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!

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!