Fishing in Hansel and Gretel land

Persuaded Marilyn that we should spend a full day (13 hours) on a very expensive fly fishing trip. Just the two of us and an expert fishing guide. The trick was to provisionally arrange hire of bikes and a tent for a 60KM trip - she jumped at the fishing alternative.

Of course fly fishing is a gentleman´s sport and it is important to look cool at all times.

Bariloche is in the heart of the Argentinian lake district, northern Patagonia, surrounded by lakes, snow capped mountains and forests.  All very, very beautiful. Bareloche itself is touristy packed with holiday making Argentinians. As well as the usual bars, cafes and resturatents there are masses of chocolate shops, some like cathedrals.

How to reduce Marilyn to tears of rage and frustration (continued).

7. Taking note that her shoes leak, take her to the top of one of the driest mountains by cable car. Then get lost on the way down so we end up on the wrong side of the mountain and have to walk all the way back up and down the other side. Then taking a short cut through a pine forest down the dustiest tracks imagainable that blow great clouds of dirt everytime you take a step. Took 5 hours to get back to civilisation. 

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.

Sun, sand, sea and swimming in Antarctica

¨What would you like me to rub as I go down¨ - Marilyn Mackley 1.30 am, to a crew member polishing the stairs









Swimming off the beach. A second swim next to an iceberg was cancelled when a Leopard Seal surfaced

Drake´s Passage is nature´s barrier to tourism in Antarctica. It takes at least 48 hours to cross one of the most violent stretches of water in the world. We saw both extremes, a dream crossing and nightmare return. We hit a force 10 storm with 15 metre high waves hitting the ship from the side. apparently this is really unusual and despite being built for the Antarctic the boat struggled under the onslaught. There was the constant sound of breaking crockery from the galley, furniture and people where thrown from one side of the ship to the other. A wave smashed a window on the third deck flooding several cabins and setting off all sorts of alarms. During one breakfast the whole buffet shot onto the floor. At another someone was knocked out and was treated by the ship´s doctor while he threw up into a sick bag. By drugging ourselves to the eyeballs Marilyn and I managed to ward off sea sickness and where able to enjoy the drama - we even learnt Texas hold´ em poker

It is impossible to find the words to describe Antarctica. It is such an awesome, alien and beautiful place. There is nothing to compare it to.

We where incredibly lucky with the weather. Where it is normally grey and misty we had sun and cloudless blue skies. Some days were actually warm but we had one tremendous blizzard that gave us a taste of Antarctica´s normal behavior

The wildlife is equally spectacular with massive penguin colonies, sea birds including lots of albatrosses, whales and seals . It is impossible to watch penguins without a broad smile on your face.

The boat was perfect. With just 74 passengers so we had lots of time on shore (no more than a hundred people are allowed on shore at a time). The food was amazing and there was so much free booze we had to leave behind the 5 litres of wine we had smuggled on board. But best of all was the dining room, high at the stern of the ship with picture windows all round. At nearly every meal someone would spot a whale and a cheer would go up when it dived and we saw its tail. The captain had an open bridge policy, even at times when things were getting complicated, which meant you got great views.

The 24 hours daylight affected everyone and there where several impromptu all night parties.

Like everywhere else we have been on this trip. Antarctica is under threat. Not only from global warming but also from tourism which is increasing rapidly. The Antarctic Treaty helps control its impact but it is voluntary with no teeth. Increasingly rogue boats are coming to and damaging Antarctica. A guy at a British Base said that there is a Ukrainian boat operating without control this season and last season the Russian Mafia chartered a boat to tour Antarctica - I guess no-one stopped them if they wanted to take a few penguins home. Even with our trip, which was well managed, you could tell that we where affecting wildlife because people cant help trying to get closer for that perfect shot.
We feel truly privileged to have had this opportunity

Thats it then - the end of the world ( and other stuff)

Not recommended - 12 hours on an old bus from 9am to 9pm. Sitting next to the toilets right at the back so you feel every stone and hole. Especially when 6 hours is spent on unmade roads. However if you book your ticket 20 mins before the bus leaves in peak holiday season , you have no choice.

It was an interesting trip though. Across the plains of Patagonia and a ferry across the Magellan straights. Then into Argentina and on to Ushuaia (`at the end of the world`). The weather changes every few minutes here from hot sun through rain to snow but it is nearly always windy. It stays light nearly 24 hours and the sun is still bright at 10pm. It is very strange living in 24 sunlight. You tend to eat and go to bed later and later

Tierra del Fuego was so named because of all the fires seen by Magellan. The Indigenous people used fire to keep warm and even kept fires going in their canoes. They didn`t wear clothes because they were no use in a cold and very wet environment. The Yaghan people around Ushuaia, were very successful and in tune with the land before Europeans came. First the whalers slaughter the seals that were their main diet. Then the Christians came and told them they must wear clothes. This made them unhealthy and susceptible to the European diseases such as measles that completely wiped them out. All in about 80 years

We have travelled nearly 6000 kilometres since Quito in Ecuador and done the equivalent of almost 10 whole days on buses. It has been a fantastic trip so far. We have been incredibly lucky getting last minute deals for things you are supposed to book months ahead - Galapagos, Machu Pichu trail, Easter Island and now a cruise to the Antarctic.

Dogs, supermarkets and people

1. An overriding memory of S America will be stray dogs. It is overrun by them. They howl at night and chase cars during the day. When people leave their rubbish out they have to tie it in trees so all the towns look as if there has been a great flood

2. Every supermarket (and church) has at least one beggar and dog outside. Not together you understand but begging in their own specialised ways.

3. In Chile supermarkets have 10 items or less aisles. But the people translate this tightly controlled rule as - you turn up with your trolley full of stuff and then put it through the checkout and pay for it at 10 items a time

4. No one takes any notice of gringos in supermarkets. I was so excited at finding bacon that I pulled the machine which gives you your turn number off the wall. The numbers unrolled all the way down an aisle. I had to go and roll it up again. No-one took any notice. People continued to wheel their trolleys over the strip as if nothing had happened. I think I am the only one who found it unusual or funny

5. Most people get robbed or ripped off in S America at some time. A favorite is to give gringos fake money. Yesterday an Aussie told us how he was given a fake 100 Peso note at the border. but he managed to palm it off in a shop. The following morning he was so hung over that he went back into the shop where they recognised him and insisted on real money. They wouldn't give him his fake one back either

6. Their are different characteristics between the nationalities traveling in S America. Brits, Dutch and Aussie go around in couples. Canadians travel by themselves. Germans travel in groups of 4 or more. French in organised tours. Americans almost non-existent or keep apologising for Bush. Individually Israelis are delightful but en-mass they are awful. Loud, noisy, pushy and oblivious to anyone else. They are all young people just out of the army so I suppose it is understandable. However, many people, including us, will ask whether there is a group of Isralies in a Hostal or on a tour and go somewhere else if the answer is yes