Well the last time i attempted to try and write this blog im guessing maybe the extremeness of my loation and the mass of snow had an affect on causing a lack of internet connectivity, but fear not, i have returned to finnish what was started!
Life in the southernmost city of the world provided lots of fun, from skiing (im pretty sure i now hold the record for he worlds most southern pong wiffy) and sledging down perilous slopes (ok maybe not that bad), to the oppertunity to create from scratch our own two story castle of snow that was temporarily called home, to learning that in Argentine, a night out doesnt begin till at lest 2am, and can last straight through to ridiculously early hours of the morning... Ushuaia could offer it all and more, not bad for a town that initially consisted of a population solely of convicts.
Ushuaia had it all, and we even began to explore the joys of homecooking in our hostels kitchen ranging from stir fry like dishes to making several pizzas all from scratch, not to mention explore the bars, but not before 2am at the earliest, and talk about the english artists whom are kown so well for theyre musical inputs into the country, the journey home proved to be the most entertaining (Otra posta!!!!). The joys of singing karaoke to a bunch of people who no not wht you sing, or at least attempt to are also not to be missed, but interesting still are the results of gathering an englishman with the french Maire-Lou, and Wendy (from hong kong)... Perculiar indeed!
Leaving the land of Ushuaia after calling it home for four days we spent a lovely 12 hours plus bussing back up north, not a simple matter as to leave Ushuia we hd to go back into Chile and its customs, only to then have to go back across a ferry boat and through Argentinian customs once more to return to Argentine... no easy matter that was for sure. Heading into Punto Madryn, a town famous for its whale population, and noticeably hotter climates we made home for the night at our hostal and decided that the morning to follow we would set out to explore on bikes.
Morning broken, and a group of four weary travellers later with bikes under foot we set off for a 24km round trip to punta loma to find a seal reserve and a rather interesting journey...within the space of five minutes not only had we spotted our first whale, but also a rather large flock of flamingos sunbathing along the beach... well i guess even they need a holiday from time to time. The reserve was not quite what we hoped for, the entrance fee had risen drastically, so when we decided to covertly sneak into the area on foot, a ranger with a raher oversized pair of binoculers spotted us fairly early on... Needless to say our plot and despite great character acting our pretending to be armadillos was not quite up to scratch for this people spotter.
Back in Madryn it was back with the bikes and off to the harbour for a good few solid hours of whale watching, it was pretty unbelievable really we had been lucky enough to witness the odd whale fling itslef from the waters only to come crashing back down whilst we had been cycling, but it seemed that now we were within an arms reach the whales just wernt up for frolicing around. Theyre pretty amazing to watch, and quite a surprise when they sneak up on you when your not ssuspectng and attempt to spout you with water, but who can truly blame them when they somewhat had a face onloy a mother could love.
Before the watching ran dry we were treated to a rather payful whale whom had taken to swimming about upside down, a sea lion who was lucky there were no orcas about, and a rather strange little penguin who seemed to be able to scare off the mamoth whales... What more wildlife could you ask for in a day?
Bussing it to Esquel with the use of yet another overnight bus we arrived the next morning, Miika and Mio setting off on a steam train journey whilst in the mean time Cherrelle and i set of to the little welsh settlement village of Trevlin in search of a welsh tea-house. Arriving and finding what we sought, it wasnt long before the tea and cakes began to flow, from rum laced fruitcake to pink strangeberry cake, to dulce de leche and chocolate... a cake for every occasion.
Back in Esquel we caught a bus to Bariloche, famous for its amssivley immense ski slopes and resorts, arriving in the pouring rain (the third shower wed had since being in ecuador) we found accomidation and settled down for some much craved sleep.
The slopes proved to be a challenge, not least for the fresh mounds of snow that laced every run, but also for the fact that when you hit a slope that suddenly becomes flat, snowboards suddenly become alot of work. The day however was truly fun, continuing from what i had learnt in Chillian my confidence on a snowboard soon increased and sooner than i knew it i was blasting down the snowy slopes faster than greased li9ghtning!!!
A side note to potential snowboarders, the security strap is very handy for when you want to use your board as a sledge... It stops your board from running away and taking a bath in freezing cold rivers, you have been warned!
Two days passed in Bariloche before a 20hour bus ride came to call destined to take us to the capital and party town of Argentina, Buenos Aires. The bus ride for some reason passed in a blur of amazing scenery ranging from odd mountainsides to lush green fields lined with cows (well Argentina is known for its love of Beef and its leather produce, if not just its Tango).
Arriving in BA for about 2pm we dumped bags and hit the movies for a showing of Se Busca (wanted) before heading to bed... ¨But Danny its a friday, you should go out¨It took just these words fro Miika, and a hot shower to convince me that gettig out of bed would be a good idea, It was a friday and im in BA, the party hadnt started yet so i had plenty of time to rummage through my wetaherd clothes crammed into my backpack and find a decent t-shirt for the night. Follwing the crowds of trendy teens and early twenty somethings i eventually stumbled into a club eminating electreo and house music, and somehow entered a time warp for it wasnt until the music ended that i realised it had almost reached 8am!!!!! It really does seem like in Argentina once you start a night on the town, your in for the long haul!
With 2 hours kip, it was up and out again switching hostels and eventually moving out to explore BA, Plans intercepted however by a group of three Aussie girls From Sydney i soon found myself wrapped up into conversations over coffe ranging from travel, to film and ontoto one of their friends puppy stories... Followed up by exploring a hippies market surrounded by people performing all manner of circus skills from juggling, tightrope walking and even dangling from a tree on cloth. Before heading off to some shops and eventually home, it was a chance encounter with a mime that proved to be the highlight of the day.
I can assure you being immitated by someone who looks like they should be locked up is quite odd, but also entertaining not to mention entertaining and yet still disturbing for all those with the fortune of witnessing the specticle, but the real joy comes from outsmarting the mime and causing him to leap over a fence whilst your stil on the other side Danny 1, Mime Nil! The night that followed was rounded off with a trip to a salsa club with many enthusiastic young dancers eager to strt there stuff to the sounds of shakira and other latin beats.
Onto today and its been a slow yet eventful day, sleeping until the cleaner came nocking at the room it was off and out to explore BA, Running into David an argentinian from Mendoza it was off for a now to be informative tour of the city, miniture spansh lessons (Finnaly sussed you out Cherry, hah) an talks about dear old Maggie Thatcher and the likes of Evita.
As of yet what the night holds is to be seen, with an invite out to some local discoteca, i could be in for a long night, we shall see!
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