the highlights were, (in the order they happened):

    Visiting 2 families in Mongolia. The Amaraa and later the drivers brother.

    Food in Beijing.

    The Potalla and lots of other temples in Tibet.

    Food in Chengdu.

    Visiting less known and remote cities in Western China (Xining, Urumqi)

    The magnificent topology, lakes, and rivers of Kyrgyzstan.

    Samarkand Uzbekistan.

    Raja Ampat, Yogyakarta, and Bali. (Of all countries, Indonesia exceeded my expectations the most)

    Food in Japan, and of course Miyajima.

    The landscapes, beaches, animals, and trees of Australia. Not forgetting the Aussies. Indeed, we met interesting and helpful and fun people almost everywhere. Drivers, strangers in restaurants, hostels, out walking, on planes, divers, guides, and more can all be interesting as you get good advice, cultural insights, and occasionally a free drink.    Read more

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    Departure Saanenmoeser

    January 25 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    After two weeks of recovery from 5 months of travel, and happy times seeing Grandpa, Max, Akex and Flo's family we hit the road again on January 26th.

    We start with a beautiful train ride through the alps and then along lake Geneva. Because our flight is at 6am we stay at the airport, because Geneva taxi's are not reliable at 4am, and we need two.

    Everything on the very long journey goes smoothly, and we arrive in Santiago at 8pm. (Europe 12pm). SO 18 hours flying alone. We were tired but in very good spirits.    Read more

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    Santiago is so much better this time

    January 27 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We rest, recover, and restock in Santiago before we head South a couple of nights later.

    Highlight is Flo gets a custim t-shirt that is totally fitting with her situation. Three others get walking shoes, and I get a very small rucksack. In addition, all the males get haircuts, which are 85% cheaper than in the Swiss mountains.

    What strikes all of us is how much Santiago has improved since we were last here two years ago. Back then, Covid and social unrest, with a lot of places in the centre closed, meant that the city felt hollowed out and the mood was depressed. It's great to see that all that is for now, at least over.    Read more

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    Hikers heaven!

    January 31 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    I'm going to do something I have always resisted. I'm going to say that for hikers the South of South America has THE two most beautiful hiking areas in the world. There I've done it! I've stated an unequivocal preference.

    Our photos really don't do Torres del Paines justice. It's majestic, grand, wild, unique....and rather windy.    Read more

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    Buen Dia Caballeros

    February 6 in Argentina ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    I'm back in Argentina, so I'm showing off my mastery of Castallano, since we dont speak Spanish here. Not Buenos dias here, instead Buen Dia.

    We came across the border from Puerto Natales and stayed the 1st night in El Calafate., famous for the massive glacier nearby. Having seen it 3 times before, I don't go again, also because visiting is getting ever more expensive. So it's sleep and restock before we head off to El
    Chalten, part of the beautiful southern Andes, with the single most magnificent peak "Fitzroy". We have traveled by bus since a mixture of inflation, greed, and corruption (all 5 bus companies exactly the same price). The price of a taxi has increased from $50 to $180. It's doubled in the last two years alone. The increase in visitors us crazy. When we 1st came here 20 years ago, it was a village with one hotel and 3 bed and breakfasts. Now it's a town of over 20,000 with over 50 hotels and other accommodation.    Read more

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    Hikers Heaven - also prices hell

    February 7 in Argentina ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    We've been in El Chalten for the last 4 days. It is one of the two best locations for hiking in the Southern Andes. The magnificent Fitzroy peak towers over the town.

    After a rainy 1st day, we set out on day two for Fitzroy. We set off early to avoid paying the extortionate national park entrance fees ($40 per head over 6 years old. $200 for us). Luckily, the officials who don't get paid overtime don't start till 8 am. We are not the only ones with this approach, as several hundred others do the same. The thoroughly unmotivated rangers don't check at the exit, and when we got back, they'd already gone home anyway.

    Getting back to the walk, it was a monster 38km, with a 1000m rise. The last km up is particularly steep and tiring. As we go up, the kids ask others already coming down, "How much longer to the top?". The estimates range from 30 min to 2 hours. In the event we took 1 hour 40 minutes for the last part. The other people all said, "It's worth it!" So despite the tiredness, the aching knees, the hunger and the thirst we perciviered, and indeed the top of the walk is a truly magnificent lake at the base of the peak of Fitzroy.

    What a place for our picnic lunch! The kids went to play for a while, but I was not left in peace. Multiple people wanted photos, "vertical please, it's for Instagram."

    The way down seemed long, very long. In total, we walked for 12 hours. When we got back, I slumped on the couch, Lola seemed tired too, but the others whilst they didn't look tired, all went to bed quite early, and fell asleep more or less instantly.

    The photos are of that walk, plus a small number of Lennox and myself when we did the other 38km walk in Chile the week before.

    Not to forget the hell part of El Chalten. The crazy but avoidable entrance fees are just one part. Hotel and hostel prices are higher than in the capital Buenos Aires, and food in the supermarket is extortionate and often poor quality. I read a lot of grumblings like "The walks are brilliant, but I won't be back. It's turning into a place only rich kids can afford. " Too true. To work a little against that, we are living off pasta and sandwiches that we make ourselves. Only two years ago we could eat in a good restaurant for the same $.    Read more

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