Wednesday 8th August We drove out to Peninsula Valdes with a local guide this morning. This is a protected area which is world famous for its marine wildlife and Patagonian mammals and birds, and featured in the Blue Planet documentary. The main purpose of our visit was whale watching. We took a large inflatable boat, called a Zodiac, out into the bay and very soon encountered the whales. The Southern Right Whales come here to mate and then the calves ar...

Saturday 4th AugustAnother fine, sunny morning to get our last views of the National Park as we head back across the border into Argentina to make our way north. Long drive today across the often desolate Patagonian steppe. We pulled off the road to camp just before dark. It was minus one already! The lamb curry made with the leftovers warmed us up!Sunday 5th August Another long drive heading north on the eastern side of South America. We passed many oil fields t...

Tuesday 31st July We left 4 more overlanders behind today - they are flying to Buenos Aires. The remaining 9 of us drove further south back into Chile to stay a night in Puerto Natales, a small fishing town situated on one of the many lakes. The fish is good here but difficult to buy as it is practically all exported! Puerto Natales is also the starting point for visitors to the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine which is 112 Km north. Wednesday 1st August We sp...

Friday 27th July Long drive today leaving behind Bariloche and the other ski resorts. Gradually the landscape changes as we reach the vast estancia - ranches - with cattle and sheep grazing. The ground is very boggy and mostly frozen, as are many of the rivers. We have clear blue skies and sunshine but the sun only feels warm for a couple of hours mid afternoon. We are travelling in the truck with our hats, coats, gloves, thermals etc on as well as being wrapped...

Tuesday 24th July We set off early for the two hour journey by minibus to the Argentinian border. Thankfully this was uneventful, apart from seeing winter wonderland as we drove the last hour through the mountain pass - the one we got stuck in 2 days before! The most snow Susan had ever seen! We arrived at the border in brilliant sunlight in clear view of the snow covered volcano. We then had to dig the truck out with the aid of a snow plough before we co...