Monday, 31 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
Easter Island
Well, we were passing through - it would have been rude not to stop. The major attraction is the large number of Moai lying around - mostly on their backs.
There's also a few nice volcanic craters...
And a rugged (north Cornwall-like but with sharper rocks) coast with some nice restaurants with decent views...
We decided we needed a 4 x 4 to get around and thought that the £85 for 2 days wasn't too bad - until we discovered it didn't include insurance. It wasn't that insurance was extra - there wasn't any to be had on the island at all! It's quite a long time since I've driven around without any tax or insurance. And driving on the track they specifically recommended against (4-wheel drive definitely needed) without said insurance was a bit reckless.
The usual ridiculous number of photos here and here.
There's also a few nice volcanic craters...
And a rugged (north Cornwall-like but with sharper rocks) coast with some nice restaurants with decent views...
We decided we needed a 4 x 4 to get around and thought that the £85 for 2 days wasn't too bad - until we discovered it didn't include insurance. It wasn't that insurance was extra - there wasn't any to be had on the island at all! It's quite a long time since I've driven around without any tax or insurance. And driving on the track they specifically recommended against (4-wheel drive definitely needed) without said insurance was a bit reckless.
The usual ridiculous number of photos here and here.
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Monday, 17 December 2012
Iguazu Falls
Argentina moves further ahead in the South American natural wonders competition with Iguazu Falls...
In the worldwide waterfall competition though, it's a close fight with Victoria Falls. Iguazu is a clear winner in the visual presentation section with some excellent full frontal closeups...
...but it loses out in the power and glory (audio) section. At Victoria Falls you can feel the thunder through the ground as well as hearing it. (Both score nul points in the climate section being way over the maximum allowed temperature.) When the final scores are counted Victoria Falls wins narrowly.
We had to suffer for our sights though... There were two days of power cuts at our hostel = no lights, no air con and worst - no water.
The usual torrent of photos is here with another cascade here. And one or two right here...:
In the worldwide waterfall competition though, it's a close fight with Victoria Falls. Iguazu is a clear winner in the visual presentation section with some excellent full frontal closeups...
...but it loses out in the power and glory (audio) section. At Victoria Falls you can feel the thunder through the ground as well as hearing it. (Both score nul points in the climate section being way over the maximum allowed temperature.) When the final scores are counted Victoria Falls wins narrowly.
We had to suffer for our sights though... There were two days of power cuts at our hostel = no lights, no air con and worst - no water.
The usual torrent of photos is here with another cascade here. And one or two right here...:
Monday, 10 December 2012
Los Glaciares
So, who wins the battle of Patagonia? It's a close call - both Chile and Argentina have great mountains and walks but I think Argentina shades it because of the Perito Moreno glacier...
It's huge and stunning and bits keep falling off. There's lots of photos of it - and the rest of Los Glaciares national park - here and here.
Weather plays an important role down here and - once again - we were lucky. It was pissing down in El Calafate when we arrived but the weather forecast for El Chalten (trekking capital of Argentina apparently) was good so we cut our stay short (thank you Hainen Hostel for not charging us) and arrived as the sun came out after days of rain. Perfect weather for 3 days - then it started raining again as we left!
The first walk was the best...
A mere 10 miles. The second was the longest I've walked for about 45 years - 14 miles. Not as pretty as the first and too many people and flies.
The last day we took it easy - just about 3 miles. But very pleasant and peaceful. Spent at least an hour on an amazingly comfortable rock watching clouds evapourate.
Then back to El Calafate and a trip to the above-mentioned Perito Moreno glacier. It really was good. It was particularly spectacular when big bits fell off - sorry only one photo (and no videos) of bits falling - I wanted to watch!
It's huge and stunning and bits keep falling off. There's lots of photos of it - and the rest of Los Glaciares national park - here and here.
Weather plays an important role down here and - once again - we were lucky. It was pissing down in El Calafate when we arrived but the weather forecast for El Chalten (trekking capital of Argentina apparently) was good so we cut our stay short (thank you Hainen Hostel for not charging us) and arrived as the sun came out after days of rain. Perfect weather for 3 days - then it started raining again as we left!
The first walk was the best...
A mere 10 miles. The second was the longest I've walked for about 45 years - 14 miles. Not as pretty as the first and too many people and flies.
The last day we took it easy - just about 3 miles. But very pleasant and peaceful. Spent at least an hour on an amazingly comfortable rock watching clouds evapourate.
Then back to El Calafate and a trip to the above-mentioned Perito Moreno glacier. It really was good. It was particularly spectacular when big bits fell off - sorry only one photo (and no videos) of bits falling - I wanted to watch!
Torres del Paine
There can't be many places where you can go 3000 miles south and still be in the same country.
The weather's been pretty good so far but when we flew into Punta Arenas it was nearly freezing with pouring rain and a howling gale. We lucked out though - expecting to have to go into town and find a bus to Puerto Natales - we walked out of the terminal building to find one standing there! And it left a minute after we got on. Not bad.
The weather remained dismal the next day (and Monic didn't stop moaning about it) but the forecast was good so we went into the park the day after and were blessed with perfect weather. The walk was quite hard but there was a nice view at the far point...
...well, apart from those two old gits in the way. It all went pretty well, except for missing the bus back to Puerto Natales because we took too long on the walk!
We had to change hotels the next day but then had a second bite with a two-day hike to glacier Gray. Not the best of timing - last year an Israeli hiker burned his toilet paper and started a fire that trashed a seven mile stretch of forest (the bit we were walking). We had a bit of luck with the room in the refugio - four beds but no one else in room.
Glacier looked pretty good as well...
...but, again, you get us two. Lots of photos here. And even more here.
The weather's been pretty good so far but when we flew into Punta Arenas it was nearly freezing with pouring rain and a howling gale. We lucked out though - expecting to have to go into town and find a bus to Puerto Natales - we walked out of the terminal building to find one standing there! And it left a minute after we got on. Not bad.
The weather remained dismal the next day (and Monic didn't stop moaning about it) but the forecast was good so we went into the park the day after and were blessed with perfect weather. The walk was quite hard but there was a nice view at the far point...
...well, apart from those two old gits in the way. It all went pretty well, except for missing the bus back to Puerto Natales because we took too long on the walk!
We had to change hotels the next day but then had a second bite with a two-day hike to glacier Gray. Not the best of timing - last year an Israeli hiker burned his toilet paper and started a fire that trashed a seven mile stretch of forest (the bit we were walking). We had a bit of luck with the room in the refugio - four beds but no one else in room.
Glacier looked pretty good as well...
...but, again, you get us two. Lots of photos here. And even more here.
Monday, 3 December 2012
Lake District
Down near Puerto Montt is the region Chileans call the lake district. We've splashed out on a car and are driving around it. A green and pleasant land. Could be England except for the Lutheran churches...
And the penguins...
Oh yes, and the volcanoes...
As usual, an avalanche of photos here. And more here.
And the penguins...
Oh yes, and the volcanoes...
As usual, an avalanche of photos here. And more here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)