Only 1000km from Antartica

As Patagonia left a cold summer behind and transited into a freezing autumn, we were heading more and more south towards the southernmost town in the world. Two Singaporeans thought that their polyester sweaters, jeans and hats would shield them from the icy winds of Ushuaia.

Getting to the tail end of South America was hard. After crossing from Argentina's border (exit immigration), into Chile (entry imigration), across a channel on one of those vehicle carrying boats (highlight - tens of dolphins leading us across!), out of Chile (exit immigration), into Argentina again (entry immigration)all this in the FREEEEZZZIINNGGG cold, we were finally in Ushuaia after traveling for hours on end.

Thankfully, we survived with all our un-frostbitten toes in tact and the rush of being as far down as a civilization could exist. Luck was on our side though, as we did have sunshine for 3 out of the 5 days we were there - which according to the locals, was extremely rare. On the day we scaled an Ushuaian mountain to get a view of the Martial Glacier, we had sunshine, rain, rainbows, wind, hail and snowfall all in the span of 2 hours! CRAZY!

Special thanks to Pieter & Karen for giving us much more than just photographs.


We made it to Ushuaia (and have special stamps on our passports to prove it!)




Famous lighthouse on the Beagle Channel, View of Ushuaia, Karen smiling at the fact that we're closer to Antartica than to Buenos Aires, Autumn arrives, Woody Woodpeckers in Tierra del Fuego National Park.



WIld Seals & Sealions along the Beagle Channel

View from the boat - Freshly fallen snow on the mountains of Ushuaia

One of the many many rainbows we saw

More Ushuaia Views



Our Belgian friend Pieter, deep in thought....

Part One - Tierra del Fuego
Unfortunately, we have no pictures of us here - just have to take our word for it for now (except on our MM camera – see previous post) but the trek was amazing. The first part was a 3 hour trail along the coast… beautiful scenery of snow capped mountains, woodpeckers going crazy banging their heads against the trees and lovely autumn colored leaves. The second trail was 1 hour and as Jem put it, it felt like we died and went to heaven… little mounds of bright green “carpet grass” and bunny rabbits hopping free everywhere. Exactly where I used to imagine "Brer Rabbit" living. The sun was shining and the lake glistening. It really was paradise.


Us on the Beagle Channel & Tierra del Fuego

Part Two - Glacier Martial
Difficulty: Hard!
The exciting part about this besides seeing the glacier up on the mountain, was that it was Jem’s first experience with snow!!! The hike was quite grueling (and tough on the knees) but well worth it. Snowball fights, little snowflakes, little hail, little sun, and Jem went sledding in his jeans which was heaps of fun but fairly uncomfortable once over. Wet jeans and undies in the whipping cold winds high up in the mountains ain’t that comfy! But all in all, helluva lotta fun.


Martial Glacier looming over Ushuaia.


Goofing around in the snow


Jem's birthday message to me - He was almost a casualty of frostbitten fingers!


Resting our knees & lunching after the grueling climb down from the glacier.


View from the Top

Patagonia Begins - Penguins, Dolphins & Glaciers

*Note: Our camera had a nervous breakdown, so thank you Saki, David & EsPat. We’ve been taking pictures the old fashion way… on film and on one of those mickey mouse disposable cameras.*

We left Bariloche on a journey to the mystifying region commonly known as Patagonia. I feel hopelessly inadequate to describe the magnificence of this region. From thousands of wild penguins living their lives all around you as you walk through their colony, to the unique and rare black and white dolphins leading your boat across a bay, sealions and seals showing off their “tricks” and playing a fool as you navigate through the beagle channel and not to mention the tones of guanacos, birds and other animals… and that’s just the wildlife…






Wild penguins at Punto Tumbo - the second largest penguin colony in the world.. the first being Antartica (which we're only 1000km away from right now in Ushuaia!)



Black & White dolphin watching near Puerto Madryn. It's amazing how different it is to watch them when they're in the ocean - wild & free, not bribed to entertain in a "lagoon."

The highlight (if we HAD to choose just one…) would be the Perito Moreno glacier in El Calafate. Having never seen a glacier, we had no idea what to expect. The first glimpse was breathtaking, the upclose view of the glacier with huge chunks just falling off was unbelievable, and actually scaling the glacier with our spiked crampons was the most unbelievably breathtaking and magical 2 hours we’ve ever spent. I wish I could describe the excitement of watching a huge block of sheer ice start cracking and falling 50meters into the water below… and then just a second later (due to delayed sound) hearing a thundering effect of what just happened. It’s like one of those defect movies where the voice doesn’t sync with the lips. It’s surreal. The icy cold chill from the massive river of ice radiates through your skin while the blazing sun tries to give you some sort of balance in temperature.





Trekking on and through the glacier made us feel like one of those Mount Everest climbers… only cooler.


One of the many blue streams/pools of water we drank from on Perito Moreno Glacier. The water is purer and better than EVIAN!


At the end of our hike, as we turned the corner, there was whisky on the rocks (fresh from the glacier!) waiting for us. Salud!

Next Stop: End of the World

From Mendoza to The Lake District

We made it to Mendoza for the Wine Harvesting Festival. Rented bicycles and cycled a total of 25km around the wineries and olive plantations. A lovely afternoon.


After going our separate ways in Costa Rica, we finally were able to meet up with our Dutch friends in Bariloche. 5 of us rented a Volkswagen and explored the 7 lakes in the region and the surrounding towns of St. Martin and El Bolson.


One of the 7 lakes

Waterfall mirador along the way.

Another one of the 7 lakes

El Bolson

By the lake in Bariloche - charming town with excellent chocolates!

Hippie market in El Bolson.. lots of glass-blown stuff, handicrafts, organic fruit and veggies, hand made jewelry...

The meat in Argentina is unbeatable. BBQ of lamb, bife de lomo, chorizo, grilled peppers, aubergines and zuchini.

Argentina: #16

We’re in our 16th country - Argentina! Coming in from San Pedro Atacama in Chile - a charming but painfully expensive (especially when arriving from dirt cheap Bolivia) little town in the desert – Salta, Argentina was just what we needed. It’s modern yet charming, has quality services and food at very reasonable prices, lovely weather, all the western amenities and conveniences while retaining its Latin character. It’s like Europe… in South America.

Our sheets smelt like it came fresh from the laundry and we had high pressure real HOT water in the shower. which is way more than we’ve come to expect in many places. In some “hotels” in the other countries, you’ll be lucky if your pillowcase doesn’t have long strands of someone else’s hair on it, your bed doesn’t sink downwards even before you get into it, and the wooly blanket doesn’t cause you to have a 4-minute head-spinning sneezing fit.

Exploring Salta: First things first, Jem needed to get cleaned up. After the last few Bolivian weeks of having crazy hair and increasingly thickening facial growth, he couldn’t wait to have it shaved off… and since he would’ve had to invest in at least 6 Gillette blades and half a day to get it all off, we set off to a barber. Check it out!




The Transformation



Church in Salta- striking colors


Parque Central, Salta, after taking the teleferico (cable car) up to the Mirador and having the brilliant idea of WALKING down the 1200 steps. Legs still ache after 3 days.


Afternoon in San Lorenzo: Spent a lazy afternoon napping on a rock in the middle of a stream, collecting rocks of rainbow colors and wading in the refreshing icy water.


Sunrise from the bus: Salta-Tucuman-Mendoza