Happy Birthday to me!

Time zones are a confusing thing, so while it may be my birthday in my happy homeland of Oz, I have another two days until I land into the 16th May, and turn another year older.

But why let these little facts get in the way of some cool achievements. One, I made it past 30 as my mother vowed I never would. But also a group of us climbed a mountain called Pitchincha, just on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador capital city, at an imposing 4800 metres high today.

Quito sits at 2,800 metres above sea level, and we hopped on a cable car that took us a to a further height of 4,100 metres. The views of the city were amazing, and unfortunately no pictures could pay justice to the vista, nor could that crappy disposible camera I have had to revert to for capturing my memories!

From there we started on our trek. Ben wanted to get some altitude for a trek he plans on attempting in the coming days. While Hanna, Leon and I tagged along for the ride.

It was quite the challenge, but hey I am a seasoned walker now, all the way from the Inca trail, Machu Pichu...NOT! Perhaps not entirely prepared for the weather changes we started out with a spring in our step (well the others did anyway). Soon enough we were high above the clouds and even higher that the planes flying into Quito airport.

Some of the passes to the summit were rocky outcrops, with steep drops below. I suffered a little virtigo towards the end, and from that point on, with the altitude and tiredness bundled into one, I got a little nervous. The clouds were rushing past and below us dampening our clothes and chilling our bones, but we pushed on.

Not far from the peak I was really starting to feel the cold, and all I had on was a pair of shorts and my fleece. My hands were so swollen, but not that I could feel them! They were purple and every rock face I grabbed to haul myself to the next level felt like needles in my palms. For my own saftey I thought is best to stop while the boys headed another 5 minutes up to the top.

I huddled behind a rock while they went off to touch the top. It was freezing cold sitting there but I figure it should be ideal preparation for the UK.

In comparison the trek back was a walk in the park, but now I look forward to a decent shower...Oh sorry this is South America, there is no such thing as shower to be savoured! They are all electric and cold!

When I land at Frankfurt it will be the evening of the 16th (for me anyway). So I´ll see if I can´t russle up me some fun.

Thank you everyone for my birthday wishes!

On the road again!

From: Trudy Parker
Date: May 13, 2007 12:45 PM

Hi Mum,

Just got into Quito this morning, Sunday at about 6am, after leaving Lima on Friday at 2pm!
Happy I am here. Will be happier in the next few days when I hop on that plane. Apparently it is raining lots in England!

Quito is at quite a high altitude, so I am feeling a little tired atm.

I realised I needed to get a stamp on my NEW passport before leaving Lima, but I only picked up my passport on Friday, midday, and then immigration in Lima is crazy (so I did make an attempt and go in and line up, but I was running out of time it was 1pm by then and hadnt packed my bag) so I thought, bugger it...I dont want to stay here another day, I am getting on that bus come hell or high water. So I took the risk that I might encounter a delay while crossing the border.

On the trip up the bus nearly left with two of us...again! They dont count the people, and plus people need to stretch their legs and clean their trip on such long trips.

And then on the bus, a man stole a ladies bag, and from what I could understand it had a laptop in it. And I thought those buses were safer than the local ones. We had to stop for about an hour while customs officials and police assessed the situation. Essentially it was a bloody waste of time. And I doubt we would see them do that for a traveller.

And then I get to the Peruvian border, and apparently there is a problem with the fact that I do not have a stamp in my new passport, so I had to go into an office and ´discuss´ it. I had to pay an unadvertised fee just to get the stamp....so read into that what you will, my first bribe! It was only 4 US$. Lucky I had money on me, because they have a denomination called soles in Peru, and I had gotten rid of all that cash cause you get a crap exchange rate.

So anyway I finally get to Ecuador, a place call Guayquil at about 8pm on Saturday night, which is not a very nice place, I just wanted to get on a bus to Quito. I get a cab from the bus terminal we were dropped at, and this Israeli guy mooches in on my ride. I had negotiated 5 US$ and then he asks to go to a different terminal for 1US$ more, so we were going to drop me off first and then him, but the cab driver gets it all wrong, and drops him off first, and the Israeli has no change, and someone stole his shoes while I was telling him which bus he needed to get to! So I said just leave before you lose anything else.

And then when I get to my bus terminal I pay the taxi driver, and I give him my 5 bucks and he says where is the other 1$ dollar and I said, I told you he was not my friend I was not going to pay for him, and 5 bucks is too much for where you took me anyway, I am not paying anymore. And so the security guard at my bus terminal said to the cab driver I was right, so I went inside and bought my ticket.

I return to the bus company I came down with from Quito, but this time around the bus is a real crappy one, just like the one I got robbed in. So I have my bag tied to the seat and resting on my lap all the way! hahaha,

In the middle of the night we get stopped and we all have to get out of the bus for customs officials to check our identification. I was really cranky because when you get taken off the bus like that anything else can happen, you get all sorts of bad people hanging around those areas. Plus if you were to leave your bag on the bus, customs may be inclined to steal from it. It was an unessessary procedure, we werent even near a border.

But anyway after a cold and bumpy ride I am here in Quito! Today I am just going to do a few chores, like washing clothes and shopping and thinking about how in the hell I am going to pack my bag in the coming days!

Say hi to everyone, take care.
Love trudy

Oh! yes it has been...

On Sat, 5 May 2007 07:00:00 UT, Doctor Dictionary wrote:

Word of the Day for Saturday, May 5, 2007
moil \MOYL\, intransitive verb:
1. To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge.2. To churn or swirl about continuously.3. Toil; hard work; drudgery.4. Confusion; turmoil.

getting my priorities right

On 5/9/07, Trudy Parker wrote:
Hey,

Now first things first....are pointy shoes in fashion over there. as I saw the cutest pair of short boots to go with my brown leather jacket.

Just got word that my passport is ready! yehaa, but the british embassy want to charge me 410 US $ for the bloody privilege, OUCH!

I will get that sorted tomorrow. so great news!

1+1= ZERO!

On 5/8/07, Trudy Parker wrote:
Hiya!

I did a bit of sight seeing today...I have sore feet!
I would love to say that it all went like clockwork today. The low dow is as follows:

The bad news -
The friggin Australia Embassy still has problems with their systems, hence my passport was not issued today. I dont even know if I can get it tomorrow! But the lady is working back tonight. Fingers crossed. She will email me, as of now it is 8pm, and I have not heard from her this must OBVIOUSLY mean she is pulling an all nighter....for me?#$¿?%$¿

The good news -
The Bristish Embassy can process my visa by Thursday! That is if I have it into them by 11am tomorrow morning.

hmmmm, perhaps a slight logistical challenge

The best news -
I am gonna see if I can paraglide over Limas beach tomorrow!

So I am really hoping that the Australian Embassy will get my passport to me at some point tomorrow or Wednesday, and then if I extrapolate using the current timings.....that means I will have my visa by Friday morning, and I will be on the bus that afternoon...hopefully.

We will get there eventually.

Stay tuned......

Update from the Australian Embassy

On 5/9/07, Australian Embassy wrote:

Dear Trudy,
This is to let you know that our system throughout the Americas is still down. We are managing to issue some very urgent passports and yours is on the list. I will let you know as soon as is is ready.
Cheers,

Word about reissuing my working holiday visa

On 5/8/07, Visa.Lima wrote:
Dear Trudy,

I received the answer from Canberra, we can re-issue your visa but you will need to pay again for the visa, S/. 1,300 soles and put the stamp on your temporary 7 months passport. We will aslo need a copy of the police report.

If you come tomorrow morning Wednesday 9 May, your visa could be ready on Thursdays at 11.30 am

Regards,

Nearly didn´t get to Lima

While on the way down to Lima, we stop for a customs check, they didn´t tell us how long this stop would take (they never bloody do). And while I am in the bathroom freshening up...the bus leaves!

I walk out with the bus no where in sight. And then this fellow runs up to me, and says ´¿Ormenos?´ And I see the bus is about 100 metres up ahead. Luckily I was travelling with someone who knew I was on the bus. Goodness know what would have happened.

I´d be up a very shyty creek I suppose...

Comedy of errors

On 5/4/07, Trudy Parker
Hello All and Sundry!

Thought I would give you an (albeit long winded) update on the passport application dramas.
Goodness knows how much I have told each one of you, but essentially I am still in Quito, Ecuador and I gotta travel to Peru, where there is an Australian Embassy. God damn bureaucracy.

Well, what a comedy of errors it has been.
I looked at the timeline and thought, jesus Im gonna have to fly, 500 US bucks!
So anyway I secured a seat, went to the canadian embassy and was reading through the document I need to travel with and there is a typo! So I have to fill out the application form AGAIN, and I started to get upset cause I realised that I can only take out X dollars per day and the stupid travel agent only had a bloody prehistoric carbon copy machine that takes credit cards only....so I counldnt use my debit card.
So the lady at the canadian embassy calls the Australian Embassy and they find out that the ONLY person who processes the documentation in Lima is sick. So I would have flown down Thursday night, got to Lima at 1am in the morning (via Bogata, Columbia I might add!) And then potentially find that no one can do anything. So I decide cause it is the weekend, and I cant do any bloody thing to get off this continent that I might as well save some money (cause I still dont know how much the insurance company will cover) and catch the bus down on Friday night (and to boot the documentation was not ready for Thursday afternoon).

So I leave tonight for Guayquil, and then I´ll sit in the bloody Ormenos bus terminal for about 7hours before the direct bus to Lima leaves. That will get me there Sunday afternoon. Hopefully I will go to the embassy first thing monday morning and they can turn it around in the day or 24hours. While I am waiting I will go and find out from the British embassy in Lima how long it will take to process a reissue of my visa, and that will determine if I come straight back and apply in Quito for my visa (given I am leaving on the 15th) or wait in Lima (I´ll see if I am having any fun there lol). So depending on the time frames I will try and bring my flight forward...but I couldn´t get on a flight to Frankfurt before the 15th, given I asked to leave the country around the 11th. So maybe not.

And to boot I was chating with one of the girls in the hostel and she said have you gone to immigration yet....cause remembering I have lost my entry/exit slip, so bloody lucky she says something, cause could you imagine if I lobbed up at the boarder without a stamp or aknowledgement of when I entered the country....Oh there´d be tears lol

So while I will be in transit on my birthday, its a Thursday...... I´ll be in London for the weekend! yeeehaaa! (I have to look on ther bright side hehehehe)

Last night I went to the movies, notes on a scandel was the movie, a good one, it was nice to think about something other than this whole bull shyt.

People have been really amazing, and I think that is what keeps me in high spirits, plus that I´ll be in London soon! It wont be long I gotta remember. and it is a true test of my mettle. I have daydreams of giving a big karate kick to any Sth American who dares cross me hahahaha.

Take care all
Trudy

The kindness of strangers

On 5/3/07, Trudy Parker wrote:

Thank A so much for this, it really is a load off my mind that he is taking care of it. If only we could sort the monkeys out at HSBC cause that is like 10 grand! lol

The card got stolen on the 26th of April, so all transactions after this point should be treated as fraudulent and reversed. I cant remember when the last time I used my credit card. Hmmm It was such a long time ago. But I do have direct debits coming out...

Great news that you guys are already underway with the birth certificate, how much did it cost?

I have already contacted the RTA, and they have sent forms through, I just need to wait until I get into London for that one.

As for my bank accounts, that can wait a week or so.

ps the latest is that I still need to go to Lima, but my paperwork to get me in the country has been sorted. I am going to check the finer details of my policy to see how much money I can use to reclaim stolen documentation because it would be great to fly down, but bloody expensive with the airport taxes and cab rides etc. I dont really want to go by bus but...

People have been so wonderful, from plying me with alternatives and information, buying me a beer lol to giving me their email addresses to talk if I having a crap day, and others offering to party with me if I remain here for my birthday. So with things moving as they are, the situation is definately manageable. There have been some positives out of all of this.

Thanks again for you help and support.
Trudy
xxxx

The leg work back home commences

On 5/2/07, Belinda Miranda wrote:

I need to know when you made your last transaction on your credit card?

A said the donkeys at the department you phoned have absolutely no access to your charges because they canceled everything and they should have just put a hold on the statement and A said that it also means you won't receive a statement so we can verify what charges.

So if you can tell me the date from when you want to claim all charges I can phone and get this put through

All braun...

While filing the Police report, the person responsible for the area ´suggested´ I get myself a Latino boyfriend (such as him) for the duration of my stay in Sth America. Hmmm whats the chance I end up with only the clothes on my back after a dinner?

The shyt fight begins

from

Trudy Parker
Apr 30
to

Wylie Fan

date
Apr 30, 2007 7:30 PM

subject
The low down

mailed-by
gmail.com

Here is the low down, a couple of combined emails to Col and Marty etc....

I think I got done on the bus, they are pretty skilled at it in Ecuador apparently. The whole sequence of events now that I recall back were a little suss. And there was a moment that the bus stopped at a petrol station, the guys we were traveling with and Georgie were asleep, about 9pm, and I needed to go to the bathroom. So I picked up my bag and went to the toilet. I let the driver know I was going to the bathroom, and the area was well lit, but as I was coming out the guy who I think was involved came out to the bathroom just after I had walked out. Goodness knows what may have happened if I was still in the bathroom. You can take every precaution in the world, but sometimes its just not enough.

The reality of everything just accumulated with me yesterday, and I slept for the better part of the afternoon, evening and this morning. I feel like I have been in a train wreak, emotionally and physically exhausted.

Quito the capital of Ecuador is pretty dangerous, in the evening we need to take cabs everywhere, even just two blocks. There are tonnes of dead beats around. Beggers, and people just out for trouble. Where we are staying is meant to be the ´better´part of town too.

Sadly I will have to have my birthday here, I think, and thats a bummer.
Georgie did some research esp after my passport got stolen, and apparently I just needed to have applied for a working visa BEFORE I turned 31. So I hope that all goes well.

So yeah they stole all my documentation and racked up $14,000 on my credit cards. I dont know how the $14,000 grand will work, hopefully it will get covered by insurance or the banks. I have a police report (albeit in spanish! lol)

Today I went to try and change my tickets and after three hours and 300 american dollars the only available flights are right over my friggin birthday.

I told Georgie to go ahead to London, because unfortunately the canadian embassy here in Ecuador can not issue a passport, only documentation to get me to Peru or Chile to obtain my passport from there. Its not fair that she fart around with me here in Sth America, she can focus on getting settled in London, which benefits me too.

And to boot after Lan Chile fecked around for so long reissuing tickets, I couldnt get to the embassy for my papers to get me into Peru, and tomorrow is a bloody public holiday accross the continent, so I need to stay another day in this shyt hole of a place.....before I can have the Canadian embassy in Ecuador issue me with paper to get over the boarder into Peru.

The Australian Embassy will issue me with with a temporary visa (7 months) which should hopefully work our re: my working holiday visa, as I need to have at least 6 months validity on my passport. When I get to London I can apply for a permanent passport, but I will need mum to complete papers for a new birth certificate. But even BEFORE that I have to also obtain another Australian drivers licence, because I am not sure if I need to provide any additional proof of identification...maybe even a photocopy of my old passport may suffice, who knows.

The discovery

from

Trudy Parker
hide details
Apr 28
to

Belinda Miranda
date
Apr 28, 2007 9:37 PM

subject
Trouble

mailed-by
gmail.com

Hey,

All my documentation has been stolen. Passport, with my UK visa inside, plane tickets, credit cards. EVERTHING! And my little digital camera.I think it happened in my hostel. What arseholes.

Anyway, I may need to give your address for some of my documentation to come to you. Like new credit cards and such. So if you could keep your eye out, and send them over to London express or something.

Can you believe it, two days before I am meant to leave South America.

Anyway hope you are well, say hi to everyone.

btw, did you have any luck with lodging a complaint with the post office about that painting? The guy has emailed me, but I dont want to open it hahahaha.

Thanks for all your help.

trudy
xx

Diary of a drama

All my travel documentation including my camera and MP3 player were stolen on the the trip from Banos to Quito, Ecuador. 5 days prior to our departure to London.

The following contains no witty humour or well crafted sentences, but a series of emails during the saga, essentially just the facts and my thoughts to friends and family.

huevos

Gangs of El Calafate

Leaving El Chalten with some American girls, I met in Bariloche, Angela and Dannielle, we arrive at around 10pm at the bus terminal in El Calafate. Hmmm I have no transfer to the hostel so I play dumb and jump in for the ride. At least I wont need to lug my backpack too far.

The following day I am booked on a tour to see the Puerto Moreno Glacier. This Glacier is one of the most accessable in the region with lots of activity. Ice consistently falls form the monolieth. It stands at about 15 stories high, and about 4 kilometres long. We take a short walk to the viewing area before grabbing a quick bite to eat. By this time the weather has taken a turn for the worst and the rain comes down. Luckily I had some company while I waited for the weather to clear up for a decent look-see, a fellow by the name of Sam, from Germany.

We patiently waited on the bus, but realising that the weather was not going to relent we ran down to the viewing area to take a couple obligatory shots, luckily was saw a bit action, and with a big crash we got to see what everyone Oohhs and Aaahhhhs about.

That evening a few people from the hostel decided to paint the town red and we ended up getting home about 5am. We were in a little resturant that became a disco after midnight where all the old tunes were being played.

The dogs situation in Sth America is insane. Strays are everywhere, but none more evident than on this evening. They travel in gangs, causing havoc with humans and other canines alike. Short, fat, skinny, long and tall. These guys don't descriminate, you just need to know how to sniff butt. They chase the wheels of cars fearlessly, their tails wagging, and the pampered pooches with owners, they corner on the street hoping for confrontation.
All you could do is laugh at the mischeif they caused, and at one point, with the camera at the ready, two exhibitionists were caught in the act. Right in the middle of the road! After a night of shagging and mayhem you see them scattered all over the streets, taking it easy, and rejuvenating themselves for the following nights debauchery.

After my big evening, I also took it easy the following day. Eating hellado and pasta. With the disappointing weather at the Puerto Moreno Glacier I decided to take a boat cruise to see some other famous Glaciers. It would be remiss of me not to check out as much of this amazing landscape while all the way down in Southern Patagonia.

The Upsala boat cruise was definately the highlight of my stay in El Calafate. We saw three glaciers and hundreds of icebergs. It was beautiful. The water, a milky green, from the minerals of the glaciers and the magnificent ice castles, ones of little girls dreams, in hues of blue and white. The weather was bitterly cold on the water while travelling to visit the three glaciers. The Upsala Glacier is melting at an incredible rate due to global warming, kilometres have been lost in the last 50 years. the Upsala is named after a Swiss group/university who studied the galcier extensively. What they discovered is that glaciers change the landscape of its surrounds, resulting in rocky outcrops and few trees.

We lunched at a bay which is now reconginised as a national park. Magestic icebergs float around, breaking and melting. They float to the shore where many a photo opportunity presents itself. And you just can´t help but take picture after picture. Large two story icebergs have broken away from the glaciers, these take about three months to melt in their entireity. Only 15% of the glaciers are floating above water, with the remaining 85% submerged. It is difficult not to think of what would happen if the captain of the boat steered too close for the photo frenzied tourists. Watching theses giants cruise the waters you cant help but be in awe, its is like they live and breath, constantly changing their shapes, one never the same as another.

Soy muy inferma

Feeling pretty sorry for myself at the moment, I´m as sick as a dog, and let me tell you there is a dog every ten paces around this continent(read: I am REALLY sick). Hot and cold sweats, aching joints with enough flem, snot and dribble to drown the one said dog.

My last day in El Calafate, Argentina, I started getting a ticklish throat, and then it just snow balled, the fog of cigarette smoke you exist in only exacerbates the situation.

I think I caught the flu from one of the people in the dorm I was sharing. That was an experience in itself. I was sharing with a pig of a man, who would bless his room mates when they opened the door with his fat arse in a pair of silky boxer shorts. I thought he did not understand english or my limited spanish when I initially tried to communicate with him, but it turns out he was a resident from turds-ville. When we finally did get a sentence from the ignoramus, my Sth African roomie nearly melted from embarrassment, he was an ex-pats of his!

With my flu, I carry my freakin´ heavy backpack to the bus terminal at 7:30am. I boarded the 4 hour bus ride to Peurto Natales, Chile (this does not including boarder checks). Once I arrived I set off to look for a bus that will take me further south, down to Punta Arenas. This town has the airport that will take me to Santiago, Chile. Luckily I find a bus that will leave in 1 hour, so I look for an ATM, stock up on jelly (comfort food) and wait patiently. The money/peso siutation is vastly different between Argentina and Chile. From $10´s to $1000´s. I feel like I am literally spending millions, lost in the conversion.

Once I board the bus I sleep for the duration. I truely must be a sight. I can´t breath through my nose, so I wake immersed in a big pool of dribble. Loco gringa!

Arriving in Punta Arenas I am accosted by touts trying to get suckers into their hostel. And in this case I was totally beguiled. All I was after was someone to take me to the hostel of choice and give me free internet. The things you want in moments of desperation.

This hostel is a hovel. Kids and animals everywhere, paper thin walls, dorms and bathrooms designed and stuck together as an afterthought. After the initial shock, I resign myself to the reality. I´m too sick to go looking for anything else, plus I will just be sleeping off this flu.

For days now I have been trying to facilitate the flight from Punta Arenas to Santiago, hence the reason for the trek down here. Some words of advice - never gripe about the service you get in Australia. Sth America are still in the Industrial ages.

A little over 12 hours from boarding my plane and I still have nothing confirmed. Turns out the credit card details I supplied are not working, so they have requested that I scan and email to them, but this only comes to light when I follow them up for a status. Thank goodness for my trusty travel companion - babel fish translator!

So here I sit in the internet cafe singing out loud songs from anAmerican boy band that blar out of the speakers. Its a nice change from my twisted flu induced dreams, but I´m not sure what the other patrons of the internet cafe think.

Perhaps you´ll hear from me in Santiago. Wish me luck on the first evening star!

Route 40

Day 1
After discovering that I was going to be the only one participating on my safari, I was give the option to go on a two day bus ride down the same LONG stretch of road.

The first day was horrible, even with the bus drivers kind gestures of cookies and lollies. 7am - 9pm, 14 hours of solid driving and no reclining seats, air-conditioning or unpaved roads. To add insult to injury I shared my trip alongside a grumpy spanish fellow thrashing about at the window seat with long legs and loud music.

I was prepared for the unpaved roads but not the fact that my MP3 player would give out. How are the next two months going to progress without music?

We arrive late at the hotel and I must prepare for the early morning excursion to the cave of the hands. I´ve taken some beautiful pictures, the vast emptiness is far reaching, rarely a sign of life except for the tiny stores that sell ham and cheese sandwiches. Argh!!

Day 2
Up at 6am to eat a breakfast of bread and jam. I think am developing a cavity with all the sweets and white bread we have to endure. After three hours in a minibus we arrive at the cave of the hands. An indigenous site with art dating back millions of years. Given the long distances, I am thankful that I bought a travel pillow. It has been my saviour, my accomplice in escape.

We arrive back with the bus that will take us all to El Chalten. Lucky I score two seats, and I sleep some more, in between read Gabriel Garcia Marguez, (an South America Novelist)
´Love in the time of Cholera´.

Armadillo, llama, wild turkeys, sheep and horses are some on the fauna, but few and far between.

Dusty and dry I constantly feel parched, but aware of the fact that we have no toilet on board, every opportunity to go for a leak, I take....just in case. From the Obelisk in Beunos Aires to the Patagonian Steeps. This girls got class.

After a lunch of, you guessed it, ham and cheese sandwiches, we travel on the rough roads alongside the Andes. Chile is on the other side of the clouds.

After another 4 hours where my teeth rattle around in my head and the excess ´Trudy´ gets a massage, we pull up to an oasis. In the middle of this desolate land are two ladies with tables full of home cooking, tortes and quiches. All piping hot. Nothing could have been better after the food of the last few days. If only I had room for the lemon meringue tart.

Back on the bus after 30 minutes of gastronomic delight, A little respite, given the loss of my MP3 player, old classics are playing on the bus.

Late into the night, we arrive at El Chalten, tired and cold, and my mochilla is covered in a thick layer of dust from the trip.

But I am primed and ready for my ice treking expedition tomorrow morning - 7am.

Better than a Saint Bernard in the winter - Bariloche

After saying my farewells to Martyn at the bus station in Buenos Aires, I hop on an overnight bus to Bariloche.
My first experience with the cold weather, I was excited! I finally get to wear the cold weather gear I lugged all the way over. My bag weighs a tonne, and I have set myself a goal to throw something away each day. It sure has been a challenge. My bag weights 26 kilo. Watching all these trekers move in and out of the hostel with nothing more than a large day pack is a little embarrasing, but well what can you do, I NEED everything that is in there, truely.

Bariloche is a fantastic little town about 20 hours south of BA, lots of hostels, nightlife, icecream and chocolate! Oh, plus the surrounding area is brilliant for treking, mountain biking, camping, horse riding, white water rafting and canoeing. In winter it is the hub for skiing, boasting the biggest ski fields in the southern hemisphere. Argentinians come here for their holidays.

My first day I got aquainted with the town, and in the evening I hooked up with some people for dinner. That turned out to be a wise strategic move as I ended up spening the next few days with the fellow, Bryan, from the USA, while Chantelle unfortunately had to leave for El Calafate.
The only dumb move on my part during my stay was that I left my key card in the ATM, and had to go back to the bank twice to enquire on its whereabouts, second time round, the bank had it. Thank goodness!

The treking around the area is easy to access, and is marked well enough to go on your own. Which is what Bryan and I decided to do. We hopped on a bus to Colonia Swiza, with the intention of a trek, but we ended up chating with two Israeli guys who told us about Canopying, which for us Aussies is a flying fox. Another wise move as the weather was really crappy. Canopying was great, it consisted of 8 separate sections and we were high up in the trees, with our harnesses and screams of delight.

The following day we sussed out an awesome trek up to a place called Refugio Frey at Catedral. It was definately the highligh of my stay. Refugios are places high up in the mountains where you can stay once you finish your treking for the day. The places leave the shelters around our walking tracks down at Kosiosko for dead. They are esentially hostels, where the price for a bed and food is pretty much on par with what you would pay for in town. They all link into treks which can have you wandering through the woods for days.

We started out on the 4 hour (one way) 1700 metres (altitude) trek which had gradual inclines all the way through, until bam! the mother of all rock scrambles awaited us at the end.
While I am not that fit, I went resonably well, but who could compete with Bryan the fireman, who legged it up there with little difficulty. The exertion was well worth the effort, for as we reached the top of the climb, before us was a beautiful lake, hemmed by snow capped mountains and this spectacular rock face that was being negotiated by adventurous rock climbers. This rock was so tall the people climbing looked like little specks, and even with my binoculars it was hard to distinguish the finer details.

After the walk we rewarded ourselves with a nap on the shores on the lake. But for some reason a posse of Argentinians decided park their bums and mate cups right near us and talked rapidly for the duration. Newsflash - Argentinias LOVE to talk.

On the bus ride to the Frey trek we met two great people from Eastern Europe, with great senses of humour and adventure. The girl had hitchhiked around Southern Patagonia! Just as we were about to go we saw them in the refugio, they were staying the night. Both Bryan and myself were definately envious, and so after a gas bag we realised we were cutting it mighty fine for the last bus out of the town. So we legged it down the mountain for another 4 hour walk.

That evening after a crappy shower, but some mighty fine Mexican, I got my bag ready for the bus trip down Route 40.