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Exploring Patagonia: Chile and Argentina

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13 – 22 January 2017
travellingross rating: 7/10
Wow they speak fast Spanish in Chile! I cannot even pick up the occasional word to follow the sentence.  When I booked a connecting flight to Puerto Montt via my already booked flight to Santiago, I had not realised that because Montt is not an international airport, I would need to clear immigration and customs in Santiago, bag drop, then clear security as a domestic passenger. Which all up takes 2 hours and resulted in missing my connecting flight. So, I got to know the Santiago airport for 6 hours. Arriving in Montt near midnight, sped to the hotel by what I think was an unregistered taxi, then straight to bed. However, I was able to sleep in since check-in for my ferry to Puerto Natales was not until 12:30pm and I could then be free of my bags for 5 hours until we departed on a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal. Very very conveniently, check-in was at the Holiday Inn which is attached to an unexpectedly enormous mall. Walking to the mall, I was struck by how this simple small town is far more scenic than Mendoza. My free time enabled me to buy some hiking boots, weather proof pants, get my Big Mac fix and continue the seemingly endless travel planning.
The cargo ship masquerading as a passenger ferry was everything I expected and served the purpose I was searching for. 3 nights of no internet, no alcohol, no pressure to go tour. Just sleep 12 hours a day, listen to audio books, sort photographs on my laptop and of course look at the fjord scenery that you can only witness on these waters.
Puerto Montt
The ferry
All aboard…this moment I felt like a cow
My not so spacious room
Off we go
Dining Room…a lot like work
Cruisin
Helipad
The alcohol free bar
Torres del Paine is not that remarkable to me. Sorry, don’t hate me all you Patagonia lovers. I have seen more profound and jaw dropping landscapes. I think instead the attraction is the isolation. But now it’s become such a tourist hot spot that there are people everywhere. The glaciers however are inspirational. Grey glacier in particular is a 3 hour boat trip, which sounds ridiculous, but the scenery and view points are out of this world. The mountains and fjords are otherwise nothing I haven’t seen in other parts of the world and in my opinion not worth the hassle to come all this way unless you are coming to camp and hike the W or O trails. Which 80% of the people no doubt come for that. It’s just the crazy ones like me who come to see the views, tick the Patagonia box and sip a beer while literally looking down on the camp sites from my stupidly expensive with terrible WiFi, but comfortable, hotel.
Departing Torres was a mission made complicated by my plan to cross into Argentina and go straight to my next sight seeing destination. After researching many options (including the very handy website www.bussur.com and my friend Madison), I concluded that taking a risk of getting a shuttle to the national park entrance and attempting to hop on an unbooked bus to El Calafate was worth it. Cause I really didn’t want to spend another night in Natales having already been forced to spend 1 there when the ferry arrived 8 hours late. Through a bit of haggling, begging, and money, the driver let me on the bus! And helped me print my Argentine reciprocal fee receipt at the Chilean border. We swapped buses 3 times, and finally I was dropped off at a hotel that lucky for me had vacancies, an open restaurant at 10pm and a big fat scotch whiskey. Couldn’t wipe the smile from my face – I did it!!
Driving into the Park
My hotel
The most windy walk ever to get to the Lake Grey ferry
Grey Glacier
Hotel view
Trek up to the 3 towers
Made it!
Very happy it was clear
The trail is beautiful
Having to step aside for these guys…
On the bus to Argentina
El Calafate is a nice large tourist town. The Argentines do tourism better than the Chileans and the infrastructure is a higher standard. The main reason people, including me, come to this particular town is to see the Perito Moreno glacier. I had a full day trekking tour of this monster booked for 22 January and was the motivation for coming down to this part of the world. Now, this is jaw dropping and well worth the effort. Makes me want to go to Antarctica!
Met this guy in El Calafate
I found the house style interesting
Perito Moreno Glacier!
Foot ready
This arch collapses every few years
Not on the ice, but good to have after a memorable day
Torres hotel was booked directly at their website http://www.lastorres.com and was $368 USD a night! Getting there was a challenge and I ended up getting a lift with a man I met on the ferry. At the time I thought he was being generous, but when he dropped me at the hotel asked for $60….hmmmm. I guess I failed my first hitch-hiking experience.
Perito Moreno glacier Big Ice trek booked through http://www.hieloyaventura.com for $4000 Argentine Pesos ($260 USD). Take food, good shoes and a back pack to carry your crampons. There are lots of papers to fill and they don’t accept e-signature.

The Amazing Caribbean Race: Windward & Leeward Islands

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23 July – 8 August 2016
This break was all about the islands. Cover as many as I could to get a taste and determine which ones to come back to for longer. Due to best flight times, I had to depart a day late and return a day earlier giving me two restful days in Paramaribo but meant one fewer island to tick off. A part of me wants to lay claim to visiting as many islands as I can while I’m working this location – at this point I’ve got a year left. But it’s also very relaxing, enjoyable, knowledge fulfilling and…who wouldn’t want to travel the Caribbean! Especially when you can be in Barbados in 4 hours.

Barbados – 9/10

  1. 5 nights. Turtle Beach Resort. Discounted for low season.
  2. Within a few minutes of checking into my room, I stood on the 4th floor balcony looking at the amazing view and down below in a public laneway access to the beach a tall young local man started talking to me. After a moment to decipher his accent, I realised he was trying to sell me cocaine. Welcome to Barbados. This happened another time on the beach. As someone not at all into drugs, I find it unsavory and disturbing.
  3. Very rough surf on the south coast, when I traveled to the west it was so much calmer. Next time I will stay on the west coast.
  4. Staying at an all-inclusive for the first time was good to not have to worry about food choices or paying for drinks, but I did feel locked up. Like on a cruise ship.
  5. I drank a lot more than normal instinctively trying to get my money’s worth.
  6. Lots of children. Next time I’ll find an adults only all inclusive.
  7. This country is less developed than I expected.
View from room
View from room
Turtle snorkel catamaran tour
Turtle snorkel catamaran tour
The hotel I tried to stay at but ‘couples only’.
Golf time
Grenada – 7/10
  1. 2 nights. Allamanda Resort. Good location on the beach and cheap.
  2. Again offered drugs within moments of stepping onto the beach.
  3. The fort overlooking St Johns is totally without maintenance and a public safety risk, but great views of the harbor and port.
  4. I had not realised that this country had a communist coup in the late 70’s, then another coup where the prime minister and cabinet were locked up in the fort and executed. Then the USA invaded and ‘liberated’ the nation because they thought the new military government was building an airstrip to support Soviet and Cuban air craft to refuel in the southern Caribbean.
  5. I walked into a nutmeg store and said hi to the young male attendant as I was the only one in the store.  He immediately replied “you know me”. I stared and wandered. He said “look at me well”. Then it dawned on me that we sat next to each other on the 1 hour flight from Barbados to Grenada. Small part of the world.
  6. Grand Anse is a nice long public beach with clean water and nice sand.
  7. Found a nice marina with a bar, restaurant and pool. A rare place that was new, functional and welcoming.
View from the fort
View from the fort
Grand Anse beach
Grand Anse beach
St Lucia – 6/10
  1. 2 nights. La Haut Resort. Way out of Soufrière town.
  2. Taxi from airport to hotel was an hour and cost 80 usd! A signal that this island is not cheap.
  3. Too mountainous which makes for bad beaches, and long travel times.
  4. Gros Piton hike was the toughest I’ve done. My calf muscles were sore for days.
  5. Incredible views from La Haut plantation resort were amazing but the place closed for good the day I checked out. Up for sale. Spooky quiet at night which had me laying in bed thinking I was in the movie paranormal activity.
View from room
From the town pier.
The ‘trail’ up the mountain. Crazy.
View from the top of Gros Piton
After hiking up for 2 tough hours
Up in the clouds
Petite Piton
Having a beer afterwards. Watching the CPL – T20 west indies style.
The hotel owners house!
The hotel owners house!
The hotel owners house!
The hotel owners house!
The hotel owners house! – random rain storm
and rainbow
Martinique – 9/10
  1. 2 nights. Can’t remember the hotel as I literally walked off the ferry and checked into the first hotel I found. But it was nice. Except the level 3 elevator door didn’t work. And I was on level 3.
  2. Finally a developed island! A carrefour grocery store, paved sidewalks, street lighting and people leave you alone rather than try to sell you cheap bead necklaces.
  3. Only downside is it’s French speaking, but that could be a positive since people leave me alone!
  4. 21st century buses, roads and intersections. Hub of a ferry system.
  5. Bakeries and food that is beyond chicken and Creole
  6. Although I almost got run down crossing a road. I hate crossing roads.
  7. The beaches close to town are not very nice. And full of local children.
  8. Service is snail pace.
  9. I’d definitely come back and couple it with other French islands. I think the French funding and connection to the European Union means they must abide by EU standards which are much higher than the former British colonies that are poor.
Dominica – 3/10
  1. 1 night that turned into 2. Fort Young Hotel. Lovely refurbished hotel and best part of Roseau.
  2. Do not return. Undeveloped, wrecked by a recent storm, mountainous with long travel times on bad roads, dull landmarks. Although, no one bothered me to sell stuff on the streets or offer me tours like I was in Lucia.
  3. Roseau is a simple under developed town with nothing noteworthy. Except for my hotel, which was modern, sprawling and good service.
  4. The activities desk while seemingly professional, postponed my organized tour of the island not once but twice. Fully knowing that I only had 2 days 1 night on the island. And although I’d paid already for something they couldn’t offer anymore, did not provide a partial refund or even a genuine apology. Giving me the sense this happens often.
  5. As if Dominica knew I didn’t like her, she punished me further by hovering a rain storm over the island at the time of my evening flight causing it to be cancelled and being put up by liat airlines in a hotel room with no ac and a ceiling fan moving so slow it may as well have been switched off.
Hotel
President’s House and Office, opposite the hotel
Trafalgar Falls
Hot baths. Literally baths.
Says everything about Dominica
Antigua – 8/10
  1. 3 nights that was supposed to be 4 except for Dominica. Airbnb apartment in English Harbour. Well located with lovely views, but in a loft with no cross breeze so it was stinking bloody hot.
  2. Very modern airport.
  3. Renting a car was simple and easy to cruise around. Although some hairy corners on what should be single lane one way roads.
  4. Again no hassle from the locals and I rode a public ‘bus’ to town with ease for a dollar. The bus is a mini van that loads in the people, most without seatbelts. Similar to what I rode in Grenada.
  5. Beaches are lovely but not as postcard worthy as I believed from Google images. But I do believe the phrase that there are as many beaches as there are days in the year on Antigua.
  6. I’d likely come back and use this as a base to explore Barbuda, St Kitts and St Barts.
View from my room
Pigeon Beach. My closest beach. Ok
Climbed a hill
Halfmoon Beach. Lots of seaweed washed up recently. Not as nice as claimed.
Jolly Beach
Jolly Beach

 

And that’s it. No hurricane. Although it threatened. Some islands I’d come back to, others are firmly on the DNR list. Definitely prefer ferries over planes where I could. Easier to get around than I thought and lots of research online that you can just google and make it up when you wake up!