Mar 7
We left the Bark Europa and our Antarctic memories on January 19, 2013 when the boat harbored back into Ushuaia (check out the map if you don't know where that is). So where the hell are we now and why has it taken me this long to write about things that happened months ago??
It was almost time for our Antarctica trip! After 7 days trekking in Torres del Paine, we headed from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas (putting us even further south). We left for Punta Arenas on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day there too
This is a continuation of my last two posts about trekking the circuit in Torres del Paine. Click here to read part 1 (which is an introduction to the park) and click here to see part 2. Part 3 was the most challenging of the trek but with the greatest challenges, also come the greatest rewards.
Finally we were going to get our big chance to do the circuit at TDP! The prospect had me nervously excited as I hoped we could carry as much stuff as we had packed for such a long time, every day. Three years ago we failed. I hoped for the best this time around.
After trekking in El Chalten, we took a bus back to El Calafate. El Calafate kind of sucks but unfortunately it's a major hub in Patagonia and is a gateway to the southern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (El Chalten serves the northern and free part of the park) and you usually have to go there to transfer to other places you want to travel to.
Three years ago, Laurent & I made a month long trip to Patagonia. We trekked around Fitz Roy from the village of El Chalten for 3 days. I never imagined that three years later, I would be lucky enough to be back in this incredible landscape. But here I was.
So we made it back from Antarctica alive! No monster wave came and gobbled the ship up nor did I fall in some deep crevice at the top of a glacier. It wasn't easy at times being on the sailboat, we both got pretty seasick and sometimes we had to wake up in the middle of the night to do watches or steer the boat in the freezing cold but the payoff was huge. I experienced things I could only dream about and saw scenery and nature like I never have before. I felt like I was dreaming most of the time. And I promise to tell you all about it and share some photos too.
It's about time I wrote something useful. Not that the last post wasn't useful in some way, but I think it was more useful to Laurent & I than to all of you readers out there!
Thanks to all of you who are reading and who voted in our poll. I still don't have a decision on the sailboat and I'm still occasionally watching youtube videos of the Drake. I've curbed the habit a bit though. I think I'm down to about 2 a day. Is there a Drake's Anonymous anyone knows about? I think I have until April to decide about the sailboat. Until then, stay tuned.
Infused exposures 