Mountains, Lakes, Forests, Glaciers...

Luck really does seem to be on our side. We arrived in El Chalten on January 4th to glorious sunshine and spectacular views of the peaks of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, which dominate the northern part of the Los Glaciares National Park. Even the bus driver seemed excited by the view, which was surprising until we found out that apparently it was the first day of sunshine in 2 months, and it was to stay with us. El Chalten is a funny little place, only established in the mid-80's so Argentina could guarantee it's claim on this part of the continent, it's touristy but laid back with dirt roads and the best restaurants we've encountered so far on our travels. Thorougly enjoyed our stay here, long walks to the foot of the peaks through beautiful countryside with adventurous twists, such as crossing rivers on death slides and trekking on the Glaciar Grande. Our last morning we were treated to the Dawn of Fire, one of the most breathtaking sunrises I've ever seen, before embarking on a long day of travel back to El Calafate along a bumpy, dirt road followed by an even bumpier flight to Bariloche in the lake district.

The best thing about Bariloche has to be the place where we stayed, Hosteria Katy, run by a Slovene family who've been there over 30 years. Very homely, welcoming sort of place where we were spoilt by copious amounts of delicious, home-made cooking. Located along the lakeside close to the famous Llao Llao hotel and park. The whole area is made up of a network of lakes and rivers, surrounded by mountains and forests. It was incredible to find rainforest, although the Patagonian variety, so anything but hot and humid. The area not only looked a lot like Switzerland but we even discovered a village called Colonia Suiza, founded by Swiss emigrants at the end of the 19th century, and savoured a yummy cheese fondue in the afternoon sun!

Despite the warm weather, Marc was the only one mad enough to take a plunge into the icy-cold, emerald waters of Lake Nahuel Huapi. Bariloche is a touristy place, similar to some of the Alpine ski resorts, but it was fun to observe the Argentinians on holiday and we joined in, taking a cable car and chair lift up to the top of Cerro Catedral. Here you could have your photo taken with a snowman or go absailing or sledging.

The trip to Chile has to be yet another of the highlights. A 12-hour journey by boat and bus across the lakes and through the mountains to Puerto Varas, with views of glaciar-tipped volcanoes and turquoise waterfalls en route. Only downside were the huge horseflies which plagued us in great swarms whenever we stopped anywhere, now know why Petrohue translates as land of the big black flies! We arrived just in time to enjoy sunset on the perfectly formed Osorno volcano on the shores of Lake Llanique, the third largest lake in South America.

The next morning we travelled by bus and ferry to the unique and mysterious island of Chiloe. Sea lions and dolphins accompanied us on our journey. We'd been warned by fellow travellers and all the guidebooks that it rains 365 days of the year on Chiloe, but once again they were proven wrong. Chiloe is famous for its mystical legends and creatures, including Trauco, an ugly little gnome, who seduces women with his bad breath and is blamed for many of the high number of unwanted pregnancies! It is also known for its brightly coloured, wooden churches, now protected as Unesco world heritage. However, what impressed me the most was the wonderful hospitality and friendliness of the islanders. Just to give an example, we knocked on a door, in the tiny boat makers' village of San Juan, to ask to use the loo and before we knew it were invited in. The old lady, who'd invited us in, then disappeared off only to return 5 minutes later and beckon us through to the kitchen where, to our amazement, she'd laid out a full afternoon tea with homemade bread, jams, cheese... We then stayed that night with a local family in another small fishing village, dominated by a rather out-of-place blue, red and white church, and once again were treated to great home cooking and warm hospitality.

Despite our short stay on the island we managed to fit in a lot of the sights, including a boat trip to a group of small islands where we could again watch the penguins, but this time also the pelicans and sea otters, who put on a great show for our benefit!

We then had to sadly wave goodbye to our friends, Rebecca and Mike, who were heading home, and we set off on our journey North.