Topical news flash

Just browsing the BBC news website earlier and noticed a story about a set of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s descendants doing an exploration in the South Pole http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7836058.stm .  We actually stayed with these guys when we were in Punta Arenas in Chile back in November before we set off to Australia.  They were waiting for the weather to get a bit better so they could clear the runway of snow/ice in the Antarctic.  Seems like they made it in the end!

Some pics from the underwater Galapagos camera!

Just got the photos developed from the underwater camera we took to the Galapagos Islands.  Got some good shots out of it, so I thought I’d post them for all you to see!  As there’s a lot, I recon the best ones are…

• http://eadyadventures.com/?attachment_id=249 (Sea lion playing)
• http://eadyadventures.com/?attachment_id=248 (Sea lion attacking Dave)
• http://eadyadventures.com/?attachment_id=246 (Sea turtle)

Shark! (sleeping)

Speckled fish

Dory fish (we think)

Dave (in the jacuzzi?)

Dave with little fish

Fish

Dave giving the thumbs up!

Sea lion playing

Sea turtle

Sea turtle

Baby sea lion playing

Ouch!

Hello Mr Sea Lion!

Sea lions tugging a piece of rope being held by the capitan

Patagonia continued, Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, Chile

We have finally been able to upload some photos from the last couple of weeks!  I´m sure you can appreciate our efforts, as it sometimes takes approx 10 years to get them on here!!!

So… since the lovely ski-type town of El Calafate (one of the best places we have visited) we have moved on to Chile, which seems even colder!!!  Once again, it is beautiful down here.  We stayed in Puerto Natales for a couple of days and visited Torres del Paine National Park.  It´s like Scotland there, but with the added bonus of huge blue icebergs and crystal blue lakes.  Very pretty and not jam packed with tourists like many other national parks!  We went on a bus tour around the park with a few little hikes thrown in.  Thankfully they were little hikes, or we might have frozen solid!!

Then we had another little bus journey to Punta Arenas, which is the most southern most city (not town!) on mainland South America.  We wandered around yesterday and visited a cultural museum because it was pouring with rain!  Afterwards we wandered round a huge intricate graveyard.  Well actually I sheltered under a tin roof while Dave looked round in the pouring rain!  (There are some things I just can´t handle!!!).

Today we have had a fantastic morning.  We got up at 6am and got a boat across to Magdalena Island, which is a penguin reserve.  We saw loads of them and they were so cute.  Waddling along, swimming and sheltering in their holes in the ground!  Another highlight of a brilliant tour around South America.

Tomorrow we face a mammoth journey to Australia!  From here, with a few hour waits at various airports it will take approx 30 hours!!!  However, we are very much looking forward to it and I know some of you would shoot me if I were to complain!!!  So TTFN, will write Monday or Tuesday arvo!!!

Things we love about South America:

Friendly people, good weather (well above Patagonia anyway!), Pisco Sour, fantastic wildlife, many adventures to be had, easy to get around – people always willing to help (except maybe in Argentina ), cool mountains, rivers, deserts and lakes… and so much more!

Things we miss from England:

You lot (of course!), our pets, pie from the chip shop (Carly), PG tips (Carly), our umbrellas!, Branston pickle (Dave), cheddar cheese (both of us!).  So I think we will cope!

Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia

Southern Patagonia… a cold and windy place, at least it is at this time of year.  Although the weather seems changeable, at the moment as it was yesterday afternoon the sun is shining through the hole in the ozone and out of the wind it can seem a little warm.  Today we faced wind burn, sun burn, snow and rain, but we did go and visit the Moreno Glacier close to El Calafate.  Without all these conditions I doubt the glacier would actually exist, so it is just as well took with us our usual all weather proof gear and prepared to get cold!

The actual glacier is amazing!  It has a real blue hue to it, and is not at all as white as snow.  These blue tint is apparently the minerals from the rocks and it is what also makes the Lake Argentina, which the glacier flows into, so turquoise when the sun shines on it.  Also of note is the size of the glacier, at the lakes edge it is about 60m tall, but it actually covers a area greater than Buenos Aires, measuring 257 square kilometers.

We first got to see the glacier from a boat trip going up the northern edge of the glacier, which was good fun.  You get really close, but at that point the glacier seems quite static and although you get some good pictures there was not that much going on.  But later when we wandered along the balconies overlooking the glacier you really did get a fanatastic show.

Within minutes of arriving you could hearing creeking and cracking noises, and suddenly great chunks of ice and snow would fall off the edge of the glacier and into lake.  The sounds of the chunks hitting the water was loud enough too.  Then they’d be a large wave ripple out from where the ice hit the water.  We waited for ages for more to occur, and occasionally they did – apparently on some days nothing breaks off the glacier at all, so we were really pleased to have seem some action.

There’s loads of info on the glacier and we both thought it was really cool, so if you’re interested in that kind of stuff… here’s a link! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier

Dogs from Argentina

As a dog lover, I would like to tell you about some of the funny things I`ve noticed about dogs in Argentina.

... barking mad!

In Buenos Aires there are various dog parks.  It`s so funny.  In the morning people drop their dogs off at creche and go off to work.  So you can see areas of the park cordoned off for loads of dogs running around.  One person watches them all.  At one point he called over all the dogs and they all lay and sat around him.  It looked like he was reading them a story!!

In El Calafate there are a lot of stray dogs, but they look healthy and happy.  Last night one of them followed Dave and I back to our hotel.  It wouldn´t leave us and was very cute.  When we came inside you could see it waiting by the glass door for ages.  It`s really cold here, so when the receptionist wasn`t looking I ran over to it and let it into the porch to keep warm!  Hehehe probably the naughtiest thing I have ever done .  I feel brave!

Oooh and I saw a Westie in Buenos Aires.  I was so happy, haven`t seen one for a while!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We have been in Buenos Aires (with a bit of Uruguay thrown in) for the last few days. It`s a very nice city and seems quite European compared to all the other places we have been in South America.

There are loads of designer shops, but unfortunately our rucksacks (and funds!) are not sufficient enough for us to purchase a great deal!! It`s still fun to have a look around though. It seems to be permanently sunny here at approx 25 degrees, which is perfect for sitting outside cafes with a nice cup of tea (yes, I have finally found tea and they even put milk in it!!). It`s not too hot for walking everywhere which is nice. We did go on the tube a couple of times, which was very amusing. I must post the photo on here for you!

We have also been to see Evita`s grave. Sounds depressing, but it`s in this huge graveyard with the most intricate grave stones imaginable. There are a few art museums that you can pop into for free, which is cool. We are not particularly arty, but like to think that we know what the artists are thinking about. The area by the port is very nice. It reminds us of the London Docklands, with loads of nice restaurants along the river.

We went tangoing last night which was great fun! First of all we were given a lesson. I thought I would be better than Dave, but he seemed to pick it up remarkably quickly (begs the question of secret lessons??!!). We are going to try and remember it so we can show you at home! Then we had a really good dinner with some nice American people and watched the professionals do the tango. They were so good. Made me miss strictly come dancing a little bit I must say!

We were very surprised to hear that it is snowing in England in October – craziness! You`ll be pleased to know that we also head to the cold tomorrow in Patagonia (El Calafate).

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Yesterday we went over the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires to Uruguay.  A quick day trip on the fast boat, only took an hour each way, meant we got to see the smallest country in South America.

 

The little historic town with quaint little streets was a nice break from the busy metropolitan Buenos Aires.  Lots of little plazas and cafes line the cobbled streets, where really there is not much to do except see the old town walls, sit on the beach, drink teas and coffees and see the odd two roomed museum (granted some museums are interesting… but these were very very dull!).

Anyway, Uruguay seems nice and relaxing and it was good to visit another country… back for some Tango in Buenos Aires tonight though