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Round-the-south

February - July 2017
A 145-day adventure by Sara Read more
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  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 36

    Trelew and Gaiman

    March 26, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 32 °C

    With a sad heart we packed our bags and left our little haven in Puerto Madryn towards Trelew. Also a Welsh settlement with a smattering of welsh on its signs. After playing the usual game of "for godsake give me some money" with 6 ATMs and 4 different banks we had a bite to eat before hunting some dinasours.

    Over the years more and more dinasour bones have been found in patagonia, and Trelew has its research centre and museum. Here we got to touch a real dinasour femur, and see the most recent bones found, of the yet un-named dinasour. The biggest ever found in the world, its femur was 2m tall and it weighed a whopping 42 tonnes.

    We carried on to Gaiman where the Welsh was more obvious. Arriving at Ty Gwyn having been Whatsapping Camilla, the grandaughter of the owner for advice the last few days, they kindly let us leave our big packs there for the afternoon so that we could explore the town. Before we set off we had an amazing tea service there (I've missed tea!), with over eight different cakes. It felt like we were in an old grannies house with oak dressers and tea cossies.
    We had a lovely chat with Sonia before leaving them to prepare for a local wedding that evening.

    We found the first house built in Gaiman and had a lovely tour round the heritage museum meeting Fabio who spoke perfect Welsh, and wished James well with his learning. We popped down to Capel Bethel to see it set up for the wedding, and could hear some welsh music from within. Dressed in shorts and jeans and being eaten alive by mosquitos (I counted 10 leeching on me at the same time!) we turned back, and failing to find an open restaraunt (we still aren't used to the late meal times here) we had a 2nd tea service by the lovely Anna.

    Now came the tricky bit. I had booked a night bus from Gaiman to Esquel but where the bus picked us up was a mystery. Maelor didn't know, the ticket office in Puerto Madryn didn't know, luckily Sonia and Anna gave us a notion of a corner to stand in. A few minutes before the bus a friendly spanish couple stopped their car and ushered us to the correct area. Watching lightening dance across the sky while waiting, the bus thankfully turned up just before the skies opened in earnest.

    The bus was a nightmare, with the indoor temperature being a roasting 30 we both had a fitfull nights sleep. Esquel on a Sunday is a quiet peaceful place surrounded by low lying mountains. Sunning ourself in the plaza for a while, we spent the day relaxing before heading to Barioloche.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
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    Day 37

    Bariloche

    March 27, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    As we pulled up to the centre square of Bariloche it seemed the bus had travelled to Europe. With quaint lodges surrounding the square it looked like an Austrian village. The square itself was covered in the white hankerchiefs of the missing mothers. A reminder that the terror of the dictatorship ran throughout Argentina, not just its capitol. To the right of the square is a tall building and at the very top was our hostel- the penthouse! The views are amazing, all for under £15, with a good kitchen and breakfast included. A bargain for expensive Argentina.

    We explored the main streets that were full of ice cream and chocolate shops, listening to buskers as we went. Stopped for lunch in a cafe popular with the locals. On hearing that we were Welsh the waiter would name a different Welsh rugby ledgend as he passed our table "JP Williams! Gareth Jenkins!". Back at the hostel sitting in the balcony, the plan for the next few days were hatched, though hiking is good here, we'd mix it up for some kayaking and cycling.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
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    Day 40

    Bariloche- It's time to get active

    March 30, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    With so many lakes around it made sense to get on one so we booked a tour to go kayaking. We joined our lovely guides Natalia and Pablo, and with only one more tourist from London we were pushed off onto lake gutierrez. The person at the front sets the pace when paddling whilst the one in the back steers. We had a few hicups on the way there. My pace setting was erratic, and we crashed into the others a few times as James got his bearings! It was hard to concentrate whilst looking at the surroundings and being battered by wind and waves.

    As I was flagging, we pulled into a beach and were served cheesy rolls, coffee and mate. Natalia explained how to prepare mate and its rules.

    1. The one who prepared the mate must first to drink the mate
    2. Once you have finished the mate you must hand it back to the host, never share with someone else when it's your turn
    3. You must drink at least 2 rounds, or the host will think you did not like their mate
    4. Only say thank you when you've had enough and want to be excused from the round.

    Fully refreshed we headed back, and we swapped roles. We went much faster on the way back and look coordinated in the pictures! Arms aching we spent the night playing cards against a father and daughter duo. Whilst never winning, I was never the shithead either and was accused of cheating!

    Next morning after James did a bit of cajouling we set off to do a bike ride around circuito chico. In its shortened form its around 24km of cycling round a few lakes in the llao llao peninsula. Having not riden a bike in over a decade it was trial by fire as we headed off. Its true what they say...

    The uphills could be tough but the joy of having a few kilometers to speed down while giving my thighs a rest was amazing. We passed the famous llao llao hotel and then stopped by the foot of a trail and hiked up to the top of a steep hill. The panoramic view of lakes, forests and mountains was stunning.

    After James had completed his photoshoot with a posing bird we carried on round the circuit with the goal of reaching a small brewery set up by Patagonian beer. This beer is one of the best we've tasted in Argentina and we have been enjoying it since Buenos Aires. A modern building with good views and a random signpost stating how far Wales was, we were initally ignored by the staff. After 3 attempts we figured out the lay of the land and had 2 very good pale ales and food to fuel the remainder of the journey.

    Starting off again was painful on the bum and thighs! We had a few km left but the road got busier. I nearly fell off the bike once as I lost control and hit gravel but did a miracilous save. It did add a few bruises to my trekking ones. At the end of the day I was glad to hand the bicycle back and enjoy being able to sit in comfort again!

    Next day was a travel day. Buying the renowned choclates before we left towards Chile and Valdivia. This bus had a smelly customer. I don't care how hippy you become as a long term traveller, organic deodrants and soap are easily available. The hostel in Valdivia had a welcoming hostess and a crows nest bed for James. Pucon and the volcano await...    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 41

    Pucon

    March 31, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After an unsettled night the journey to Pucon wasn't much better. From an unknown source (I hope not my own cooking!), I had another stomach bug. However on arrival to Pucon, with blue skies, and a welcoming touristic vibe I felt a little better. To the left of the town towering in the distance stood volcano Villarrica with ice covering its summit. It looked strangely breathtaking on its own, after being used to mountain ranges. It rises up from the surrounding landscape as a big conical monster.

    We continued our streak with really good hostels, this one is called kiwi chili lakefront. Its run by backpackers, with amazing rooms, a small bar, and luckily for us currently a chef! We had booked a private room for my birthday which turned out to be a treehouse!

    On arrival we had a small talk about what to do in Pucon. You could stay here for weeks! Volcano climbs, hiking, hydrospeed, canyoning, horse riding, thermal springs and more! It earns its name as adventure capitol of Chile!

    Hitting the hostel bar for happy hour they had four different types of local beer, including a purple berry beer which they promised was full of antioxidants. I tried it in hope it would help my poor stomach as we watched the sunset over the lake. As it got darker, if you looked at the volcano you could see an orange glow from the top. A reminder that its one of the most active in Chile!

    After a few games of Mafia (A brilliant game that I haven't played aince 6th form!) with the other guests we nodded off in our very cosy treehouse.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 42

    Pucón, Chile- It's my birthday

    April 1, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Having had a lovely lazy morning in the treehouse the adventure we had chosen for my birthday was hydrospeeding. Never heard of this? Neither had we!
    The water around Pucon was not quite good enough for white water rafting, so this is the alternative. Instead of being in a raft you go down the river using a bodyboard and reinforced thick suit!

    Dropped off at the top of the river after being kitted out- for me this included a fetching pair of white goggles (I think the only pair in Pucon) to protect my contacts from being washed away. After quick instructions we followed the guide closely down the river. He carved out a path away from rocks... mostly. After a few bumps we learnt how to avoid the bruises by spreading our legs out and steering with our fins.

    It was 14km down the river and we went through a fair few rapids, two lots being strong carrying us through by the fast moving water. It flipped a few of us! James had the go pro mounted to his head so we should have good footage to show in July. Damp and happy we headed back to the hostel.

    James had a browse of the local restaraunts and chose an amazing steak house called La Maga as a birthday treat. With drops of rain starting as we entered the restaraunt, this soon turned into a massive thunderstorm with roars of thunder above. It was very theatrical. We chose an amazing Merlot and I had a mouthwatering ribeye with some roasted pepper and melted cheese. An amazing birthday+!    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
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    Day 43

    Pucon- And relax

    April 2, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    With gray skies and rain James' hopes of climbing the volcano were dwindling fast. We were advised that the Geometricas thermal spa was worth a visit on such a dismal day.

    After a bumpy two hour ride, nestled st the foot of the volcano we arrived at a little valley full of pools that winded slong unil it ended with a waterfall. The pool temperatures varied from a chilly 7 celsius to a scorching 45. James was couldn't be persuaded to try the 7 degrees, but I took the plung for about 10 seconds, before runnning to the nearest warm pool!

    It was raining the whole time producing a strange sensation of bring hot yet having refreshing cold rain on your head. After 2 hours we were like prunes and headed to the sanctuary of the small cafe. They served really good pizza which warmed us up.

    On arriving back to the hostel we switched rooms to stay in a hobbit room. With a round door and a very comfy double bed it was bliss! At the bar a few Israelis were performing some card tricks, a few I figured out! We enjoyed an amazing meal by the hostel chef Jamie- a fish chowder and beef goulash. Amazing and better by far than anything we could ever cook up.

    The next day we lazed about and caught up on some life admin before getting the night bus to Santiago.    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
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    Day 46

    Santiago

    April 5, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Our hostel in Santiago was Castillo Surfista, a welcoming site at 9 o clock after a very claustrophobic metro ride (James insisted on coffee after the bus which pushed us into rush hour. The commuters weren't to impressed with our space hogging bags. Sardines in a can...literally).

    Our mission for the first day was to locate a camping shop to pick up sleeping bags and mats needed for the Dragoman tour. We took the now emptier metro to a colossal shopping centre which was strangely british. I spotted Oasis, The Body shop, Lush and Whittards! As tourists certain shops offered us 10% off including the camping shops. After some debate we settled on Doite a Chiloan brand that we had used for W trek. Hopefully the bags will keep us toasty warm up on the Bolivian altiplano!

    We were starving on getting back to the hostel and raised the local supermarket for sandwiches and empanadas as well as burgers for super. In the hostel courtyard we chatted to the other guests, most of which were starting to work there. Loping around was a very big labrador-dobberman cross called Duke. There were signs everywhere warning of his greed as James found out. He left a sandwich on the table and within seconds Duke had gobbled the whole thing!
    The evening passed helping a English traveller plan his W trek, and chatting away over multiple bottles of wine.

    The next day we embarked on our 7th walking tour by our guide Franco. Chilian history has been as turbulant as Argentinas. Civil war raged for centuries between the Spanish and the local tribe, while later in its history military coups led to terror before democracy was regained.

    Whilst a massive city, Santiago has an open feel with a lot of parks and a few hills but heavily polluted with smog. We meandered through the streets up to Bellavista the student and nightlife area. I bought a wine pipe hear which I'm looking forward to using with my Mendoza wine when I camp on the Dragoman tour.

    After the tour we crossed the city to the meeting hostel of the Dragoman tour. For one month we will be travelling with 8 other people, 2 members of crew and one big truck. From Santiago to Cusco, crossing the andes, a 3 day stay in a ranch, the salt flats and a machu piccu trek are some of the highlights. I can't wait!    Read more

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    Day 47

    Dragoman D1- Over the Andes

    April 6, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    At an eyewatering 6am we were up and breakfasted and had our first glimps of the 11th member of our group, Mamasita. A big white and orange bus-truck she would be our transport for the next 31 days. She can carry 23 people so with only 8 of us on the tour we have plenty of space. Within her she has a library, a fridge, speakers, heaters, charging point, tables to play cards. When we are off road she has roof seats (with seat belts Mam!) to get the best views. Underneath she carries gallons of drinking water, all our camping equipment and more. We are fully self sufficient.

    Our guides are David and Lou. David is our driver and engineer, having driven HGV for years, his last job was as the maintainance man at a buddist monestry. Lou is our leader, originally on a Dragoman tour years ago they recruited her after that trip.

    On board with us are Sheila and John a retired couple who are on their second Dragoman tour. Bob and Faye an Australian couple on their honeymoon. Charlotte, from London who is a big traveller, and Izzy who has just graduated from Uni.

    We set off in the darkness heading over the andes towards Mendoza in Argentina. As daylight began to creep upon us we could start to see the outlines of the great mountains around us. As we went round a corner a great gorge or a snow peaked mountain could await us. We worked upwards switchback after switchback to the top of Christ the redeemer pass. Mamasita had no problems.

    After the border and a stop for lunch (empanadas if course) the great mountain Ancaguon rose up, the highest in South America. Afterwards we decended down and the mountains melted into lysh green vineyards that would go on for miles. We had arrived in wine country!

    On arrival to the hostel we found to our horror that tours on a bike round the vineyards had increased their price to £65. Luckily we started chatting to a young American couple in the hostel that recommended catching a bus to Maipu, hiring bikes and visiting the winiries our selves. A plan was made!    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
    Day 48

    Dragoman D2- Wine and Mr Hugo

    April 7, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A group of 6 of us were dropped in front of Mr Hugo bikes in Maipu, one of the closest wine regions to the city of Mendoza. A jolly man in his 70's he gave us a bike each, and each was worse then the other. Brakes were poor, gears wouldn't change but they worked and we didn't have far to go, so they would do. Mr Hugo showed us a route on the map and we set off to our first winery. Less than 5km away disaster struck and James had a puncture. He cycled quickly back to Mr Hugo for a fresh bike, while we arrived at the first winery.

    Domiciano was a family run vineyard with pretty gray buildings. Its main vineyard lay 20km away, this being a show vineyard of sorts. We started with wine tasting, trying their chardonnay, shirah and a reserva malbec. All delicious and the guide gave such good description of the time and effort that goes in to produce each bottle. Their grapes are hand collected at night to stop them from fermenting early. They had recently won in an international competition, beating over 4400 other wines.

    As we were customers of Mr Hugo we had an extra wine to taste of our choice. The other people in the tasting were green with envy! Afterwards we had a small tour of the wine barrells, and walked through a small vineyard tasting the grapes. As we left we noticed that I now had a flat tyre. My quads had to kick in again after their training at Bariloche.

    We headed to our next destination, a wine museum. Full of old tools, eqiupment and massive barrels to explore. They let you exchange your ticket for a bottle of wine, so by combining our tickets we got a very nice red to be used after a particularly good day on the trip!

    Peckish by now we beelined to a beer garden via Mr Hugo where I picked up another bike. Good pizza and craft beer fuled us back up, and we had a 10% discount courtesy of Mr Hugo.

    Our last stop was a food craft store, again family run which made olive oil, tamponades, jams and liqours. We tasted them all and were very happy after the liqours, some such as the dulce de leche liqour we bought being 21%.

    Dropping our bikes back off with Mr Hugo he have us a lemonade to sober up before the bus back to Mendoza. A hug before leaving, his bikes may be bad but the deals we had everywhere due to Mr Hugo had been worth it. The whole day including the produce we had bought (a lot of alcohol) had come to cheaper than any full day tour on offer. Budget travelling at its best!    Read more

  • TravelerRound-the-south
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    Day 50

    Dragoman D3+4 Abandon truck

    April 9, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Again an early start was had from Mendoza as we were to have 2 days of travelling to our next destination, a ranch above Cordoba. Miles upon miles of vineyards gave way to farms full of cattle and horses.

    We have all been given jobs whilst on the trip. James is one of the luggage loaders whilst I get the weird combination of binlady and librarian. A few hours into the trip I take my job seriously and go sort out the library, and a pack of Uno! We have also been divided into cook groups when camping. James and I have been divided into rival cook groups. Whilst mine is pretty chilled - we easiy went round a Walmart of all places to get our ingredients. James' had a little more tension as they prepared our lunch!

    A few hours of Uno and a great Spotify throwback Thursday powerballad playlist later and we arrived at our camp of the night. By the side of a riverbed it was quite picturesque, with woodpeckers and tropical birds. We were introduced to the Dragoman tents. Though modern-ish they are designed on the tents from the 70's and are pitch black inside!

    Joining our group huddle for super were the camp cat and dog. The dog took James' fancy immediately as a golden retriever and we called him Shadow. He would hold a pebble in his mouth and expect you to throw it like a stick. After a bitternhot choclate we headed for bed.

    Next morning we set off for a 5 hour drive to the ranch. Within 10 minutes we took a swing to a dirt road which was famous for being a pilgrimage with great views over the area. The truck stopped and it was announced that we coukd take roof seats!! From then top of the trucks we had a brilliant views and the road climbed up to the clouds.... the drizzly clouds, the first rain in months.

    As we rounded a corner a muddy uphill was seen and Mamasita tried but the wheels kept spinning and we slid towards a wall. We were stuck. We all got out and set down traction mats to no avail. We were officially 8km away from the main road and the next village. We had lunch and waited it out as David ran for help and we flagged down help from some passers by. A policeman came up and was helpful considering we were a bunch of gringos getting stuck on his road on palm Sunday.

    We waited it out as a convoy of taxis were called to get us and a plannwas hatched on how to free poor Mamasita. We found a nice hotel and waited for news. Only an hour later Mamasita was parked innfron David having dug under the wheel and placed rocks for traction, reversing her a few km back through the windy road and oerforming a 44 point turn to get her back!

    We deserved a meal out and it was Faye's birthday. We wound down over good food and wine hoping for a smooth running day to the ranch tomorrow!!    Read more

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