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From Montana to the End of the World!

By : Julia Kocubinski
Trip Begins March 26, 2006
Trip Ends April 8, 2006

Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn, Torres del Paine, Ushuaia, Perito Moreno Glacier ... back to Buenos Aires for a Tango show! An unforgettable two-week adventure!
See my photos : Argentina Adventures

Want to go? Pure Patagonia, End of the World, M/V Mare Australis, M/V Via Australis, Patagonia Panorama

I went to: Chile, Argentina, Patagonia
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March 26, 2006
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Exlpore Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina

After more than 24 hours of flying, my friend Frankie and I finally arrived in Buenos Aires. Sadly, our luggage never made it out of Denver, so we were stuck with the clothes on our back and the few things we had in our daypacks. Our flight was a few hours late getting out of the states, so by the time we arrived, we had already missed our city tour. I called our local office to let them know we were late, and we got a taxi at the taxi stand and headed into the city. Once we got checked into the Park Chateau Kempinski in the Recoleta district, we got out and wandered around the city. We walked and walked, seeing as much as we could with our free afternoon. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, the people so nice, and we both felt really comfortable walking around. After dinner we crashed hard in our comfortable room.

March 27, 2006
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Off to Iguazu

Iguazu, Argentina

We woke early this morning, had a delicious breakfast, and were picked up for our transfer to the airport for our flight to Iguazu Falls. Unfortunately, after we arrived at the airport, we found out our flight was delayed a couple hours. When we finally arrived into Iguazu, our local guide was waiting for us with a sign with our name and a smile. Since we were late getting in, we just went straight to the falls from the airport to begin our tour. It was just the two of us with our guide so we could ask all the questions we wanted, and took as many pictures as possible. Devil's Throat Canyon was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. I could not believe the incredible amount of water that was flowing into the canyon! After walking around the upper falls, we boarded a huge military-style truck and drove down the river. We embarked on a rubber jet boat to fly upriver back to the falls. What an amazing experience this was! We got to take some pictures of the falls, then had to put the cameras away before getting completely soaked under the falls. After the boat trip, we met back up with our guide and went to our hotel, which was on the edge of Iguazu town. We were completely soaked, and had to get some other clothes to wear. We bought some dry pants and ate a delicious steak at "the best restaurant in town."

March 28, 2006
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Ushuaia

Ushuaia, Argentina

Today was Frankie's birthday, but unfortunately, most of our day was spent either in the airport or in an airplane. We flew from Iguazu to Buenos Aires this morning, then had a couple hours in the airport there. They assured us our luggage was on the plane (finally!) and we headed off to Ushuaia. When we arrived, our luggage still did not. Apparently, they had taken it back off the plane for security reasons. Still not sure why we were having such a hard time with the luggage, but we were certainly ready for some different clothes. After we checked into the Hosteria Linares, and chatted with Julio, the owner/manager of the little hotel, we set off for a fun birthday dinner down by the water. It was almost 10 pm by the time we ate, but the lobster dinner was well worth the wait!

March 29, 2006
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Tierra del Fuego National Park

Ushuaia, Argentina

Today we woke early to explore Ushuaia a little before setting off for our adventure in Tierra del Fuego National Park.

March 30, 2006
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Cape Horn

Cape Horn, Chile

We woke early this morning to visit Cape Horn. They took us out in zodiacs to the dock and let us loose for a few hours. I climbed the stairs and walked on the walk way all the way to the monument of the end of the world. After some amazing pictures of the sun rising, I also spent some time wandering around the little village at cape horn. There is a little chapel, and couple cabins, and a few people that do live there year round.

We headed back to the boat, and since the weather was cooperating, the captain took us around to the south of Cape Horn to get another angle of the end of the world. I met another older gentleman from Spain, who was leading a group of French travelers around Patagonia. After a rough Spanish conversation, he told me he spoke English, but wanted me to practice! He had been a guide for years, and seemed to really enjoy his life traveling around.

Breakfast was served buffet-style, with plenty of options for everyone on board. After a lecture about the history of the area and information on Wulaia Bay, we had a little downtime to wander around the boat before lunch.

March 31, 2006
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Glaciers Up Close

Pia Glacier, Chile

This morning we woke to breakfast and a day of traveling. Since we didn't have any landings this morning, I spent some time getting to know more of the other passengers, and spent some time talking with some of the expedition crew and staff on the ship. It was very interesting to hear about their lives. Most of them spend 9 months of the year on the Mare Australis, with only a few hours off each week. In the afternoon, we were able to get off the boat again but stayed on the zodiacs. We visited the Piloto and Nina Glaciers. The glaciers were so beautiful. I had never been so close to such a massive piece of ice before. You could feel the temperature drop with every second we got nearer to the glacier.

Since this was our last evening on the boat, everyone gathered for an appetizer and pico sours with the captain. Dinner was a feast and we spent most of the rest of the evening with our fellow travelers and crew.

April 1, 2006
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Magdalena Island

Punta Arenas, Chile

We woke early today to visit Magdalena Island and the penguin colony. The water was pretty rough today, and it was pretty tough getting on and off the island. The penguins looked mighty cold this morning, but I am guessing they are used to the cold Patagonia winds. We disembarked in the late morning in Punta Arenas. After getting to our hotel, located right on the plaza, we settled in for the afternoon. It was pouring rain, so we pretty much just watched TV and relaxed. We walked around the plaza and throughout the town, and found a nice little place to eat dinner.

April 2, 2006
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Torres del Paine and EcoCamp

Las Torres EcoCamp, Chile

This morning was much nicer than the day before. The sun was back out again, and we had a few hours to wander the town in the morning before our pickup to Torres del Paine National Park. After the van picked us up, we picked up a guy from Brazil, and a couple from Australia. We met our guide, Armando, a few hours later in Puerto Natales where we had lunch. On the way to the park, Armando took us to the Milodon cave, a HUGE cave located on the way to the park. He explained to us how the mountains were formed in that area, and how the ocean waves had washed away the earth to create the cave. Another couple hours and we were in the park. What a sight! As we approached, you could see the towers appear in the distance. We arrived right after sunset and settled into EcoCamp. This was by far the coolest place I had ever stayed. We were in a canvas dome, with windows, and comfortable beds with fleece sheets! After we settled in, Frankie and I met the group and our guide in the main dome where we had a delicious dinner, and another pisco sour.

April 3, 2006
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Grey Glacier

Las Torres EcoCamp, Chile

After a good night sleep, we woke to a hot breakfast, made our lunches and headed off to the other end of the park. We had all morning to explore along the way to the Grey Glacier. We hiked to a high overlook where we could see the whole park. It was a beautiful day, but there were clouds all around the cuernos and the towers. The clouds parted for a few minutes, just enough to get some pictures. Armando was born and raised in Patagonia. You could really tell how much he loved his home and how much it meant to hom to be able to share Patagonia with us. In the afternoon, we all boarded a boat that took us to the end of Lago Grey, and approached the Grey Glacier. The glacier was such an incredible blue! I saw a few people I had met on the Mare Australis on the Grey Glacier excursion. They were staying at one of the lodges in the park, and were also having a great time.

April 4, 2006
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Torres del Paine

Las Torres EcoCamp, Chile

Today we rose early to get ready for the hike up to the towers. Unfortunately, it had snowed in the night, and Armando thought it would be too dangerous to try to hike on the wet and snowy rocks. I was pretty disappointed, but considering how cloudy and cold it was, there was a good chance we would have hiked up all that way to see nothing. Instead, today we went to some other parts of the park, did some short hikes, and saw a few more waterfalls and lakes. Around mid-morning, Armando spotted some birds circling around overhead. He got really excited, thinking that perhaps there had been a puma kill the night before. Since the birds were around, he explained that the puma was probably gone, but we were going to go looking just in case. It was in fact gone, and we found what the birds were after -- a small guanaco. We kept seeing packs of guanacos, all looking quite skiddish from the night before. Even though we couldn't do the hike to the towers, today was a pretty fun and exciting day. I really feel like I saw a lot of the park in just two days, and next time I come back, I definitely want to do the W hike!

April 5, 2006
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Back to Argentina

El Calafate, Argentina

This morning we woke too early to say to drive from EcoCamp to Puerto Natales to catch a bus to El Calafate. Even with a quick stop to change a flat tire, we made it in time for our early morning bus. We had to go through a quick customs check at the border, and made it to El Calafate by early afternoon. From the bus station we transfered to our hotel for the next couple nights, El Galpon del Glacier (formerly Estancia Alice). In the afternoon Frankie and I explored around the old sheep farm, walked with our guide, and had the opportunity to see the sheep farming presentations. Growing up in rural Montana, Frankie and I were both familiar with farm life, but it was quite interesting to see how it was all done in the southern hemisphere.

Dinner that night was filled with tons of food, and all kinds of meat. It was a traditional Argentine barbeque! They also had a tango dance presentation for us to enjoy. The whole thing was a little more touristy than I am used to, but hey, I am a tourist!

April 6, 2006
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Perito Moreno Glacier

El Calafate, Argentina

We woke this morning and boarded a bus to the Perito Moreno Glacier. We entered the park, and our guide gave us some quick instruction, then sent us out on our own to discover one of the largest glaciers in the world! It was HUGE!! I couldn't believe how wide and tall it was. It was calving and making all sorts of noises. After a couple hours wandering around the walkways at the viewing area, we boarded a boat to cross Lago Argentina. At the other side, we broke up into small groups and put on cramp-ons to begin our trek across the glacier! It was raining and cold, but what an experience. We walked with our guide all in line for about an hour, then stopped to watch him climb up an ice cliff with pick-axes. After a while longer, we headed back to the bus, completely freezing and soaking wet. It took a while to warm up from the cold rain, but after a good warm meal, we felt human again. I wish I had brought rain pants with me!! Otherwise, today was an incredible day.

April 7, 2006
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Back to Buenos Aires and a Tango Show!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

This morning Frankie and I had a delicious breakfast at the Estancia, and then headed to the airport for our flight back to Buenos Aires. We spent the afternoon exploring the city, and then met with Ignacio from our local office for a dinner and tango show. It was kind of touristy, but really fun to see the show. Dinner was excellent, the dancing entertaining, and fun company. I couldn't imagine spending two weeks in Argentina and Chile and not seeing at least one tango show.

April 8, 2006
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One last day in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We woke this morning and decided to explore a few new parts of Buenos Aires. We took a taxi to La Boca, probably the most colorful part of any city I have ever seen. The buildings were beautiful, full of reds, pinks, yellows greens. There were artists everywhere, people dancing on the streets, and tons of tourists! Definitely worth seeing, but you have to take a taxi right to La Boca. We wandered even just a block or two away from this beautiful street, but it really didn't feel like a safe place for us to be wandering. In the afternoon we wandered in the Recoleta district, had a good Italian dinner and then headed to the airport for our 30 hours of traveling that we had ahead. A long and fantastic vacation! We did a lot and got to see so much. I just hope that I can get back to do some trekking in Torres del Paine, or to spend some more time exploring the very different and fun neighborhoods of Buenos Aires.

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