Tony and Ursula's South American Travel Journal

Just wanted to post a few final thoughts of our trip, mainly to say again how lucky we felt to have seen such an abundance of natural beauty. The glaciers, fjords and mountains of Patagonia were more beautiful then we ever imagined. It is definitely a place we want to revisit in the near future. It is one place where man has not been allowed to spoil the countryside, at least not in the many national parks. However many of the big rivers are threatened to be dammed, but there is a lot of opposition to that.

Here are a few of my favorite memories:

1) Watching the full moon rise over the city from "Cerro San Cristobal" in Santiago

2) Seeing snow caped Volcano Osorno from our bedroom window

3) Looking in at a kayak shop in Pucon and learning that they all knew Marlow

4)Hiking up to a remote waterfall (los cascades) and crossing the slippery and cold creek to get
a better view

5)Watching a single penguin dive around our ferry to Chiloe Island

6) Catching an early morning "arco de iris" (rainbow) on the ferry in the Beagle Channel

7) Meeting great young travelers from all over the world, especially three guys from Nols going on a seakaying expedition around Cape Horn (which we found out later, got denied a permit by the Chilean Navy)

8) Climbing up Cerro Bandero, totally exhausted, but rewarded by the best view of the Beagle
Channel

9) Having a drink at the "Club de Yates" bar, a 1925 German Cargo boat anchored in the Puerto
Williams harbour, meeting the most interesting sailors from all over the world on their
journeys around the world and the infamous Cape Horn

10) Seeing a bunch of wild horses running in front of our bus on the way to the ferry

11) First glimpse of Perito Moreno glacier, coming around a corner, then standing in front of it and not only seeing with our eyes but hearing it "calfing" (chunks of ice falling into the water)

12) Meeting Tera Winter, a very special young fellow traveler from Ontario, Canada

13) Doing the all day glacier boat trip in the Glacier National Park

14) Hiking up 7 hrs to see Fitz Roy Mountain

15) Drinking good wine !

16) Watching some great Tango in Buenos Aires

least favorite moments:

1) Suitcase got lost and arrived 2 days later

2) leaving my ATM card at home ! Not finding many places that take credit cards

3) being told that our seats on the ferry was no longer available, which, after much arguing, were
given back to us

4)were not able to get on the "Torres del Paine" tour (full), but wowed to do that on our next trip to Patagonia