She looked down upon us like a malevolent runner up in a beauty pageant - complete with baton and sash, beautiful teeth and perfectly coiffed mane. It was only a poster, but still unnerving, for this was El President, Cristina Kirchner, who in unique circumstances succeeded her husband in 2007 as the country's leader. Now ranking amongst the worlds most powerful and wealthy women, her record at the least is dubious, with some shonky economic practices, appointm...

The trip so far has been nothing short of expectations.Our trek back from the refuggio in El Bolson was easily the most physically demanding task I've ever completed.Even 5 days since we completed it, it is still fresh in my mind, espcially now with a similar walk on the horizon. We set out expecting a walk the same length as what we had originally covered (which in it self was difficult but i felt up to the second time round).However, mid way through scaling a ...

Futaleufu was a pretty town, despite the obvious paucity of incomes and the thick blanket of volcanic ash that brought the town to a standstill in 2008 and triggered the re-location of the regional capital from Chaiten. Even the sound of it was pretty and the citizens seemed to have some semblance of civic pride with a gleaming new plaza, well maintained sidewalks, rose gardens in almost every yard. And the houses were different here too; all wooden, clad in shin...

There really is nothing like fresh baked bread in the morning. Heading to the bus stop in the early morning as most of the residents of El Bolson slept on, we came across a tiny bakery (one room, husband, wife and daughter and one oven) from whom we purchased a whole loaf of freshly baked bread and a selection of fried sweet bread sticks. As we sat outside in the warm morning sun and ate the baker joined us periodically, escaping the heat of his workspace and ...