The backpackers were getting very edgy today, some busied themselves writing to embassies and even newspapers, others gazed at the TV. It is strange how little has been covered in the press especially when you consider how many tourists are effectively being kept captive by the road blocks and wilderness. Word got round regarding an important negociations meeting at 3pm. They also said that we should put our names down with the Red Cross as the evacuation will ...

Breakfast was a vast improvement on the biscuits we had last night for dinner. We had toasted bread included in the hostel price, this is a big deal for us we havn't seen a toaster since Kanab USA. Liz was not feeling very well so went back to bed. We got Internet access back so had a look at the strike news. There has been a couple of deaths but pretty much everything is at a complete standstill, people getting into Punta Arenas by plane have to walk into the c...

The big conversation I overheard around breakfast was the strike which they said affected the buses. Apparently the goverment put up the price of fuel but the people didn't like it. Going out the full gravity was appreciated, the strike had affected everything all the roads were blocked off, border with Argentina closed, shops closed and only a handful of restaurants were open. There was no option to get out we couldn't even walk to nearby Argentina. Strangly 1...

We got on the bus heading north to Puerto Natales and the mountains of Patagonia. As you can see from the blog picture the flat countryside around Punta Arenas looks more like the moors of Scotland or even Siberia than the granite monoliths that you normally see in pictures of Patagonia. There are things we wanted to do down here but we have to head back this way so it makes sense to do these last. The countryside is what I wanted, you get the sence that you are...

It seems Santiago airport has a novel way of storing the bags before being loaded onto the plane! We watched the people boarding the plane, we could only see two kids so felt optimistic on having a kid free flight. However getting onto the plane I had one of the little blighters kicking my seat from behind - typical. Punta Arenas is the most southerly city in the world, sitting on the Straits of Magellan that separate it from Terra del Fuego and then Antarctica...