Cape Horn, The End of the World, and Penguins!

Hola Amigos!
We achieved our goal of getting to the very end of the world on November 11, 2011 (an auspicious date no doubt) when we set foot on Cape Horn, Chile at the very tip of the southern hemisphere.  We took a cruise boat to get there and it was a real thrill to be able to land on this piece of rock and add our name into the book of souls who have been here at the Lighthouse.

Cape Horn, November 11, 2011

We landed very early in the morning (7:00am) and were able to walk around the trails for a bit. This place is very historic and there are plaques to Sir Charles Darwin, Sir Robert Scott, Sir Ernest Shackelton and others who were brave explorers to the end of the world and the Antarctic.  We met the lighthouse keeper and his family who lives here and we were able to revel in our suceess at getting to this very special place.  We had been travelling 131 days to get here and we made it safe and sound.

Johnny Walker and 600 Year Old Glacier Ice

The cruise ship we took out of Punta Arenas in Chile is called the Australis and it has 64 cabins.  It was a real pleasure to be able to travel to the Cape this way.  We met some absolutely wonderful people on this trip and there are too many stories to tell for this little blog.  Here we are on the shore drinking Johnny Walker with Glacier Ice that is 600 years old.  Even though it was 10:30 in the morning and I don't drink Scotch, I figured I would simply hunker down and give it a try.  It is actually not bad stuff at all - maybe it was the glacier ice that made it taste so good...

Magellenic Penguins Chile

No trip so far south to this part of the world would be complete without seeing Penguins and we had the thrill of getting this close to them in Zodiac boats.  We were not allowed to land on shore but we took the boats in as close as we could and the penguins didn't really seem to care if we were there or not. These are Magellanic penguins and they are very cute.  They were waddling around and swimming in the water right beside us.  It was just great to see real penugins in their natural habitat.

Cape Horn Chart from Australis

This is the chart that the Captain used to get us to Cape Horn.  We got up at 5:00am so that we could go to the Bridge and watch the arrival of the Horn before we took the Zodiacs over and landed on it.  This chart has an incredible amount of history to it now because it was auctioned off later that evening and our new friends from Germany are going to share it with us.  They have taken it to Germany to start with and we have promised to come and get it within two years.  They will then come to Canada to visit us and the chart will be shared by us forever.  Sort of like a time share but better. We can't wait to tell the whole story and share all the details.

We are now in Buenos Aires enjoying the last bit of our trip.  There probably won't be that many more blog posts as our trip starts to wind down and we prepare to come back to Winter and reality in Vancouver. Do keep your eyes peeled for our next updates as there will be some more posts and a final wrap up to finish the blog.
We hope all is very well with everyone as they prepare for the Holidays!
More to come,
Pat & Gary

Patagonia, Boats, Mountains, Glaciers and Wind

Hola Amigos!
We have just spent some time in Southern Patagonia on both the Chilean and Argentinian sides.  We have now crossed the Argentine and Chilean boarder 6 times and we are still not done yet.

Navimag Freighter Puerto Natales Chile

 We took the Navimag boat from Puerto Montt in Chile for 4 days down to Puerto Natales which is at 51 degrees latitude south.  It is a working cargo ship and we were 143 passengers for the trip.  We met some hilarious French folks along with some Slovenians who all became our new best friends for the trip.  We sailed through the beautiful Chilean fijords and saw some terrific scenery along with a humpback whale.  We sailed through the 49 parallel south and it is getting colder as we go down but we are chasing the Spring weather so everything has been fine so far. 

Mirador de Torres del Paine Chile

We went to the famous Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and stayed overnight for 2 nights.  We hiked up to the Mirador de Torres del Paine and we were lucky enough to see the towers at the top.  It was hailing near the top of the trail and it took us 7 hours to get to the top and back.  We experienced the Patagonian wind up close and personal.  People tell you about the wind, you hear about it, read about it and imagine it, but until you hike 7 hours in it you cannot know what this wind is all about.  There were times when we were blown backwards off the trial and at other times it blew so hard it was difficult to breathe!

Massif de Torres del Paine Chile

 Here we are in the Torres del Paine park looking at the Torres Massif mountain.  It is right beside the Cuernos de Torres which we saw as well.  There are active glaciers on this mountain and we heard the ice crack and saw a big huge chunk fall down while we were there.  We just loved the Park although we have to say that it is very very expensive to visit this part of the world.  The Southern part of Chile thinks it is Switzerland and the prices match - everything is at least 3-5 times more than what we have been paying so far. 

Perito Moreno Glacier El Calafate Argentina

We crossed over into El Calafate in Argentina to see the famous Perito Moreno glacier and did we ever luck out.  The sun came out just as we got there and we got to see it up close from a boat.  Sort of like the Maid of the Mist but with a huge glacier instead of a waterfall.  This is the 3rd biggest glacier in South America and it covers the same area as the city of Buenos Aires.  It is simply huge and it ranges from 40 to 70 metres in height.  It is difficult to imagine the scale of it.  The blue ice was simply beautiful and the shapes are just like something out of the movie Superman.  We heard the ice moving and saw some little pieces calve off.


We will now continue to move south and head for Ushuaia in Argentina which is considered the end of the world.
Much more to come
Salud,
Pat and Gary 

Bariloche Argentina

Hola Buenas Dias,
Here are some photos from what we have been up to lately.

Cerro Campanario Bariloche

We spent two wonderful weeks in Bariloche Argentina.  It is normally a very beautiful place but right now the area is suffering from the ash (ceniza in Spanish) that is still spewing from a volcano in Chile about 40 kms from here.  We have been very selective in our photos because as long as the wind was blowing the right way we were able to see and breathe.  The ash dust is very fine and it gets into absolutely everything making it difficult to see and breathe when the wind picks up.  Since Bariloche is  considered the official northern beginning of Patagonia there is most definitely wind around and it certainly is a challenge for the folks living here.

Refugio Frey 

As you can see in this photo we did get clear skies at a place called Refugio Frey which is well away from any volcano ash and in a very beautiful spot right behind the Catedral skiing area.  We rented sleeping bags and hiked up for 4 hours to get to the refugio where we stayed overnight.  Since it is Spring here we did hit some snow for the last half hour of our hike.  Our super duper running shoes got a bit of a workout and I did manage to fall through some snow that came all the way up to my thigh at one point but we made it and had a great time staying overnight. Gary looks very much like a mountain man here and he has the stubble to match.

Refugio Frey Patagonia Argentina

Juan and Sebastian are the two caretakers that work at the refugio and they both worked at Whistler as ski instructors two years ago. Juan made the best pizza we have had in Argentina and we just had a hoot chatting with these guys who are living the dream in an Alpine hut in Argentina.  The altitude here is 1811 metres but what was really amazing was the famous Patagonia wind which we felt for the first time.  It certainly is a force to be reckoned with especially at 3:00 am when you have to go outside to the bathroom.  

Volcano Osorno Chile

We left Bariloche via the Cruce de Lagos trip which takes you by bus and boat and bus and boat and yet another bus and boat combo into Puerto Varas Chile. We saw beautiful lakes and mountains on the way but the highlight was this volcano which is the Osorno Volcano in Chile.  It is a perfect cone and we were very lucky to see it.  You can ski here in the winter but now all you can do is gaze upon its loveliness. 

We are looking forward to getting onto a cargo freighter in Puerto Montt Chile that will take us all the way down to Puerto Natales in the south.  We are getting ready to see glaciers and penguins in the next little bit as we move to the southern degrees of latitude.

Much more to come! 

Pat and Gary