Clare writes:
There's only one bus a day from Ushuaia back here to Punta Arenas and it's at 5am, so another early start yesterday and another 12 hours on a bus. There are 2 South American bus myths:
(1) 200 Indians, all with chickens, and no brakes (2) Argentinian luxury rides with beds for seats and hostess trolleys of food and wine. In my (limited) experience neither is true. Only one of the Argentinian/Chilean buses we've ridden on had anything like recliners, and the 'all meals provided' has never amounted to a sandwich (always cheese and ham), a biscuit, a thimble of luke-warm black coffee and a plastic cup of pop. And they're not that cheap either. But they get you there - and we like to travel overland - gives you a real sense of how far you've come and how much of nothing very much there is in between where you came from and where you're going.

Punta Arenas is where we set out from for this leg of our travels, and is Chile's southernmost city - not a tourist town at all really, except perhaps in penguin season - a bird which has been totemised by the 'shoddy tourist gift' market. Don't worry - we didn't get you any, any of you.

We're staying in the much more genteel Hostel Jose Menendez this time - having frozen our bits off at El Fin de Mundo Hostel on our arrival. Very cosy - and telly too - which is good because its a publilc holiday in Chile today and everywhere is closed. We went to watch the military parade - it's all in memory of a naval hero called (it's true!) Arturo Pratt. YOu haven't been to South America if you haven't been to a military parade - all the nice boys in their regalia!

We also sampled the 'tenedore libre' - South American buffet, translates as 'free fork'. The knives you have to pay for!!