The problem with Patagonia and wet shoes

We have spent nearly 4 weeks in Patagonia. It is a fascinating place full or contradictions.

Areas of absolute wilderness - Swiss style, classy tourist towns

Glaciers - pampas with delicious sheep and cow meat on legs

Snow topped mountains - flower rich meadows

Fjords - beautiful lakes

We have been amazed by how `English´ flowers and plants can be found in Patagonia. In places whole valleys are carpeted with lupins and fox gloves. We thought that they must be native to Patagonia but a English horticulturalist told us that they have all been introduced by Europeans














The overriding impact is its size and the difficulty in travelling. Everywhere seems blocked by water or a mountain range and you have to keep switching between Chile and Argentina. We are in the middle of a 2 day bus ride to get from south Patagonia to the north. Instead of going in a straight line we have to go all the way across Argentina to the east coast, to get onto a paved road, then go north and then retrace our steps to the west.

Patagonia route - Chile, Santiago to Pucon bus 7hr, to Puerto Mont bus 6hr, to Puerto Aisen plane 1hr, to San Rafel Glacier boat 20 hrs rtn, to Coychique bus 3 hrs, to Punta Arenas plane 2 hr.

Argentina route - Chile to Ushuaia bus 13 hrs, to Antarctica boat 10 dys rtn, to El Calafate plane 2 hrs.

Chile route - Argentina to Puerto Natales bus 6 hrs.

Argentina route - Chile to Bariloche via Rio Gallegos, Commodoro Rivadavia Esquel bus 48 hrs, to Mendosa (out of Patagonia) bus 19 hours.


Perito Moreno is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world. It is 70M high and advancing at 2M a day. It is a visual and aural joy as massive lumps break of and crash into the river.


The Torres Del Paine are the tourist image for Chile. We camped in the park and climbed up to a famous viewing point. It was a really tough climb, the final hours spent clambering over boulders. Only to get there and it starts to rain. The photos show what we should have seen and what we saw.





















How to reduce Marilyn to tears of rage and frustration

Although we get on amazingly well considering we have been together nearly 24 hours a day for 4 months. There have been some moments!!

1. Tell her she has to pack yet more stuff in the rucksack that she cant lift or close. After she has spent 30 mins packing it.

2. Leave her 4900m up a mountain by herself with a radio, in cloud, because she cant get enough breath to do the final 100m to a refugio.

3. Tell her that it is safe to scramble down screed slope to save walking 50m and then watching her fall and rip her trousers. I was attacked with a woolly hat for this.

4. Ignoring her complaint that her shoes leak and taking a path through woods to a glacier that involves crossing icy mountain streams. The final straw was when she sunk into a peat bog.

5. Ignoring her complaint that her shoes leak and persuading her to spend 4 hours climbing in the rain across puddles and clay.

6. Ignoring her complaint that her shoes leak and suggesting we leave our shoes outside the inner tent when it pours with rain all night and leaves the shoes in a large puddle.