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Round the World 2015
  • Trav and Suki

Round the World 2015

A 222-day adventure by Trav and Read more
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  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Goodbye Vancouver!

    April 20, 2015 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Few hours stopover (missed Dhileep unfortunately.. hope his exam went well!) and back at the airport. Travs promise of airport lounge access turned out to be a lie so Suki is hungry and grumpy :O

    First leg... 4 hour flight to Dallas!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Stopover Puerto Montt (Volcano!!)

    April 22, 2015 in Chile ⋅ 🌫 6 °C

    Flight stopover at Puerto Montt this morning only to discover a volcano erupted there just hours later! Crazy!

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-324…

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Punta Arenas

    April 22, 2015 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    Last leg of flight complete!
    Arrived in Punta Arenas, straight on a bus to Punta Natales.
    Met a really great guy Jorge on the flight! He's a aviation mechanic working on the navy planes in Punta Arenas. Shame we weren't staying!Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Puerto Natales (Day 1)

    April 22, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After a 3 hour bus trip from Punta Arenas we arrive in Puerto Natatles and its raining cats and dogs. A quick 10 min walk and we arrive at our accommodation for the next 2 nights.

    Inside were greeted by Gloria - who doesnt speak english ? so our limited espanol is put into top gear. We naviagate through the restuarant (closed for the low season) and to the residence at the back and into our tiny dimly lit room. We meet the rest of the hosts family and other backpackers staying in this tiny house. Its a snug fit for 10 guests and 4 family members to squeeze in and share one bathroom in dire need of maintenance.

    Luckily the other tourists are french and speak good enough english to aid the spanish translation. Oscar (Gloria's husband) arrives home and is eager is start chatting to us and with animated hand gestures we manage to have a discussion.

    Its time for dinner and the 4 frenchies (biking through South America on lazy looking recumbent bikes) have volutenteered to cook. Once they return from the shopping centre everyone chips is to lend a hand and in no time were seated ready for a traditional french meal. Its late and its been a long day.    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Puerto Natales (Day 2)

    April 23, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After an exhausting few days we awake realising we've slept in to 1230. We stroll into the town centre to start checking out the camping gear available to hire.

    Back at the accommodation we catch up with 2 other aussies who just conpleted the W trek. They advise the weather over the last 2 days was shocking with having to wade through strong streams upto their knees with winds blowing people over.

    Parts of the park on the eastern side are closed and one of the bridges has been washed away however the forecast is looking promising for the next few days.

    Tonight its the other frenchies team to cook dinner and we all chip in again.    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Puerto Natales (Day 3)

    April 24, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We say farewell to our lovely Chilean host family and have found a slightly more comfortable hostel in town - its lovely! A good night sleep is needed for our big adventure starting tomorrow.. we are off to Torres Del Paine!

    To give a bit of background, Torres Del Paine National Park is one of the most famous landmarks in Patagonia, reknown for its "W trek" hike - a 5 day hike through the park, with trails up to 8 hours long between stops. There are 2 accomodation options- stay at an expensive refugio (aka cheating) or camp, which means you have to carry all your own camping gear and supplies for the entire 5 days.... Camp it is!

    So off to the information talk and to collect all our hire gear (tent, sleeping bags, stove etc) and then trying to fit everything in our backpacks.. 3 hours later we have approx 15kg each to carry and we are ready to go!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    1

    Torres Del Paine - Day 1

    April 25, 2015 in Chile ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    And we're off!
    Up in the dark of the night (its doesn't get light till 830am) for the morning bus we only just get to the station in time. A 2 hour journey later the sun is up and we arrive at the park.. and it is beautiful! Open fields and mountains everywhere.. We are really in Patagonia now!
    A quick hike up to a nearby waterfall and it is stunning.. the brightest aqua blue water I have ever seen! Also animal sighting for the day, a little armadillo digging a hole :-)
    We hop on a ferry to the west side of the park and it begins. First stop is camp grey, an 11km, 4.5 hour hike away. Getting used to the weight of the backpacks its a hard slog but the nice scenery helps. About an hour from the end we hike up a hill and OMG- up over the horizon is a huge glaciar! Wow. We get to the camp site and hike out to the glaciar viewpoint just in time for sunset.. not a bad way to end the day :-)
    We settle into camp and cook our first meal of tuna pasta with cheese- was pretty good! Our newfound friends Jared, Michelle and Jess provide entertainment for the evening after having left all their cutlery and cooking utensils behind and trying to navigate through the camp with an I phone light as they didn't have headlamps :-)    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    11

    TDP - Day 2

    April 26, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Day 2 is a tough one. We wake after a freezing night in the tent to find frost everywhere... I suppose the fact that we are right next to a glacier should have been a hint that it was going to be cold!

    Today we have to backtrack all the way back to where we started at Paine Grande yesterday and then a further 7km (3.5hrs) to Camp Italiano. The torrential rain from the previous days has washed away a lot of the tracks and left a lot of mud and wet marshland behind. Its taking much longer than expected. Our backs are aching and Trav loses it a bit when he loses his footing crossing a stream and ends up with 2 very wet boots. The lowlight of the day was when we read the sign wrong and thought we only had 2.5km of downhill to go which turns out to be 5km of uphill! The second lowlight of the day is when we are faced with more mud and another washed away crossing, Trav turns around, looks at me with conviction and says, "this is your fault, it was your idea to come here!" At this point no one cares that's its beautiful anymore!

    8 hours of hiking later we make it just before dark, set up camp and nurse our aches.. day 2 complete.. just!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    TDP - Day 3

    April 27, 2015 in Chile ⋅ 🌫 25 °C

    Backpack free day (mostly)! Thank goodness!

    Today we hike up to viewpoint Britanico, a 5 hour round trip from Camp Italiano so we can leave our heavy packs behind.. Hurray! Still a rushed day though as we still need to pack up camp and head to the next camp site (Camp Cuernos) after that. 8.5hours all up!

    The scenery has changed quite a bit though, beautiful vast lakes and greenery, and a pebblestone beach. Camp Cuernos is a powered campsite so we enjoy cooking indoors in the kitchen provided and attempt (and fail) to dry our soggy muddy socks by the log burner. We enjoy a delicious hot chocolate at the refugio and retire for the evening in preparation for a big day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    TDP - Day 4

    April 28, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We wake up early for a big day today as we have a lot of ground to cover. The aim is to get to Camp Torre- the last campsite at the foot of the mighty Torres (towers)!

    Its a long 8 hour hike but we are blessed with great weather (we've actually been super lucky the whole trip). Today is pretty tough as it is all up up up.. killer on the legs! Fortunately the terrain is slightly more rocky and less muddy now which is a nice change. We make it to camp in fairly good time! Suki is exhausted and trailing about 50m behind Trav for the last 2 hours of the hike and feeling a bit fragile.

    But no time to stop! With a few hours of daylight to go we set up camp and set off for towers- the icons of the hike! Its a tough 1 hour slog up a very steep mountain face... But we made it! And there they are, the giant towers.. go us! We completed the W!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    2
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    TDP - Day 5

    April 29, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Up at the crack of dawn again we set off back up to the towers in the dark with only a headlamp to guide us.. even though we already saw them yesterday we were told that seeing them at sunrise is pretty special.. its our only chance so might as well do it properly! It was worth it :-)

    Another 3 hour hike back to the base and we are done! We made it! And we seriously need to shower!

    Heading back to Puerto Natales we realise just how tired we really are. Back to base camp to return our gear, a couple of beers, pizzas and stories with Kuhn and we are spent. Great way to end the day :-)    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    1

    El Calafate

    May 1, 2015 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Hola Argentina!
    After crossing the border and a 5 hr bus trip we arrive in El Calafate. It is a pretty little town but looks deserted. We check into our hostel (the staff here are humorous and helpful!) and discover it is a public holiday today hence why everything is closed. At a glance though we like it here and there are still the trademark stray but strangely healthly looking dogs which freely roam the streets like they own the place. We have a relaxing afternoon and decide on our first proper "date night" since the start of our trip, as Suki has been looking forward to an Argentinean steak since she left Australia. We wore our best clothes (which unfortunately are the same as our hiking clothes, except clean!) and head to the recommended restaurant "la tablita". Was fancy and yummy and a lovely night out :-)Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    13

    Perito Moreno Glacier

    May 2, 2015 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We hop onto ANOTHER bus and after picking up tourists from all over town we head North to the Los Glaciares National Park.

    As we descend into the national park we marvel at the size of the massive glacier in front of us. The Perito Merono Glacier is upto 30km long and 5km with an average height of 70m above the water and 180m below. The Glacier can grow by upto 2m in length per day but its size is limited as it pushes against the banks and breaks off into the lake below.

    After a pictureque walk and Suki taking photos like the paparazzi at the logies we board a catarman that takes us along the river to the southern face of the glacier. A short hike later with our spiky feet (crampons) we start to trek along the glacier learning about its different characterisics and viewing the deep sinkholes that form from the streams of melting ice.

    At the end orlf our trek our group gathers on the glacier for a well earned whisky on the rocks (glacier ice).

    Back at our hostel Suki whips us ravioli and we settle in for the Mayweather Vs Pacquaio fight!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    1

    El Chalten

    May 5, 2015 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After a 3 hour bus ride from El Calafate we arrive in El Chalten. Its a sleepy town that appears almost empty with the exception of the usual street dogs doing their thing. Most shops are closed from 1pm to 5pm daily. Its evident that the high season has well and truly passed.

    To kill some time we set off for a short 2 hour hike to see the Del Chirro waterfall. Its nothing flash after trekking Torres Del Paine but its a nice walk and helps build up an appetite.

    On the way back to the hostel we pick up some steak and a couple of 1L local beers. At the hostel we run into a bunch of our friends that we met in Puerto Natales and discuss options of how to get back to Santiago. We decide to book the Navimag (cargo barge) that travels from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt weekly and has a bunch of cabins on board. We're warned that this is no luxury cruise but an economical way to see west coast of Chile over 4 days.

    Although our sleep is disturbed by the creaking floor boards of the residents (possibly elephants) sleeping upstairs, we awake eager to trek to the much hyped Mt Fitzroy lookout. Breakfast done and lunch packed we commence the 20km return hike (piece of cake without a 15kg backpack). At the 7km mark we see a 'trail closed' sign indicating the bridge is closed. Our mates from last night told us its easy to cross the ankle deep water and to proceed. A kilometer further down the track we run into a group of 8 rangers who were not impressed. Instead of suggesting that they were not working efficiently and that they should invest more time in fixing the bridge, we listen to their 5 min lecture on respecting the park rules and retrace our steps disappointed that we had travelled all the way from El Calafate only to get stopped 2km from the summit. We stop by Lago Capri on the way back and skim rocks across the semi frozen lake. A lot of the streams through the trails are semi frozen and its cool fun to walk across them as the ice cracks like glass!

    Back at the hostel we kick back and play card games with a few cold beers. We're over hiking and ready to make our way back to Puerto Natales via El Calafate.    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Back in Puerto Natales

    May 8, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    So we are back in Puerto Natales with some time to kill (4 days till the Navimag leaves)... Suki comes up with another one of her hairbrain ideas.. "let's volunteer at a hostel!" A few emails later she gets a hit from one place in town whom we coincidentally got our bus tickets from the week before. We rock up and explain our cause and "Ah! Si, si!" we are welcomed inside but not really sure what's happening as the Juan owner doesn't speak English. Finally Paula (one of the staff) returns from lunch and in her intermediate English has a chat and shows us our room. We navigate to the back of the old hostel in dire need of tlc and arrive at a dimly lit 8 bed dorm room with clothes strewn everywhere (at this point Trav gives Suki one of his "what have you gotten us into" looks). Fortunately its only Sergio, the other guy that works here, staying in the room too. Phew!

    We are ushered off to go have lunch and come back, still not entirely sure what we're meant to help with. We get back and Trav is asked to help with manly things like "move the bikes" and "move the dryer". We discover the bikes need fixing... Yes! We (Trav) can do that! We spend the rest of the afternoon fixing bikes, eating cookies and trying to have conversations in Spanish. Juan seems suitably impressed with Travs "mechanico" skills :-)

    We have dinner in the hostel with Paula and she tells us all about her upbringing.. makes me realise just how lucky we are. A few whiskeys (the JW red label is a bit hit) all round after dinner and its bedtime at our new "home"!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Goodbye PN!

    May 12, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Its been a relaxing few days catching up on admin and working at the hostel, Paola has provided us entertainment making fun of Travis on a daily basis and Juan the boss seems really happy to have us around. Sergio does... not much!

    We attempted a day trip out to see the "Cueva de Milidon" on Sunday, the cave where remains of a giant historic sloth (the Milidon) was found in the 1900s. Its a 25km bike ride each way so a bit of a trek! Long story short we didn't bring our waterproof gear and it started raining so we had to abandon mission about 10km into the ride. We settled for photos of the sloth statue situated at the roundabout leading into the town. It was also mother's day and Paola came back in the evening to have dinner with us- Suki's take on spaghetti carbonara :-)

    Monday night comes around and its time for us to head off. We said goodbye to Sergio (Juan was out so we missed him unfortunately) and set off a bit earlier for dinner. As we are walking to the bus station we run into Juan in his car... He had been circling the town trying to find us! We were so touched :-) We jump in Juan's car, get a lift to the station and say our goodbyes.

    A short bus ride from the station and we are on board the Navimag! (quote of the evening after boarding the giant cargo ferry from Suki: "Are we on the water yet?")    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Navimag Day 1 - Making New Friends

    May 13, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Last night was the first night on the Navimag Ferry. Our host Juan Pablo is a cool guy who's happy to answer any questions. After a quick wonder along the decks we have a security briefing in the main room. Due to recent incidents alcohol is no longer sold or allowed on the ship although Juan tells us that everyone loves a drink and to be discreete about it. Lucky we smuggled our bottle of whisky on board!

    The ferry consists of 6 levels in total. The first 4 levels contain cargo (trucks, food, fish, cows jammed into trailers, gas etc). Level 5 is the main floor with the mess, cinema room, information room, reception, kitchen and numerous rooms. Level 6 is slightly smaller with more rooms and the bridge.

    Our cosy cabin has twin beds with a small desk, wardrobe and hand basin. The main light doesnt work but hey were used to dimly rooms by now. Suki froze and Trav was constantly awaken by the metallic clang as the ferry smashed against the mooring. If you listen carefully you can hear the 'moooo' from the cows on the lower deck.

    We awake just before breakfast is announced on the intercom. Nothing flash but plently of food consisting of cornflakes, ham, cheese, bread, tea and coffee. Entering a food coma we nap until lunchtime where we have a filling meal of turkey and rice. We still havent left Puerto Natales yet! They are still loading trucks and cargo on board. We were meant to depart at 7am - better get a move on!

    Finally were on the 'road' and the captains annouces that we are naviagating through the most narrow section of our voyage. We rush to the bow to witness the view and gaze as we brush past the mountains. This passage is only 80m wide.

    Out come the cards for a game of 'arsehole' followed by watching Big Hero 6 in the awesome cinema room. Before dinner we have an information briefing where Juan tells us about the journey and all the points of interest.

    After dinner we sneak out to the back deck to share everyones contriban rum and red wine. Its time for lights out of our second night aboard the Navimag    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Navimag Day 2 - Rocky Seas

    May 14, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    We wake from a good nights sleep in our little cabin to another smorgasbord of food (its almost like being on site.. minus the high vis). A jam packed day of excitement was promised today, first docking at the small portside town of Puerto Eden (town size 94 people!), then passing an abandoned half sunken ship, the Cotopaxi, navigating through the "English Channels" before hitting the open waters, where conditions were set to get a bit rough!

    The stopover at Puerto Eden was really interesting. The ferry anchored some distance away from the town and was met by a group of smaller boats coming to collect passengers and cargo. All the locals and crew kicked into gear, unloading all the supplies for the town, from metal sheeting to fuel barrels to a pet poodle. We were even allowed to go down to level 1 of the ship to spectate (whilst trying not to get in the way).

    Then off we set again and we were in for a real treat.. we were allowed onto the "Bridge" to visit the captain and watch him navigate the ship! Very interesting stuff... The ship is 30years old (same age as Trav!) and some of the radar equipment is the same age. Some of the water we are travelling through is over 1000m deep!

    We were told that we were entering open waters that evening and that conditions were set to be rough so be prepared... Waves up to 10m high have been experienced in the past and tonight was expected to be a bad night.. every was acting tough and excited.

    Around 6pm that evening the rocking started and a few people started to feel a bit queasy. By dinner time people had to hold onto their plates and cutlery to stop them from flying. Everyone is stumbling around like they are drunk! By midnight all the drinks in the fridge had toppled over, plates are rattling and chairs are toppling over. We went out to the back of the ferry to assess the situation... WOW. Even in the pitch black we can make out that the swell is HUGE. Easily the height of the ferry, at least 6-8m. 4 cows died :-(    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Navimag Day 3 - The Aftermath

    May 15, 2015, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    We survived......

    With Suki falling asleep almost instantly, Trav was left to nervously consider all the worst case scenarios and mentally preparing a plan for abandoning ship throughout the night.

    Breakfast is announced at the usual time of 830am and we stagger out to the mess hall. Its dead the majority of people still in their cabins. A few of the guys had a rough night speeing up including our tour guide who is even more pale then his usual pasty complexion. The seas have calmed and we return to our cabins for a couple more hours of snoozing.

    Its just before lunch and everyone is up and moving around at full strength recalling stories from last night. The seas reached 6-8m waves which is a little above average with the bridge recording a roll of upto 20 degrees. The mess hall chairs had been thrown around like spaghetti during the early hours of the morning.

    Its a lazy day with most people readly lonely planet guides and discussing the next routes of their journey. Before dinner our guide gives us a information talk on Puerto Montt, Chiloe Island and the surrounding destinations.

    After dinner we enter the open waters again although all being seasoned sea dogs at this stage its a walk in the park. The night is finished off with a few whiskys and we head to our cabin for the last night.    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Arrived in Puerto Montt!

    May 16, 2015 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    We're here! A few hours delay due to the rough seas but we arrive at the port safely and watch the docking of the ship. A short bus ride to the station and we say goodbye to half of our newfound friends heading off on new adventures.

    The rest of us are in town for one night and explore everything Puerto Montt has to offer.. which doesn't take too long! First port of call was lunch... We start walking towards the markets however it starts raining heavily and in the confusion we are bustled into a small "restaurant" which turns out to be the third floor of someones' house! Fortunately we have Lorena there to translate. Salmon all round and a seafood soup for Suki.

    Bellies full we head off to the fish markets to check out the locals in action. The port is located next to one of the largest salmon farms in the world and here we find mussels the size of my hand and salmon going for equivalent to $6 per kg.. too bad we can't stockpile it!

    More rain into the evening so we find refuge at the nearby mall and arrive just in time to catch the new Avengers movie and some "doggis" for dinner :-) The National Park is closed due to the recent volcano eruptions so we are off to Valdivia tomorrow!    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki

    Valdivia!

    May 18, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We had a great time during our 3 days in Valdivia. Despite heading 4 hours north we still hadn't managed to escape the rain yet, however as soon as we checked into our hostel we were stoked.. it just had a great feeling about it. A cosy semi outdoor kitchen and the cutest pet duck and cat we'd seen all trip. Best of all we also managed to convince our friends Stephen, Lorena and Raphael that this was the "place to be" so they bussed in from their respective towns to meet up. Julia and Hendrick ("team sunshine") followed suit so we ended up with a great group.

    Sat night was fun with Trav and I hitting the town to listen to some live music and drink some girly but delicious pina coladas. Sunday day we donned all our wet weather gear and were ready to brave the rain, when lucky for us we ended up meeting Oli and Nathan, 2 funny English guys, who happened to have a car so we tagged along to the cervecerias (breweries!) with them instead. Fun afternoon listening to their travel stories about cooking steaks in the car and smuggling machetes across the border (long story!).
    Sunday night the crew arrived so beers and catch ups all round.
    Monday we hit the fish markets where we witnessed probably the most obese sea lions I've ever seen loiter around the fishermen eating fish scraps. Was quite a sight! More beers at the cerveceria and sampling the local dish "crudos" (raw minced beef!) then off to the night bus that evening for our overnight bus to Valparaiso... Cama seats yeah! :-)    Read more

  • Trav and SukiRound the World 2015Trav and Suki
    1

    Valparaiso - Street Art City

    May 20, 2015 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    It was a comfy ride on the overnight bus to Valparaiso. We scored cheap 'salon cama' seats for $26 each for the 13 hour journey. The salon cama seats are on the lower deck of the double decker bus and recline most of the way down with plenty of leg room. We were given little food boxes, blankets and pillows to make our journey comfortable.

    Arriving just before lunch we hiked through the town and up the steep hills of Valparaiso to a hostel where Julia and Hendrik we're staying. After a refreshing shower and some empanada's to stop the hunger pains we strolled downhill to catch a free walking tour.

    For 3 hours we walked around the artsy hills of Valparaiso checking out the awesome street art on numerous buildings, shopfronts and even staircases. One of the highlights was taking the old school 'ascentors' (diagonal cable driven elevators) up and down the hills.

    After dinner at the hostel we hit the town to catch up with our mates from the Navimag, Ole and Jan. With a few more friends from their hostel we went to a local bar to experience the 'terremodo' (spanish for earthquake) - a jug of sweet wine and strawberry juice with a chunk of icecream on top - it was delicous but potent!

    Next stop was a traditional Absenthe bar - the glasses were lined up and set alight as the sugar slowly melted. If the earthquake didnt knock us off our feet this certainly was about too. After a struggle to finish our drinks we said goodbye to our mates and made sure we'd meet up again in Germany.

    Some sneaky papas fritas (french fries) was in order for the steep hill climb stumble back to our hostel.    Read more

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