After my two weeks stay in Buenos Aires i headed south by bus for city called Bahia Blanca. This journey was 12 hours from BA through the pampas which is a very dry region of argentina, it is the sort of scenery that you would see in a john wayne western with miles of nothing but tumble weeds and sand. Anyway i arrived in Bahia early in the morning and started my search for a bed, as i had not booked anything ahead. This proved to be very difficult as there are no hostels here only hotels, and all of these seemed to be full. After about two hours of trudging around the city i found one and dropped by bags off so i could explore the city. Bahia is not the normal stop for backpackers so i received a few strange looks walking around the city, also it was very hard with the language. The city was more like a large town and did not offer a great deal other than the largest navel base in south america, which at the time of my visit had very few ships in to see. There was the normal plaza that all argentine towns and citys have where the locals sit and share their mate, Which is a bitter tea like drink that is found almost everywhere in south america. Anyway i only stayed in bahia for one day and night which was plenty of time i think. The next day i caught another bus for the lake district town of Bariloche. The journey took another 14 hours and for the first part was the same bland view of the previous day, but then the scenery changed from nothing to mountains and lakes that were amazing bright blue in colour. We climbed up through the mountains for around two hours and then came through a pass where i got my first view of Bariloche which was facing a large lake called lago nahuel huapi and in the background i could see the snow capped mountains which was once the place for the rich to ski. The bus depot was on the outskirts of town, which meant i had to get on a local bus for 15 mins to the town center. I stayed in the hostel 1004 which offerd the best views in town as it is on the tenth floor of tallest building in town. The hostel was very mellow with a very laid back feel and was very clean and well run. I walked the town which was just like any ski resorts in austria, with all the buildings made of wood and the smell of log fires. Bariloche is rated for not only its skiing but for rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, paragliding and some of the best fly fishing in the world. But i only had two days here so i opted just for a gentle paddle in a kayak around the shore of the Huapi. I wish i could have spent more time here as like i said there is so much to do, but i had to head for the end of the world (usuaia). This jurney realy does feel like you are heading for the end of the world. I had to travel by bus from Bariloche to a town called Rio Gallegos, this took almost 24 hours along route 40 which is know as the worst highway in south america. At first i could not see why this was the case as the road was tarmac and smooth going. But then almost as if the road just stops, it turns into just loose gravel and rocks, which continues for hours apon hours, with a max speed of 40 kmh, i could see just why the road earned its name. Anyway i arrived in Rio which is to put it frankly is a dump. But it was night so i just had to sleep here the one night and catch another bus in the morning for Ushuaia. The journey from Rio to Ushaia was also a hard one as you have to cross a body of water by drive on ferry. Then you have to cross into Chile then back into Argentina, this process takes along time as you have to dismount the bus for customs at each border. The whole jurney took 17 hours which was also just on gravel roads. Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world and is set between the beagle channel and glacial peaks. It really does feel like the end of the world, and the weather was very bleak and grey too. But the reason you come here is not just for the stamp of the end of the world in your passport, but for the fantastic hiking in the national parks of tierra del fuego. I was advised to treck the route number 4 of the park and the Glacier Martial. So the next day after a long night of drinking with another english lad and two dutch guys in the dublin irish bar, I headed for the first challange which was the glacier. Joined by John (the english lad) we got a chair lift that takes you about 500m up before the treck starts. This treck proved to be easy and we were soon clambering up the last of the rocks through a shoot that takes you to the foot of the glacier. Although we passed many other on route that said they could not get up to the glacier proper due to a steep climb, we found it easy, and was rewarded with some fantastic views over the town and the beagle channle. The next day proved to be a much harder challange as i tackled the treck 4. It is a 4 kolometer treck that takes you up through the forest of the national park. You have to climb over the slippery roots and loose boulders. This treck is a 8 hour round trip, and is very steep. I failed due to lack of time and the light was fading fast, This is one place you dont want to be stranded in the dark, But it was still a good days hike.

I was in Ushaia for two days before i headed back up to the mainland and to the town called el calafate. The town is the best place to stay for a visit to the perito moreno glacier, which is a must. The size of this moving glacier is amazing, it stretches for as far as the eye can see. But it was the noise that blew me away. You can hear the ice wall which stands 60 high slowly creeping towards the land and the canal de los tempanos, where giant icebergs on the glacier face fall.

I was still travelling with John at this point and we both stayed at the marcopolo hostel, where i had aslo arranged to meet a friend from BA who was travelling with two sweedish girls. We met that night in the bar and were joined by three aussies, and two americans. We all headed for the casino in town, where we stayed until 07.00 and most of us lost.

The next night the same group headed for the towns only lively bar for drinks and dacing, this turned out to be a great night, and we mixed well with the locals.

The next day 6 of us headed for a town four hours north along the route 40 called el chalten. This is a tiny town that was only formed in 1985. The only visitors here are the trekers and climbers. The very next day we decided to try the laguna de los tres trek for a close view of the fitz roy range that stand 3405m high. This proved to be very hard and was extremly steep, but with this said the boys in our group made the climb in 3 hours which was an hour less than the guide states and two hours less than the poor girls in our group. The climb was worth every step though, as you reach the top you find two hidden lakes (not sure where the third was, that the treck is named after). We sat there for about an hour eating our lunch, just in oar of it all and feeling very proud of ourselves. This is when i looked up to see a man of about late sixties walking past us, without any heavy breathing from the same climb that had left us gasping for breath. Not only this he was also dressed in a suit with shoes. While we were all wrapped up in the latest mountain and hiking gear and still cold. This guy turned out to be the most amazing man i had met so far on my trip. He was a frenchman from paris, that lost his wife 20 years ago and decided he would then move to bolivia and undertake charity work with the many homeless there. The reason he was in a suit was because he had given evrythging else away to the homeless. Amazing man.

Anyway the next day we traveled back to el calafate which is where i still am before heading back to chile to puerto natales for a five day trip on a ferry called the navimag, which sails on the 10th april.