Volcano-tastic!

I do feel it's bit a cop-out posting again with mostly images, rather than writing a bit more about my travels and things I've been up to here in South America - like driving down a one-way street the wrong way by mistake in Panguipulli in Chile's northern Patagonia (great name, pronounced Pangwipooyi), only until I realised though that a taxi driver heading towards me in his cab wasn't actually flashing his lights at his friends, he was kindly flashing them at me and wagging his finger too to try to bring my attention to my error. It worked a treat.

But whilst time to write and a working internet connection once again prove mostly to be mutually exclusive, images will have to do again for now.  So with a feeling that most of the text-map-route-writings will probably appear on my return to the UK (or before then in NZ maybe), Osorno volcano is the star of this show (with a couple of other guest appearances)....

On arrival to Casa Molino, just outside of Puerto Varas; it's hard to imagine a better view of Osorno volcano than from Casa Molino

...and just before dusk turned to dark night....with moonlit Lake Llanquihue in the foreground...

The next day; from clear blue skies first thing to threatening grey in a short few hours.....still an amazing scene...just evokes a slightly different mood...

OK, so Osorno has to share the volcano limelight with many others in Chile - this is one of Chile's most active, Villarica, near the town (city?) of the same name but nearer to Pucon; it's arguably Pucon's biggest attraction (yes, ha, ha, literally too); this was Villarica volcano on the day I arrived in Pucon....

...and this was it on the day I left...

And this is obviously not a volcano but a honking black-faced ibis (as in the noise, not as in smelly, and "honking" is not part of it's official name), sat preening in the branches of a tree in the gorgeous gardens of Antumalal Hotel

End of transmission

Enough about me......

......time for Patagonia, Argentinean and Chilean, to speak for itself, a little bit at least.......

El Calafate steppe and Lago Argentina arm to the west

Indulge me with just one iceberg image, believe me, there are a lot more

Guanacos creep up on you (not literally, they're very skittish, hence the rear angle) but are everywhere, as are rabbits

Part way through a Magellan penguin moult, Tucker's islets, en route to Ushuaia from Punta Arenas on the Stella Australis

 Part way through a blended malt, Ainsworth Bay, en route to Ushuaia from Punta Arenas on the Stella Australis

Moody skies at the end of the day on board the Stella

Cautious icefield navigation at the Pia Glacier

And finally enough of not me - Cape Horn as day breaks, the very south of South America; 

have I got my eyes closed, I can't tell on this screen?

All clear on the Magellan Strait

All areas of Chile have now had the tsunami alert lifted (3.30pm-ish, 12th March), it was lifted here in Punta Arenas around 9am. Many places just reported slightly higher than normal sea levels but no major waves, although in some places like Dichato there was some flooding close to the shore and some displacement and capsizing of boats. The extreme caution and large-scale evacuation of the shoreline areas of towns and cities up and down the Pacific coast really was the result of last year’s catastrophic response to ‘no’ tsunami following the Feb 27th earthquake here and an understandable want for nothing to go wrong this time. Lessons learnt. And they'll continue to be.

On a lighter note, the Stella Australis Cruise starts tonight, just waiting to board now, so I'm looking forward to exploring the fiords and islands in and around the Magellan Strait and the Beagle Channel over the next few days. The wind is most definitely fresh down here, and strong, although I think it's probably only been a mere breeze today. Good job I brought my thermals and my beloved Paramo Pajaro jacket. I'd sleep in it if it weren't for the zips and toggles being a bit princess-and-the-pea-like. Some may have seen this picture before, but Zorro was impressed by the Pajaro, I could tell, even though he looks a bit indifferent.........

....he was probably just looking for his beloved Don Luis, looking good in matching 'boina' (beret) and jumper...

Better late than never...for this maybe, but it's not always the case...

This first post of the 'Our Von travel tales' has changed in my mind many times during the last 11 days since I left dear old, cold Blighty.  I'm shocked it's been that long already and can only apologise for the delay in writing.  It's been due to either no internet or no time, or rather not having internet when I've had time or the other way round.

It was originally going to begin with a slightly tangential mention of Guyana, a country not on the agenda for this trip but one that was on the agenda almost a year ago (how time flies when you get older, I mean, when you're having fun).  I was reading John Gimlette's 'Wild Coast' on the 'plane to Buenos Aires you see, the early Guyana pages, mostly about the politics of the country and Georgetown.  Now I've hardly spent any time in Georgetown but my first, quick impressions of it weren't exactly endearing, I thought it run-down, uncared for with an air of self-importance no longer justified by it now being a disintegrating shadow if its former self.  It has traditionally been known as the 'Garden City of the Caribbean'; even our city guide told us it's now more like the 'Garbage City of the Caribbean' - nice use of the enforced English language there.  But after only a few pages of 'Wild Coast' I began to feel a little softer towards the city, having a better understanding of it's history and where it's pride comes from and what its inhabitants are about.  I've not had time to move much further on in the book (the lack of time thing again) but I'm looking forward to when I do and I'd recommend it for anyone interested in the Guianas or that part of the world.  Listen to him talking about it on Radio 4's "Excess Baggage" with John McCarthy, from Jan 2011.

Then, after I realised I'd maybe lost the moment for a Guyana digression (although it seems not), I thought I'd better get a move on and mention the must-do other-world experience of visiting Recoleta's cemetery in Buenos Aires before its impact was overtaken by the awesome, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word, Argentina's Los Glaciars National Park near El Calafate in Patagonia.  You simply can't stop looking at the glaciers and the various sized, shaped and coloured icebergs floating in the channels around them, you just can't help yourself, and in the age of digital, well, I'll need a week to go through all the photos I took there.  But it was standing in front of Perito Moreno glacier with all of its creaks and groans and splashes of falling, carving ice, when I realised that this was real, proper, 'living' natural history, going on right in front of my eyes.  I've seen and appreciated ancient things before but never felt the age or incredible passages of time involved quite like this before. Nature's an awesome thing.

And that brings us on to the reason I am now actually putting pen to paper at last; I couldn't not, given the devastating events in Japan, an altogether more punishing side of the planet's natural forces and something that is reverberating here in Chile, with the Pacific tsunami warning being taken very seriously. Whilst its potential impact here won't be anywhere near the devastation or disruption of that in Japan, Chile's tragically had it's fingers burnt by earthquakes and tsunami of its own all too recently and doesn't want a repeat to even the slightest degree. There is continuous coverage on the news of the evacuations of the populated areas right on the coast up and down the country and even here in Punta Arenas we're on alert for evacuation in the morning (Sat 12th). This port city isn't even on the Pacific coast but the possible wave effects are reportedly due here around 2pm tomorrow - what happens will probably depend on how the other, actual Pacific coast areas fare.  Anyway, my heart goes out to everyone affected by the events in Japan.  In this case, better never.

This first post wasn't supposed to be so long....see why I need time......'ta luego. Our Von

The entrance to the 'other world' of Recoleta

A huge chunk of ice carves off Perito Moreno glacier - if only there were sound with the image

TNT Magazine mini-profile

'Insider' Von in yesterday's travel section of TNT magazine........

Te Rere Yellow-eyed Penguin Reserve

Everyone likes getting a personal letter in the post, makes a nice change from bills or flyers. This week we were touched by this thank you letter from the Southland Branch of Forest & Bird in New Zealand that dropped on our doorstep, along with an update of recent happenings there and news on how the penguins are getting on.

Guyana wins another fan....

Even just a week in Guyana is enough to be won over by its swathes of wilderness and the warm and friendly people working in ecotourism in the country's lush, largely untouched interior.

On return from his trip, one of our clients, Mark wrote: "Thank you for arranging a great trip, all went smoothly and the local Guyanese people were great..."....read more....

Von's visit to Nicaragua

Everyone had said Nicaragua doesn't really have much tourism but that's not strictly true or rather it doesn't create the right impression. By comparison to its neighbour Costa Rica, ok, it's true, there are considerably fewer numbers of tourists - one very good reason to visit in itself I would argue - but that doesn't mean the country is not set up for visitors. On the contrary, it has a perfectly good infrastructure to look after holiday makers or travellers as well as some very nice places to stay, run by some of the friendliest and most welcoming hosts you could meet. And in terms of the landscapes and natural highlights, the country is just stunning! It has volcanoes, lakes, beaches, tropical rainforest, wetlands, the list goes on.

I was bowled over by both the beauty of the country and the Nicaraguans I met there and can't wait to go back; I've no qualms at all about adding Nicaragua to the Travel In Depth destination portfolio....watch this space....

If you've a couple of minutes to spare or due a tea break, here are a few photos I took during the trip for your perusal.......and I'll post more about specifics of places visited and things done shortly....


Trip details: end of Nov 2010; 1 week; visited 3 main cities - Managua, Granada and Leon - and some of the Pacific coast; organised by Rainforest Alliance in conjunction with the Nicaraguan Tourist Board and TACA Airlines; the places we visited and stayed and the people we met with are all Rainforest Alliance certified tourism businesses

Paul's visit to the Falkland Islands

In October last year Paul spent 2 weeks in the Falkland Islands, exploring as many of the islands as he could in that time and he was absolutely smitten. Here are just a few more of his photos....

I'll pester him to add a few words here about the trip soon too...watch this space....

Manchester Evening News article (October 2010)

Travel In Depth grows its destination portfolio
An independent online travel company specialising in wilderness adventures........