South America - part 7/17 - Iguazu and Misones province

2012/2/20-22. To Iguazu.
Bus Via Bariloche from San Martin to Buenos Aires' Retiro terminal (on Tutto Letto, A$776/pp), 20 hours, ~1500km. Then, we changed to bus Crucero Del Norte to Iguazu (on Cama A$567/pp), 18 hours, ~1000km (it runs almost every hour). The long bus ride was comfortable. Scenary along the highway isn't interesting enough.

Arrived at Puerto Iguazu ~9am. Checked into Hostel Park Iguazu¹. Taking Dr. Hou's advice, we took a local bus to the city of Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. At the border, it's optional to get off the bus and go through the customs. We didn't, and no one bothered to come up to the bus to check the papers. In the bus terminal there, we boarded a Brazilian local bus to the falls. They take Argentina Pesos, but with a very bad rate.


2/22 Iguazu from Brazil.

Iguazu Falls is absolutely stunning! I like the Brazilian side better, even though it's smaller. This walkway in the photo (to the Devil's Throat) is an absolute must. Even with our ponchos, we still got drenched, so were the cameras. But the thunder of the water and its spray is fun. The feeling of water falling all around you is unforgetable. UNESCO listed. Entry 41.1 Real, including the park bus which has a few stops.

Along the walks in the park, I saw my first Coatis. They come to people and garbage cans for leftovers. Very cute. Quite common here. Also saw many butterflies. There're walks into the rain forest here. But my flippers were giving me trouble, so didn't walk much.

Once back to the Argentinian side, we walked to the 3 frontier monument (should have taken a taxi), in time for the sunset. Iguazu River and Parana River separate the 3 countris: Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina. Possible to see a little bit of Ciudad del Este of Paraguay in the distance.


2/23 Iguazu from Argentina.

A$100. A separate list at UNESCO. A tourist train is provided (included in the admission ticket). However, it was so crowded and require hour long waits. We walked back to the park entrance, despite of my aching feet (I had to get a new pair of shoes). Saw a funny bird there on our way out.

Argentinian side of Iguazu is much bigger. There are 3 trails going by endless falls, each involves hours of walk. The walk to Devil's Throat going across rivers where fishing birds and turtles hang out. Big carp too. You see the water tumbling down under your feet (see the moon-lit image to the right, copied from the park's official website), together with hundreds of others snapping photo in front of you, all squeezed in the narrow walkway. Too crowded here. Other walks are not as busy. There's a free boat ferries people to and from Isla San Martin, which we did. Long wait in both direction. At the same boat launch, you can also pay to get on speed boats into the falls for adrenalin and getting drenched. We didn't walk the higher circle. Already pretty tired.

I'd been feeling a bit sick even since our arrival, maybe due to dehydration. It was very hot and humid here. At least 30%deg;C every day.


2/24 St Ignacio de Mini

We took a morning bus (over 10 a day) to San Ignacio. It's a small bus, making ~10 stops in ~5 hours for the 240km. There're slower buses, and faster ones which skip San Ignacio altogether. But all onward bus to Buenos Aires leave in the evening, so we had to wait in the station for a long time.

The Jesuit ruin of San Ignacio Mission is not a far walk from the small bus station. However, it was very hot. Not nearly as crowded as in Iguazu. Audio panels in a few places describing life of 300 years ago in 4 different languages and pictures and drawings. A$50 entrance fee also entitles you to 2 other Jesuit ruins (Santa Ana ~1660 and Loreto ~1632), which we didn't go. There were ~30 organized Jesuit Guarani settlements as early as 1609 in the center of Cuenca del Plata: here in Misiones, and in the neighboring Paraguay and Brazil. Harassed by the Portuguese slave hunters, abandoned after the expulsion of Jesuit Spanish territories signed by King Carlos III in 1767, later destroyed by Paraguayan invasions between 1816 and 1819, only broken walls survived, evoking the former grandeur.

Notes

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1. hostelparkiguazu@gmail.com, Paulino Amarante 111. 3757-424342. Twin private ensuite, A$150/day. ~3 blocks from the bus terminal. Bad pavement in the last block.
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South America - part 6/17 - Lake District

Arrived at Puerto Montt in pouring rain ~8am. (weather prevented the ship to dock earlier.) We are not allowed to walk inside the port. So a bus is used to ferry passengers for ~50m. Since the luggage won't be available to pick up until 1.5 hours later (or carry them yourself), I decided to check out the market at Angelmo to the west (left) of the port. Red wooden 1-2 story structures: fist floor fish stalls, 2nd floor small eateries and toilet. Fishermen were carrying in mussels and fish. But otherwise not a lot of activities. The artisan market was still closed, which was just as well: their roofs could shelter us from the incessant rain.

~10am located our bags and headed back into the rain. My travel spirit greatly dampened, all I wanted was getting to the dryer side of the mountain, i.e. Argentina. Taxied to the bus terminal¹ a short distance to the east (right), bought tickets to Villarrica (every couple of hours C$8300) and onward journey to San Martin de Los Andes the next day. All tickets to Bariloche was sold out for the day. Being Friday, lots of people in the large terminal with ~a dozen bus companies and stalls selling everything. Every few meters an outlet to recharge your gadget. A bathroom downstairs behind a turnpike: yes, buy a token first.

A few tolls along the road and off ramps. Arrived at Villarrica ~8:30 pm. Found a random hotel after looking at 3. Ate dinner on the same street. Lots of people eating out or having a drink ~10pm. A small and very pleasant town.

2/18. Overcast.
Got up at 7:00 to check out the waterfront, which is ~10-15 minutes away. Too cloudy to see far. No sight of Volcano Villarrica. 9:00 bus to Argentina. My Kindle was stolen at the bus station while I was loading my backpack into the bus. First stop is Pucon, a much larger town. Seems nice. Lots of people getting on the bus. Stopped at a cafe in the area of Curarrehue, just short of the border Mamuil Malal. River Malleo rushing by the cafe and a picnic area. View of some pointing granite peaks. Very lush here, bamboo, trees covered with lichen and moss.

Lots of funny looking Araucaria near the border. It's actually in the National Park Lanin. Could see the volcano without its top: still cloudy.

Reached San Martin de los Andes, again, in pouring rain. I headed out to search for hotel, while dad watching over the luggage. I asked 4 and found no room available. Eventually reached the main square and lined up in the tourism office. A girl there called two places for me, and the first one was available for 2 nights. Later in the day, I spent hours scouring for some rain ponchos.

2/19 Cloudy.
Hike to Mirador Bandurrias, starting at the north end of the lake front. ~4km enter the community of Maphuche,
where you pay A$2 for the right of access. Most of their houses are at the north side of the ridge. Quite a nice view of the lake and surrounding mountains. All green. No snow. Can also go down to a beach called La Islita. For some reason, me and another 4 hikers missed the proper trail. Dad was too tired, and decided to head back. On the way back, saw a bunch of tourist coming back on, so I decided to try again. Yes, watch out for little blue diamonds pinned on tree trunks.

1:30pm, we board a local bus called Expreso de Los Andes. It's a slow community bus with stops to pick up passengers. A$3.5. Lago Lolog is 12Km away, and it took 40 minutes. Much prettier, however smaller beach. It was too windy to relax. Had to hide in the only cafe at the beach. No other customers. The return bus is at 7:10pm. Everyday, there're only 3 scheduled departures from San Martin (weekend: 8:30, 13:30, 18:30, weekday: 6:40, 11:40, 19:30). Another bar/cafe at the bus stop has maybe a couple more tourists. The servers were so bored that they played pingpong.

Carnival Parade. Didn't watch the whole thing. Were getting too hungry.

2/20 Foggy with sunshine.
Hiked to Mirado Arrayan. About 4km along a road starting at the south end of the waterfront. Not a pleasant walk. Some bikers. View is over the city and the lake. Not bad, but it was too foggy this day. We tried to wait for the fog to burn out, but it was a bit chilly.

5:05pm bus Via Bariloche to Buenos Aires. Very dry and flat land. Sometimes a big river with green trees along it. Yellow grass. After my Kindle was stolen, I was somewhat paranoid. I slept with my laptop, and managed to crack its screen. The bus is very comfortable. I bought the 180° flat seats, but they aren't really flat. Only ~20 seats on the bus, plus 8 reclined seats. There was a snack served after Junin, and dinner was served with wine ~9pm. Champagne and whiksy was offered after dinner.

South America - part 5/17 - Patagonian Fjords (Chile)

2/14-17 Navimag ferry from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt.
Summary: a trip to do only in good weather. Pleasant scenery, lush, nothing dramatic. Decent food, acceptable and reasonably priced accommodation. Friendly staff. Lectures and movies. See the route map to the right. We did this in the reverse order: south to north. According to our guide on board, volcanic activities are on the rise since in 90s, causing more rain falls and advance of glaciers.

2/13. rain and sun off and on all day.
Navimag registration 10:00-19:00 at Hotel CostAustralis at the waterfront. Hung out in the lobby. After lunch, we returned with luggage to be checked in (tagged to our cabin#). By this time, the door between the hotel and Navimag's space was closed, nor were we allowed to hang out in the hotel lobby. Had to go in a back door. At least the hotel wifi can still be reached from Navimag's waiting area, albeit weak. At 9pm, a quick speech on the boarding procedure. Then we were off. At 10pm, a safty video in the dinning room.

Our cheapest cabin¹ is in the hallway on the first floor, next to the bathroom: convenient, but busy with other passengers. Bunk beds, curtains. Each has a locker for luggage, a lamp above pillow with an outlet plug. Water is portable. Had to beg for towel (which is supposed to be distributed the next morning). 2nd floor is the dinning room, more cabins, the bridge and emergency boats. 3rd floor is a pub with comfy sofas. Cargo is on the ground floor which we are denied access.

2/14 drizzle.
Chilean fjord looks very much like the Inside Passage of Alaska. Green, misty, many little waterfalls, some snowy hills, a couple of small ice fields.

The ship departed ~4:30. At around 6:00, we entered the Santa Maria Canal. Quite narrow.

8:00 breakfast. Busy, lines. Plenty food: scrambled egg (alternating days), ham, cheese, bread, jam, yogurt, cereal, milk, lipton tea bag, nestle instant coffee.

By now, all the cargo were on board. Some foul smelling lorries.

9:45 Captain speech. The ship is 125m long, 18.5m wide, 9951 ton. 229 passengers on board, only 1 Asian passport (Japan).

~11:00 documentary "Eden at the end of the world": animals in Patagonia. Not bad.

Lunch: 12:30 even # cabin (alternating). 1:15 odd # cabin. Dinner:19:30 even # cabin. 8:15 odd # cabin.

Visited the bridge. The friendly captain showed me what some of the monitoring devices do. Many sheets of navigation maps on a drawing table where a young officer marks the location in pencil every once awhile. GPS tracked map is broadcasted in the dinning room and the pub. Dual engine.

Shortly after 18:00, a minor detour into Amalia Fjord for Skua Glacier. A slow approach. Lots of small floating ices. Quite nice, but raining. We left ~19:00.

After dinner, "March of the Penguin" was shown in the dining room.

2/15 misty rain.
Arrived at Puerto Eden on Wellington Island, in the wee hour of morning, which was completely ignored by my sleep. It was an 1-hour stop for resupply and cargo change.

The scenery doesn't seem to change. With the low visibility, only the small islands, and beacons can be seen. A statue of Virgin Mary is on a little island at one point, where people toss coins to.

~11am, lecture on fauna, mostly on birds and where to see them.

Further north, in Canal Messier, a cargo ship “Capitán Leonidas” hit a tiny semi-submerged island called “bajo Cotopaxi” in the 70s. Since then, it was used as a navigation reference and home for numerous South American Terns.

~3pm: reached open ocean (Gulf Pena). Hoping to see Tonina whale and dolphin.l but didn't. Did see some seals or seal lions swimming. Expected 10-20 knots wind. wave 1.5-3.5m. Yes, took a motion sickness pill.

~4pm: movie "an Arctic Tale": story of a baby walrus and a baby polar bear.

~9:30pm: movie: Master of Commander. I slept instead.

2/16
Back in sheltered water, via Anna Pink Bay, Pulluche Channel, Canal Chacabuco, Canal Errazuriz. Detour a bit in Rodriguez Channel, to see the little town of Puerto Aguirre. A salmon farming community. More and more of these farms as we went north. The excrement and extra feed is polluting the water, and at the same time attracting bigger marine animals like Blue Whale, which was advertised.

11:15. Lecture on flora, and where to find them.. I learnt that :

moss makes PH of passing water slightly more acidic, from 7-7.5 to 6.5-6.8, and thus reduces bacteria.
The local Indians mix Calafate roots with fat and mud to seal wooden boats.
The common Mata Negra (Black Bush, Chilliotrichum diffusum) is food for guanaco, but not the introduced prevailing sheep. Devil's Strawberry (Gunnera Magellanica)'s red currant-like berries can cause lasitiv-diarreah.
Indian Bread (Cyttaria Darwinii): apricot color golf ball size mushroom on beech tree. Edible for salad.

Afternoon: replay of last night's movie: Master of Commander. Weather cleared. Finally we got to enjoy the deck. A chess game started. Much warmer now.

We were heading into the much wider Canal Moraleda, between the island of Chiloe and the mainland. More salmon farming. Saw volcanoes: twin peaked Melimoyu and the more symetric Corcovado.

~6pm, talk on Puerto Montt and the surrounding areas to visit. Seems one needs at least 2 weeks here.

Rain started again!

2/17 RAIN!
3-4 am arrival at Puerto Montt in pouring rain. Only allowed to dock ~8am.

Notes

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1. US$530. There're also 10% student and 15% senior discounts. No one checked.

South America - part 4/17 - Southern Patagonia

Summary:
1. Torres del Paine is grand, absolutely beautiful if the weather is nice. Terribly windy. (I was told that the wind is the strongest in summer. So the better season for hiking is late spring or early autumn.) Glacier Perito Moreno near El Calafate is a must see, and easy to get to. Even after seeing so many ice in Antarctic, I am still amazed how beautiful it is. Fitz Roy area (El Chalten) is a tiny version of Torres del Paine. Not really a must, but a nice hiking area. All trails are accessible from the town. No need wheels. I, being fortunate to live in pacific northwest, we have mountains similar to Fitz Roy (still a bit far for me to get to). See Cobalt Lake in southeastern BC by Janice Strong, author of a hiking book.

2. Things are expensive in Argentina. A postcard costs A$4 in most Argentina towns we visited, if not more. International postage is A$9.5 (~$2.3). ATM charges A$17.4 per withdraw, with a limit at A$1000. Chile's postage is 500 (~$1). Argentina Peso is dropping value, while Chilean peso is on the rise. Public transportation is excellent, and not expensive. Sometimes, it's a good idea to book ahead.

2012/2/5. Sunday. Ushuaia to Puerto Natales. Overcast, rain with sun at times.

Didn't sleep well: worried about missing the 8am bus. Requested an earlier breakfast at 7am. Our hostess called a taxi for 7:30, but it arrived late. In the end, all is well. Managed to put postcards in a letter box downtown, before boarding.

Mountain, valley, lake Fagnano, rainbow. Very pretty the first hour. Trees gradually disappear, and land becomes more and more flat. At San Sebastian border crossing, dry, grassy, sheep. Extremely windy. The 2 border controls are a few Kms apart. Wasted a lot of time, filled many paperwork. Got 1 exit stamp and 1 entry stamps. Since we are crossing the border back and forth on the way north, my passport may need extra pages sooner than I'd like. Chile is more serious about agriculture import. So everything has to go through an X-ray machine. However, too many bags piled on one another: impossible to detect small illegal items (dairy, meat, plant, fruit). I saw fellow passenger eating yogurt right after the crossing. ~500m into Chilean side, the bus stops at a cafe/motel for lunch break.

Arrived at Punta Arenas for a connection to Puerto Natales at ~20:15. Managed to buy a couple of food items at the supermarket before boarding the next bus. I was grateful that it was still open on a Sunday night.

3.5 hrs later, finally arrived at our hostel. There was a reservation mistake. The owner came over at this hour to show me his record. A very nice young man, used to guide hikes in Torres del Paine, spent time suggesting trails and routes in the park and weather forecast.

2/6-7 Torres del Paine (TdP from now on)

2/6. Monday, drizzle - cloudy - sunny - rain

Picked up a Toyota Yaris at Hertz. Took a quite some time with many paperwork, while the phone was ringing and answered. The clutch was somewhat loose. Bought some grocery, picked up dad and luggage before heading out. All the one way streets got me confused a bit.

The drive north was quite scenic. Took the Cuervo de Milodon road. Follow the shore of Lago de Toro for awhile. TdP peaks were clearly visible. However, all gravel.

Registered at the hotel Tyndall in the Serrano River valley shortly after noon, just outside of the park, but with great view of the Horns and Towers. Had some lunch with the view before driving into the park. The park entrance is in ~9km. Had to fill out a form with name, age and passport #. Paid CDP15k (cash of US$32, Euro or Pound are also accepted. Chilean citizen pays 4k, children 500). Had the payment receipt stamped, dated (valid for 3 days), received a map. Spanish speakers also get a long description on trails and conditions.

Hotel Lago Grey has very limited view, and crowded. Continued to the road end, take the trail: Mirado Glacier Grey. The trail starts at a suspension bridge (not very shaky), through forest ~15 minutes, then down to a "sandy" beach. Continuous good view of the lake, a few big blue ice blocks, with a backdrop of mountains all the way. But the wind is fierce in the middle of the sand bar. Had trouble breathe at times. Once reach the end of the sand bar (~30 minutes), up on an rocky island. Less wind filtered by the trees. 20 more minutes to its northern end, right in front of a couple of floating blue ice block. Amazingly blue. Better view of Glacier Grey. On the way back in the forest, saw a male Huemul.

Back traced the road. Some burnt scene. It's only 4pm, even though the clouds were moving in, we decided to check out one more thing before calling it a day. The main road chug Rio Paine (glacier green), very pretty with the mountains in distance. Walked to Salto Chico (little falls). Very windy, rain started. Saw a female Huemul.

My plan of watching sunset out on the deck was utterly destroyed by rain. Couldn't see any mountains by the time we returned. A few guests tried fishing in the rain.
Cooked in the 3 legged range. First time ever to use a gas oven. Had to ask for how.

2/7 rain, rain
Raining hard till ~11am. Back to the park, showed the stamped receipt at the gate. Today's Rio Paine was still green, but without the mountains in the background, it lost its appeal. Hotel Pehoe is nicely situated on Lago Pehoe over a bridge. I could only imagine its beauty when the sky is clear. Stopped at Salto Grande (big falls). 500m walk was difficult due to the heavy wind (see dad battling the wind in the photo to the right). I gave up walking towards Mirador Cuenos (which is supposed to be sublime.) Saw our first Guanaco.

Next stop at Mirado del Norderskjold right next to the road. Beautiful setting. Saw some shades of mountains, mostly misty grey. Bus loads of people, all only stayed for a few minutes.

From here on, lots of Guanacos (some alone, some in a pack of ~500!), and one ostrich-like ñandú with half a dozen chicks. Saw ~6 condors circling the sky and then landing together. Saw more Upland Geese, and other ducks.

The 7.5 km road to Hosteria Las Torres is worse than the bad park road. Picked up 2 hikers from Bristol and London on the way. Arrived at the hotel shortly after 3pm. No more lunch. Ordered sandwiches and hot chocolate at the bar, waiting for the sun at the table by the window. As the weather started to clear up, we headed out again. A number of Black-faced Ibis and Southern Lapwing hanging out in the hotel lawn.

On the way to Laguna Azul (Blue Lake), we stopped at Cascada Rio Paine. Did see the Torres in the mist, but not clear enough to take a decent photo. The road was very scenic, quieter, lots of guanacos. Laguna Azul itself isn't very special. Didn't encounter any gate leaving the park here. Driving along the short eastern edge of Lago Sarmiento, which is very blue, with white shores. According to a display, Thrombolite — calcium carbonate precipitated by cyano-bacteria via photo synthesis, only found in enclosed lakes, where the water is ultra saline.

2/8-9 El Calafate

2/8 cloudy. To El Calafate.
Had to return the rental car when the office is open, so missed all the morning buses¹ (they were all full anyway: need to buy bus tickets early). Uneventful. Got on an 18:30 bus. Again, border crossing. Argentina side doesn't check luggage. Still, the bus was late. Arrived at El Calafate after midnight.

2/9 Cloudy. Perito Moreno.
Set my alarm clock early enough to buy next bus tickets. Got on an 8am bus to Perito Moreno A$120. Admission A100 was collected on the bus at the entrance. The bus stops at the cruise terminal first in time for the 9:30 departure and will pick them up at 11am. We stayed on the bus to the end. Next to the bus stop and parking area is a large toilet, gift shop, and a big cafeteria with no view. An extensive boardwalk to admire the glacier. It's very impressive. Huge. Loud dropping of small ice chunks are common. Long yet easy boarded walks with excellent view and seating areas. We ate lunch staring at the ice. The scheduled return bus at 14:30 left early after all the passengers got on.

Lined up after 3 ATMs² unsuccessfully. Hopped on the 16:30 bus to El Chalten. Drove by 2 huge blue lakes: lake Argentina and lake Viedma. Otherwise savannah like dry land, only yellow grass and low shrubs. The other side of the lake or dry grass are high peaks and towards the end of our journey Glacier Viedma.

2/10-12 El Chalten

2/10 Rain - sun shine.
Rained all morning until 11am, but diminishing. Started out in drizzle and wind towards Fitz Roy, or El Chalten, after a stop at a grocery store. The trail head is at the north end of the town, ~20 minutes walk.

Mirado Fitz Roy is at ~5-6km, 350m gain. The mountain was now partly shrouded in clouds. Had lunch, left dad at the lookout, I headed to Lago de los Tres (~12km, 700m) ~2:40pm. The trail continued with fine views of Fitz Roy, going down to the river valley, very scenic. There's the Poincenot area before crossing the bridge in a wooded spot by the river, no view, but sheltered from the wind. The last hour, is grueling: up and up on rocky steps with running water. Took me 2:15 from the lookout. The lake is beautifully blue. No wind. Since I accidentally stepped into water while filling my bottle earlier, now, I took my socks off, hoping to dry my shoes, while soaking in the view right at the water edge. By now, the granite peaks were clear against blue sky. Lots of people.

On the way back, route by Lago Capri. Deep blue, with a view of Fitz Roy. Very nice. The camping area is next to the trail, sheltered from the wind, but also from the view.

Back to trail head ~7pm. Picked up grocery³. Dad already showed and washed his clothes.

Chalten is a ramshackle kind of town. Pleasant, but no pretty streets or buildings. It claims to be the trekking capital of the world. Don't know how it is justified. Maybe the trekking capital of flies. I chatted with the hostess in the evening in broken Spanish and broken English about flies. She said that there was no flies 10 years ago. Starting about 5 years ago, it became a serious problem. Because the town is situated in the national park, burning garbage is not allowed. Hence a big facility was built to house the garbage before trucking it away, and the city shares a garbage lorry with Tres Lagos over 100km away. She complained about the municipal government not concerning with local issues, and gave me and an Australian tourist an email address to complain.

2/11 clouds with sunshine.
Promising weather. Headed out earlier. Arrived at the trail head to Laguna Torre (11Km 250m) ~10am. Arrived at the lookout ~11:40. Good view, with benches. However, enough clouds obscured the peaks.

After a simple lunch, I left dad at the lookout, and headed to the lake. Going down the hill, and crossing a big flat river valley. 1.5 hours later, arrived at the windy lake. The water is of greyish yellow. Not very pretty. A couple of big chunks of ice floating on the lake, but they looked dirty. The clouds never went away. It was too windy to enjoy. After walking a bit along the moraine circling the lake, I headed back.

Arrived at the lookout shortly before 3pm. Dad was waiting for me. We headed down together, reached hotel ~4:20. Picked up luggage, went to the bus station for our 7:30 bus back to El Calafate. The woman cleaning the station forbade us to eat inside the station.

2/12
8:30 bus back to Puerto Natales.

Notes

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1. El Calafate -> El Chalten: 8:00, 08:00, 18:30, 18:30. El Chalten -> El Calafate: 07:30, 08:00, 18:30, 18:30. ~3 hours.
2. In El Calafate, only Banco Nacion de Argentina takes my debit card (Plus system). Many ATMs are out of cash. In El Chalten, there's only 1 ATM in town (at the bus station), but doesn't take my card. Cirrus system is more common here.
3. almost all stores in Argentina close between 12:30 and 5pm. Things in Chalten are expensive, and most places don't take credit card. El Super on Avenida Lago del Desierto in El Chalten accepts credit card after A$50. El Gringuito on Cerro Solo + Antonio Rojo accepts credit card.
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South America - Part 3/17 - Antarctic Peninsular (1/28-2/4)

Summary: Beautiful ice, and a lot of it, clear, big or small. Where the ships go, no high mountains. So, not dramatic enough. Humpback whales playing with the ship, Orcas jumping, some seals, innumerous small penguins coating the rocky coast pink. Big penguins (King and Emperor) are here only in winter. King may be sighted in South Georgia Island in summer. Too much food + wine. Menu never repeats. Lots of rest. Large cruise ships don't land, but more stable. Small expedition ships cost a lot. Our discounted 8-day trip with Antarctic Dream costs $4750 + tip in the cheapest cabin (2 bleak days crossing the Drake Passage, 1 day arrival, 1 day departure. So, just 4 days of activity). Overpriced, very much so, I would say. But if you are in the area, and has time and money, by all means. We certainly enjoyed the trip. Our expedition team leader doesn't seem to care what most tourist might enjoy. So, a standard stop, Fort Lockroy, which is on our itinerary, was skipped because our Rodrigo doesn't like research bases, as he has worked in one of those for 11 years.

Jan 28th
7:00 pick up turned up at 7:45. 10:00 flight via DAP. Only 29 guests. Met one Chinese lady who traveling alone. Her travel companion was hospitalized in northern Chile due to high altitude sickness in Bolivia. 2 hours of smooth flight. Chocolate bonbons. Lunch on board: egg salad sandwich, peach salad, juice, cheese cracker. Had a glimpse of Cape Horn and many little islands in the southern water, through thick dirty airplane windows.

Landed on King George Island. There's a Chilean and Russian base Bellingshausen (named after the first person who sighted Antarctic) right next to the gravel air strip. Waited by the direction post for quite a while for the ~70 return tourists of a week ago. Walked to the bay, a lone Chinstrap Penguin welcomed us. Boarded 4 Zodiac rubber dinghies to get onto our home for the next 7 days — a 1958 Chile navy cargo ship named Piloto Pardo, after the Chilean captain Luis Pardo who rescued Shackleton's crew. The ship sails under a Honduras flag, even though everything is Chilean. Once onboard, it's possible to see the Chinese base "Great Wall".

Lunch: green salad with cheese and chicken, meat ravioli (big thick dough), raspberry mouse with mint leave, crepe.

Brown Skua flew next to window. It's a huge bird. A whale far away. Occasional penguins leaping over water.

Passengers apart from dad and me (total 29, from 19 years old to 81):
Chinese dentist Hou Xu (1958).
Muriel (1970) + Marten (1975), Dutch.
Nicole (1960) + Hans (1946), Dutch.
Charles (1943) + Margery (1947), British.
Clair (1962) + Hazel (1967), Ireland.
Pino (1938) + Laura (1987), Italy, father and daughter.
Hans (1930) + Ana (1946), Chile.
Esteban form Chile (1972) + Duilio + Patricio (1978), Chile.
Twin brother Nino and Bernard (1937) and wife Dorothy (1942) Canada.
Simon (1972) + Stacy (1972) about to be married in March, New Zealand.
Gabrielle (1992) Syndey, Collin (1986) USA.
Sheryl (1963) USA + Susan Malaysia (1960), from Singapore.
Richard (1943) + Leslie (1944), California Santa Cruz.

17:00 Emergency drill. Briefing on IAATO's regulation. Distribution of parka + rubber boots (thin, needs 2 pairs of thick socks).

19:45 Welcome cocktail + speech by caption, hotel manager (excellent staff), doctor (gave me 2 doses of motion sickness pills), 9 expedition team members (5 Zodiac drivers, 1 ornithologist, 1 marine biologist, 1 biologist, 1 vet-turned historian - the nicest).

Dinner: smoked salmon w/ quinoa, beef w/ rice, desert bar with fruits.

Jan 29th Sunny.
7:30-8:30 Breakfast: cheese, hams, scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, yogurt, pancake, toast. This appeared to be constant every morning.

Because of the good weather and warm water, we sailed through Antarctic Sound, and reached the northwest tip of Weddell Sea. 9:00 Zodiac ride to Devil's Island, a tiny rocky island out side of Vega Island. A large Adélie penguins colony. Adélie, after the wife of French explorer Jules Dumont, captain of Astrolabe, and Emperor are the only 2 truly Antarctic penguins. Rodrigo lead the hike up a very slippery (sandy with little loose stones) hill to the right, steep at times, dangerous, especially so many senior citizens among us. Good view. After descending, hiked up a smaller hill on the left and down to the beach, where the black+white adults and grey+fluffy chicks have deposited grey guano and pink regurgitated food. Very noisy, full of action.

A hot and really salty soup was served as soon as we were back aboard.

In the afternoon, mini cruise close to Vega Island to see waterfalls, rock formation, and birds (Antactic Tern and Kelp Gull). Our Zodiac was driven by Rodrigo, which died 3 times. Had to wait/call another Zodiac over 3 times to restart the motor (each time with a single go). Waiting in cold is not fun, at least sunshine, no wind. One other Zodiac encountered a Mink whale.

13:45 lunch: seafood gratin, rib w/ potato, dessert buffet + fruits.

15:00 lecture by Cristina on the 1902 Swedish expedition lead by Nordenskjold. 5 scientists and a doctor planned to winter at Snow Hill Island in Antarctic. They built a cabin and documented what they saw during their stay. However, when the scheduled pickup time came (Dec. 1902), Captain Larsen's ship wasn't able to cross the frozen Antarctic Sound. 3 men were dropped of at Hope Bay in order to walk over to Snow Hill Island, but was turned back by open water. The rest continued to look for a water way. Unfortunately, Larson's ship sank near Paulet Island. 20 men + dogs + supply (one boat). Another winter passed. In Oct 2003, 3 men at Hope Bay walked towards Snow Hill Island before summer. As luck has it, they met the search party sent by Nordenskjjold in Well Meet bay. In Nov. 2003, Argentina ship Uruguay rescued all members. An amazing survival story which I've never heard.

17:00 disembark for Snow Hill Island. No snow, no ice. Other than visiting the wood cabin of the 6 research team, we also took a peek at the well-stocked Argentinian refugio.

Hot chocolate back on ship.

19:45 dinner: cracker and ham, baked hake, desert buffet.

On the way to and from Snow Hill Island (in Antarctic Sound), the floating ice blocks were truly amazing. As the sun set over the ice, the wake of the ship slide through the shining water, one of the two most memorable moments of this trip.

1/30 cloudy - sunny

5:00 disembark for Gourdin Island. Fur seal (young males kicked out of breeding grounds in South Georgia Island), Snowy Sheathbill (scavenger, nicknamed shit-bill), 3 types of penguin: Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo. Saw one Gentoo hatching an egg, alas, probably too late.

8:00 breakfast.

11:00 Rodrigo gave a lecture on 6 penguins, but we were only be able to see 3.

12:30 lunch: salad, stuff chicken breast w/ risotto, desert buffet.

14:15 Astrolabe Island. A private sail boat (not part of IAATO, so unknown) was moored in the bay. Very scenic. Dragon Teeth black hills, many seals on beach, some on ice. Hiked up a hill w/ loose flat rock, slippery (but not steep) hill, then icy snow. Dad was wise not to go: dangerous. Very fine view up there. Took a photo of throwing snow balls, one hit the 2nd Rodrigo's lens. I slid down: faster and safer.

19:45 dinner: shrimp over grain, beef w/ mashed potato, desert.

At dinner time, someone spotted some Orcas ahead. 10 minutes later, we encountered a group of Humpback feeding. Our ship stopped. Location: next to Tower Island (NE), east of Orlean Strait. The whales swam around and under ship, maybe 20+. The excitement lasted for almost an hour. This is my other most memorable moment of the trip.

1/31 overcast, warm.

9:00 Zodiac cruise in Paradise Bay, the most beautiful spot during this trip. Stunning scenery all the way into the bay. Glacier closeup, crystal clean, tall. Cormorant colony, yellow moss, orange lichen. After some persistent request of Susan, we landed at Argentinian Brown Station. We were told that they were busy, but later found out by fellow passengers (who didn't go for a hike) after chatting with the workers there, they had little to do, but with money to spend. Most of us hiked up a snowy slope for a better view, dad included. Hans had some heart problem up top. The team had to haul a wooden plank to carry him down. Warm ~6.5 °

Warm soup back on board.
Lunch: salad, chicken breast w/ ratatouille, desert buffet.

16:00. Zodiac cruise to Enterprise Island. A Norwegian whaler caught fire in 1916 in the vicinity. The captain ran the ship to ground in order to save its cargo: whale oil. Right now, the rusted wreck is home to some Antarctic Terns. A Turkish yacht was attached to it by rope. Getting chilly. Snowed a bit.

19:30. dinner: potato salad + scallop, salmon + mashed potato, ice cream in a sculpted ice bowl!

After dinner, Susan challenged everyone to play hula hoop. Cristina and Esteban are good at it.

2/1 overcast - cloudy w/ sunshine
5:00 Whalers Bay on Deception Island, close to the entrance of the crater. Everyone hiked up to the lowest rim, some (I included) dipped in the water. Hot and steamy at the sandy (black) shore, cold just a couple of meters from the edge.

7:30 Breakfast.

9:00 Telephone Bay (named after a ship) at the north end of Deception Island. Hiked up Telephone Ridge. Sun came out, warm. Rodrigo showed us a krill back on the beach.

12:30 Lunch: emplanada of beef+onin+olive + salsa, fried cod w/ rice.

Leaving Antarctic ocean, sailing by Livingstone Island, Greenwich Island, then endless open water.

I slept through most of the afternoon lecture about Antarctic.

Dinner: ? almost threw up. Sometime in the afternoon, the housekeeper closed all windows.

2/2
Drake passage. Feeling sick. Slept all day, listening to iPOD. Couldn't stomach much food.

Lying on the couch for the two lectures: Antarctic sea birds, Antarctic marine mammals.

2/3
Beginning to see land in early afternoon.

18:30 slide show and selling of DVDs: $50
20:00 cocktail + dinner. Certificate of landing on Antarctic.
Bid for ship flag and navigation map. Starting at $100. Sold at $100 and $150.

2/4. Rainy - sunny - rainy.
Woke up in rain. Now in Ushuaia, Argentina. A nice town sit between mountains and ocean (Beagle Channel).

7:00 breakfast. Getting our passports back. Dr. Hou's Argentina visa had expired. Since she doesn't speak English nor Spanish, I had to stay on the ship as a translator. The immigration officers finally arranged multiple pages to be signed by the officer, her, and the ship captain. Her onward reservation was copied and collected in a dossier, passport withheld. She was escorted to her hotel, and would be picked up for her flight Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, and again picked up at AEP to be transferred to EZE international airport, where she would fly to Peru.

After dumping our bags in our B&B, we walked to downtown along the pleasant waterfront. I managed to lose dad for ~20 minutes — got me seriously worried. Eventually I found him outside of the post office, which was closed.

We met up with Dr. Hou at her hotel, and went on to Tierra de Fuego national park at the end of the world. The scenery is far from dramatic as Wikipedia claims. But even with the mist and rain, it's still pleasant, especially around the smaller lakes between the stop of Lapatia beach and Lake Roca. Very wet here. Lost of mistletoe and lichen growing on tree branches and rocks, with shiny yellow or orange color. It was sunny when we left Ushuaia, only about 20km later, the clouds came in, and by the time we finished the Lapatia Mirador trail, it started raining. Dad was cold, and we decided to catch the first bus home. On the way back, stopped at End of the World Train, used by convicts in the old days.

This evening was devoted to postcard writing. Dad had already sent himself many. I sat in the dining area of the B&B chatting with a 68 year old Berliner downing a 1 litre bottle of beer, who had been traveling for 80+ days all by himself. Somehow, he seemed to be fed up, eager to go home.