After our chill out time in Buenos Aires we flew to Patagonia for 2 weeks of glacier sightseeing and day treks in Argentina and a 5 day trek in Chile...we could probably sum up Patagonia in 2 words...Stunning and Freezing!!! Hadn´t quite anticipated how cold it was going to be so ended up having to buy more warm clothes which was a bit of a nightmare cos i was already struggling to get everything in my rucksack (though I am now delighted to say I have the packing sussed...only took 2 months of frustration and cursing my bag!!)

In El Calafate took a couple of day trips to see some huge and impressive glaciers....on a boat sailing through massive icebergs and hired a car to go see Petit Morreno (the bomb of all glaciers apparently!)...got quite mesmorised listening to them moving and watching them waiting for huge chunks to fall off..what an exciting life we lead!

Spent a couple of days trekking in El Chalten, a wee village celebrating its 21st birthday while we were there although we chose not to venture out to the party due to the blinding dust storms. The scenery around El Chalten was stunning although our walks were cut a bit short due to too much snow up the mountains.

Over in Puerto Natales, Chile we put a lot of effort into planning a 5 day trek in Torres del Paine...famously known as the 'W' walk however for reasons we stand by we only stayed out for 3 days. We started walking on the first day in a blizzard and although the weather improved several areas were inaccessable due to snow. It was also much harder going carrying our huge backpacks than we had anticipated..lots of moaning required! The deciding factor was our supposedly 3 man tent hired from a company with lots of experience!! We questioned the size before leaving and were reassured it was 3 man...HA!!! 3 squished side by side and no room for bags, the tent then leaked everywhere on the 2nd night before we even put anything in it! Despite these challenges the area we were walking in was beautiful and well worth the hassle...check out the photos although they do not do justice to such an amazing place!

We ended up stranded in Puerto Natales for a couple of days due to buses and language barriers so made good use of the time enjoying the lovely hostel we were in....lying in bed watching movies, eating in good restuarants and sampling the local wines and national drink Pisco...Taxi for Sharon!! When we eventually managed to find a bus back to El Calafate the driver managed to beach it permanently into a ditch on the side of the road 2 minutes out of town......note theme - nothing goes smoothly or happens quickly in South America!

Finally we arrived back at our friendly hostel in El Calafate for our last night in Patagonia before we fly back to Buenos Aires tomorrow with the hope of catching an overnight bus straight on to Salta in Northern Argentina...being familiar with the South American way by now we are not holding our breath!!