Vern: A night bus deposited us at a terminal in Santiago and after some confusion as to whether or not the border with Argentina was open, we bought a ticket to Mendoza, the heart of Argentina's wine region. The border crossing was magnificent. Thirty-five numbered hairpin bends took us up into the snow covered Andes, past waterfalls and under ski-lifts taking skiers up to the top of steep white slopes. It took us two hours of waiting to be allowed to pass throug...

Vern: After a 28 hour bus journey (the worst part of which was 'Killers' - an awful Ashton Kutcher movie - which one has to watch because the volume is set for everyone's enjoyment) we set foot in beautiful San Carlos de Bariloche. The town is set on a massive lake and is the largest in the Argentinian lakes district. Bariloche inherits a lot from Switzerland, having apparently been forged by Swiss-German immigrants. Stone and wood buildings adorn the slopes, th...

Andrea: We got up early the next day to catch our bus to El Chalten, where we would be hiking to catch a view of the famous Fitz Roy. We had a hard time waking up because we were up in the middle of the night with the sound of someone jumping from a top bunk, running for the bathroom and then vomit hitting the floor. Shared living is great! But, we relaxed a bit as we listened to her clean it all up and eventually fell back asleep, so all was good. Everyone see...

Vern: We flew from Ushaia to El Calafate, and unfortunately got stung with the hidden costs of flying: shuttles to and from the airports, and an airport tax which annoyingly wasn't included in the ticket. Nonetheless the alternative was a multi-day bus trip and we were pleased to have avoided this. After finding our hostel, we ventured out to explore town. The powerful cold winds battered our North Face jackets as we kicked stones down an incomplete concrete road...

Vern: On our last day in Ushaia, we set off up one of the peaks above the small town to see the Martial Glacier. The weather was against us, but icy head winds, sporadic drizzle and spots of light hail didn't deter us. The climb was steep and our walking shoes did well to cling to loose gravel. We finally reached a poorly translated sign reading 'You are now watching the Martial Glacier. Use proper equipment' a few feet in front of a puddle of snowmelt. What the...