Farewell Argentina!

Hello Folks,

How are the January blues getting on? Those resolutions holding strong or a distant memory?
I have left Argentina (with a heavy heart) and I am about to begin exploring Chile, from south to north.

I left the bottom of the world Sunday (6th Jan) and travelled to El Calafate (not Elephants farting as some wise person suggested it sounded!).
El Cafate was not a picture perfect town for the romantic and was basically a street with restaurants, tour operators and souvenir shops! Give me the Alps any day.
There was plenty of life at the hostel though, unfortunately most of it was of the bug variety as they had an issue with fleas in the beds. Luckily there was a significant spray to cull the epidemic the day I arrived. The result was that I was bite free, others were not so lucky!
However in El Calafate (and around) I enjoyed a wonderful Patagonian setting for cold adventures on mountains and glaciers. Temperature constantly very cold with biting winds and I´m now longing for the heat of the north!

The highlight was a trip to the Moreno glacier situated within The Glaciers National Parkwith wonderful views, friendly knowledgeable guides and a chance to trek in crampons on the glacier. The glacier was amazing, sounds of ice breaking free was like thunder and made for amazing views for those with patience and a sharp eye.
The glacier trekking was hard work and needed good concentration to avoid falling and injuring oneself. The briefing for techniques for ascending/descending was highly amusing as some things got lost in translation! One lady fell and cut her hand on the ice as it was very sharp, she´d taken off her gloves to take a photo despite being told not to.
As we rounded a corned near the end a "whiskey table"came into view and gave the opportunity for a "wee dram" of whiskey on ice (that was 5000 years old). Following my whiskey activities at New Year and my abstinence in January I declined a drink but simply posed for the photos!
The boat transfer home was good and allowed us to get close to the Icebergs and a different viewpoint of the glacier.

The low light of recent times has been the border crossing (by bus) from Argentina to Chile. To say that Chilean immigration and customs do a thorough job would be an understatement. The crossing wasn´t helped by the number (30-40) of us. The whole process took around 2hrs and I wasn´t impressed that my nicely packed rucksack was subjected to a full inspection and needed repacking!
A good point of the journey cross the Andes was the scenery and variety of wildlife happy to be seen next to the gravel tracks we journeyed along. Lama, Eagles, Ostrich were all visible; along with the less exciting Cows, Sheep and Horses.

Arrived in Purto Natales and am now visiting the large national park, Torres del Paine, before catching a ferry north through the fjords, hoping to see some more ´bergs and dolphins en route.

Will try to upload some more photos to snapfish shortly and send links out.
Less than a month now till I leave South America and I wish it was longer. NZ will be fun though and looking forward to it!

If anyone has any information/contacts/ideas about where to source a Campervan in Auckland from I´d be grateful!

Till the next time this is me saying it goodnight from him......