Puerto Iguazu, Iguazu Falls, Argentina (03/01/19-05/01/19)

We finally arrived in the afternoon, 18 hours later… It was a long journey!
There isn’t much else to do in the town itself other than to go and visit the waterfalls so on our first day we had some lunch, took our laundry to be washed, had a little walk around and chilled out in our apartment sweating because the air con wasn’t working properly. It was really hot (34 degrees) and really humid! We cooked our tea here and then managed to get moved to a different room with working air con for the night time.
The next day we got up early and got the bus to Iguazu Jungle to see the famous waterfalls. Firstly we got in a truck and were driven through the jungle and then we got a speed boat tour of the falls where they drove us up close and then through the waterfalls. We were absolutely soaked from head to toe, but it was amazing!! After this we took a train to the ‘Devils throat’ which again, was so good.. We never thought we would be so amazed but we were. At this part of the falls, you could see Brazil on the other side (we will visit from this side next). Then we took two different walking trails to get different view points of them. On the way around, we come across some Coatis, Capybaras and Toucans.. Oh and Jonho got stung by a wasp! We were on the look out for Monkeys, Jaguars and Pumas but didn’t see any!

Buenos Aires, Argentina (23/12/18-02/01/19)

We arrived late Sunday afternoon so checked into the air bnb, went to the shops, cooked and chilled out at the apartment. It was so nice! It had a balcony of our own, a communal BBQ area and a roof top pool. We were loving it!
The next day (Christmas Eve) we got our ingredients for Christmas dinner and had a pool day!
On Christmas Day we had a pretty chilled out morning before making Christmas dinner. Kerry made her own stuffing, pigs in blankets, yorkshire puds and gravy… but it wouldn’t be christmas without a proper English dinner!! We had dinner, did some what’sapp calling.. drank quite alot of fernet branca and then we went to the pool.
On boxing day we went to Palermo which is a different area to where we were staying and more of a lively area. We had a 3 course lunch here (steak obviously as the main), had a wander around the area before heading back to the pool!
The next day we went into the Center to explore and go shopping! We have become a bit more lazy ‘exploring’ cities now though. At the start of the trip we would walk around non-stop but now after a couple of hours we feel we need the rest… plus we have a roof top pool to go back to, so thats what we did!
The next day we went to the horse races. It was very different to England as there was no strict dress code, minimum bet was about 20p and they didn’t serve alcohol! Kerry won two bets.. Jonho didn’t win any. Afterwards we went to a restaurant at the race course where Kerry got the biggest rack of ribs ever and Jonho had ‘the best steak he has had in Argentina’ and a bottle of wine to share. Later on, we got a taxi to Palermo where all the cool bars are and went out drinking until about 4am!
The next day we had a lie in, had another day around the pool and then met our friend Daniella (the Argentinean girl we rented a car with in Puerto Madryn) as she lives in Buenos Aires. She took us to a nice burger place and we had some beers with her.
The next day we went to a place called San Telmo. There was a big market here where they were selling lots of antiques (not really to our taste) and other bits and bobs. After here we went to La Boca which was cool..everywhere was really colourful and there were tango dancers in the street. We went to see the Boca Juniors stadium whilst here too. Afterwards, we got a bus to Puerto Madero where there was lots of bars and restaurants around the docks which was nice. This was an extremely busy day for us!
The next day was New Years Eve. We got the train to a place called Tigre and took a boat ride down the delta. It went down the back waters so you could see where the locals were living and there were some cool holiday homes and other little houses. We had a walk around Tigre and then headed back to the apartment. The original plan was to stay in, have a curry and drinks and watch the fireworks from the roof top (because all the main bars are closed on NYE here). We did this and then Daniella invited us to her apartment and then we went to puerto madero for the fireworks at midnight. There were lots of Argentineans playing music on speakers, dancing and passing around booze! Jonho was cheered on to down a miniature bottle of whisky.. we were both suprised he wasn’t sick! After here we went back to Daniellas friends house for some more drinks.
The next day was New Years Day. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Everything was closed so we had a very lazy day. We had a lie in and then chilled out around the pool and then in the evening we ordered a takeaway and watched netflix.
On our final day here we planned to go to the parks/ gardens but it turned out to be a bit of a let down as we visited one, another was closed and then it started chucking it down with rain. We had lunch and then went back to the apartment to check out and head to the bus station for our 18 hour bus to Puerto Iguazu…

Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina (17/12/18-23/12/18)

Bariloche was never on our itinerary until the day before when we realised we hadn’t booked anything and didn’t know where we were going to go… so here we are! We arrived and one of the first things we did after checking into our hostel was go and buy some chocolate, as its famous here for good chocolate and It did not disappoint. After this we had a walk around by the lake and around the town. It had lots of Christmas decorations up which was nice as no where else has felt very Christmassy. We cooked tea at the hostel and chilled out there. The hostel was very nice, it had a balcony/terrace, a living room area with a pool table and also a hot tub!
The next day we got the bus to cerro campanario where we took a ski lift up to the view point. It was really cool, a 360 view of all of the lakes and then we had a beer at the top. After this, we walked to a ‘secret beach’ which the lady at our hostel recommended. She said it would only take 30 mins. It took us 1hr 30 mins IN FLIP FLOPS… EACH WAY!! we didnt spend much time here as we were starving and wanted to get back to have some food.
The next day we met up with our friend Ravi who happened to be staying in the hostel next door. We went to the Swiss Markets which was our way of doing the ‘christmas markets’. It wasnt quite the same in the heat but it was still nice! We went to the pub after here and then came back to our hostel and cooked tea with Ravi.
The next day, we rented a car with Ravi and another girl we met at the hostel – Natalija. We drove around the ‘7 Lagos’ Route, down the famous Ruta 40 road. Stopped off for photo’s at all of the lakes along the way, had lunch and chilled out on a couple of beaches.
The next day was a very chilled day, we were tired so we went to a cafe and didn’t do much else in the morning. In the afternoon, we got a bottle of wine and rented the Hot Tub which overlooked the lake and was very nice and relaxing. After this, we went out with Ravi and Natalija for a happy hour pub crawl and arrived back in the early hours!
On our final day, we had another lazy morning and then we all went to another beach and chilled out there. Next stop, Buenos Aires!!

El Bolson, Patagonia, Argentina (13/12/18-17/12/18)

We arrived on ‘market day’ so as we were tired off our night bus we literally arrived, set up our new tent and had a wander around the markets. We had a drink there and some food and then explored a bit before heading back to the campsite and cooking some food.
The next day we got the bus to ‘lago puelo’ and whilst on the bus we met an English couple, Martha and Hamish. We stayed with them for the day. We walked up to the viewpoint and had our lunch there and then chilled out on the beach by the lake. Afterwards, we hit the happy hour back in El Bolson.. sat in the sun and drank cheap beers! Then back to the campsite with a bottle of wine and cooked tea.
The next day we set off for our 2 day hike to Canyon del Azul. We walked around 3.5 hours through a Forrest until we finally came accross the river. We camped at the top and then in the morning continued a little further to see the canyon which was pretty cool. Then, we walked back the same way through the forrest. This wasn’t the best hike we have done even if the pictures do still look good! We got back and showered, went out for a beer and a burger and had an early night (back at the campsite.. but we booked a bed rather than camping). The next morning we got the bus to Bariloche..

Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, Argentina (06/11/18-12/12/18)

So we arrived via plane for the first time since leaving in September.. it costed us a bit more but saved us a 24 hour bus journey and was so worth it. It only took us an hour and a half. We arrived in the evening, had a bottle of wine in the hostel and got chatting to a french girl called Clementine.
The next day, we headed to shop for some suncream (YAY ITS FINALLY SUMMER HERE). We spent the whole day at the beach!
The next day we hired a car with Clementine, drove to a place called Punta Tombo where there were thousands of penguins. There were paths for us to walk down, and the penguins joined us or just waddled infront of our feet. It is hatching season, so the penguins had dug little holes where they had their eggs and babies which were really cute! It was so funny watching them go for a dip in the sea and then waddle back with the other penguins. On the way back we stopped off at a place called Isla Escondida where there were lots of elephant seals on the beach. We could get up so close to them and it was really cool. Some of them were smaller and really cute and others were roaring and biting eachother!
The next day, we had a lie in and went out in the afternoon for some beers and to watch the final of the copa libertadores between boca juniors and river plate. The atmosphere in the pub was good and when we left, the streets were crazy. There were riot police out, people tooting horns, flares being set off, fans climbing up lamposts, chanting and it was pretty crazy! Puerto Madryn is only a small town so it must have been going mental in Buenos Aires! (The match was actually played in Madrid because of problems with the fans).
The next day, we hired another car to drive to Peninsula Valdes. This time we shared the hire car with an Argentinan couple we met at the hostel, Daniella and Adrian. Daniella spoke english and she had to translate to Adrian but it was ok. We are going to meet up again in Buenos Aires. When we got there we went on a boat to look for Whales. We were told not to expect to see one as some people don’t, so when we came accross loads of dolphins we were both happy and thought paying for the trip was worth it anyway! And then, we came accross 6 different whales so close up. One even swam under the boat which was scary as they are SO big!! We could see a few more whales in the distance and also dolphins leaping out of the water. We were so happy and had such a good day! After this, we went to see if we could spot any Orcas (killer whales) but didn’t…but as we got out of the car, an Armadillo ran right in front of Kerry’s feet and as we carried on walking we also came accross a couple of snakes!
The next day, we had an early get up as we had some sea lions to snorkel with. We got a boat to punta loma where there was a colony of sea lions. We were kitted up in our snorkel gear and got in the sea. We were told by a couple in the hostel that they did this excursion and only 1 sea lion swam past them so it wasn’t worth it.. so we were a bit worried. The guide also told us they are wild animals and if they want to play they will.. if they dont, they won’t and there is nothing we can do. But we were SO lucky… we had about 50 sea lions swimming around us playing and it was so cool. On the way back on the boat we were given wooly hats and tried our first “Mate” which is a traditional argentinan herbal drink. We had another “best day ever!!!”
On our final day we had another chill out day on the beach and then watched the man city game at the hostel before our night bus at 9pm!

El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina (04/11/18-06/12/18)

We only came back here to get our flight to Puerto Madryn so didn’t get up to much. When we arrived we went out for some lunch and chilled out in the afternoon. In the evening, we met up with Claire & Dan (our friends we met on the ferry a couple of weeks ago) for drinks and then went to a restaurant for the famous patagonian lamb, which was amazing and definitely lived up to expectations!
The next day we had a walk to the lake where we were told there would be flamingos. Unfortunately it looked more like a swamp than a lake and there was only 1 flamingo that we could see, so we headed back to the hostel for some more chill time!

El Chalten, Patagonia, Argentina (29/11/18-04/12/18)

We arrived in El Chalten in the evening and didn’t get up to much apart from chatting to people at the hostel. The next day we had a bit of a lazy day (but still managed a mini hike). We walked to two viewpoints which took us about 2 hours in total, Kerry had a nap and Jonho walked to a waterfall which was also around 2 hours there and back. In the evening we attemped to make lentils for the first time and thought they were discusting and this is why we are not vegetarians. The next day we had a bit of a lie in before starting our 18km (6 hour) trek to Laguna Torre. This was definitely one of the easiest (flatest) treks we have done and was pretty cool when we got to the Laguna, quite similar to Torres del Paine, but free and not as many tourists. The next day… yet another trek! This time, Jonho was up for the challenge of carrying his big backpack with the tent, cooking gear, food and of course, wine. This trek was 20km in total so we decided to camp at the top before hiking back down the next day. The first part of the trek was tougher than the previous trek and the last hour was probably the steepest one we have done. The camp site had signs up with instructions of what to do incase of a Puma, luckily this was not a problem for us! The next day we walked down the same way we got to the top so it was pretty nice to know this was mostly downhill and flat. We rewarded ourselves with a beer and a burger once we got to the bottom.. then happy hour at another place.. and finally pisco back at the hostel! We checked out the next morning for a bus back to Calafate.

El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina (28/11/18-29/11/18)

We started our day with an early get up, a 6 hour bus across the Argentinan border and arrived in El Calafate in the afternoon. We were still tired and every limb of Kerry’s was aching from the hike. We went to the supermarket, bought some steak and veg and then chilled out at the hostel watching TV. Jonho made us a beef goulash  & we basically had a lazy afternoon.

The next day we went to Los Glaciares National Park. The Glacier was absolutely huge, apparently bigger than Buenos Aires! We walked around the different routes and saw ice falling off the glacier, making a huge crashing sound when it hit the water. It was really cool to see, the weather was nice (it didn’t rain) and it was a really good day. In the evening we got a bus to El Chalten ready for some more hiking!

Puerto Natales, Torres Del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile (27/11/18)

We arrived in Puerto Natales in the evening on 26th, set up the tent and went straight to sleep on the most uncomfortable ground imaginable, with the sound of a nightclub going on all night. So, on approximatley 3 hours sleep we got up at 6am all set for an 8 hour hike around the national park. We were told the weather wasnt going to be very good so we wrapped up in our thermals/layers. But when we arrived it was the nicest weather we have had in the last month, so we had to start taking layers off one by one. The hike was uphill to start, Jonho didn’t find this hard but Kerry had a few stop offs and made a new friend called Ravi, from London so he stayed with us for the day and we had a good laugh with him. The rest of the hike was up and down until we got about 30 mins to the end and it was the steepest incline and pretty tough. But we made it and it looked amazing!
We met up with a couple that we met on the ferry, Claire and Dan. We had lunch at the top and walked the 4 hours back down with them. By the end of the day we were knackered! (Especially Kerry).

Navimag Ferry, Patagonia (23/11/18-26/11/18)

We spent 4 days on the ferry traveling through the Patagonian fjords. Most of our time was spent on top deck watching out for Dolphins. It wasn’t until the final day when we both saw some but prior to this, we did see penguins, seals, sea lions and a possible sighting of a whale! We got really lucky with the weather as it hardly rained. The boat was a nice change as it was very relaxing and we were well looked after. We ate like kings (3 course for breakfast, lunch and tea) and had fun doing Tai Chi, Yoga and playing bingo (Kerry won). Jonho figured yoga wasn’t for him when he rolled into the guy next to him on the first routine. We made some good friends and had the best 4 days!