Wed 19th Nov: Hydrospeed

I had a great sleep until about 1am when the person in the room above me returned from a night out. The snores were so loud I couldn´t sleep eventhough we were in completely different rooms. I was about to start banging on the ceiling above me when thankfully the snoring stopped and I got back to sleep. I´ve signed up to do Hydrospeed today along with Fionnuala and a girl from her group. This didn´t start until 2pm so I had a lie in.

I got up, bought some pastries for breakfast in a bakery on my way over to the bus station to buy a ticket for San Martin, 5hrs the other side of the Andes in Argentina. Again, getting the bus ticket took longer than expected. It was noon by the time I was sorted so there wasn´t much time to do a whole lot before meeting up with Fionnuala at 2pm. I got lunch in the supermarket, brought it back to eat in my room and had a snooze.

I got to the Aquaventura centre a few minutes before Fionnuala and her friend, Bev, arrived. When the girls entered the centre Fionnuala came over towards me, indicating to Bev where I was. Instead of following Fionnuala, Bev veered off at ninety degrees and very politely introduced herself to a handsome latina saying how pleased she was to meet me. ´Jaysus, Bev, I´m flattered but I´m the skinny white guy over in the corner. Yep, thats me with with sunburned nose, and nope, I´m not the Bronzed Latino you thought I was!!¨ It was quite funny as Fionnuala had to backtrack and point out to Bev where the real Fran was sitting. Bev´s grovelling mistake at the misunderstanding was equally funny.

There were six in the Hydrospeed group altogether. We had one guide who would be in the water with us and two lads in kayaks who would act as safety. What is Hydrospeed? Well I didn´t know until Fionnuala pointed it out to me. You are basically body surfing through white water rapids in a wet suit, flippers and with an oversized float. The guide intructs you where to position yourself in the water and the best point to enter the rapids. The rest is an adrenalin rush through a churning river and stunning scenery.

I was concerned about getting cold in the water but as it turned nobody got cold. We started out in a calm pool on a bend and had a 400m approach to the first set of rapids. As the sounds of the rapids in creased I got a tingling sensation and as we drifted closer to the noise the sense of excitement rose. You could see the anticipation in everybody´s face. In an instant we went from fairly placid water into tumbling, rolling, turbulent whit water and were simply carried along by the rapids, heads bobbing up and down between waves. You hung onto the float as you crashed over the top of a wave and were then carried in to a dip. As the next wave rolled above you were thrown up into and then over it, and then down into the next cascade.

Very quickly we were thrown out into calm waters again and drifted calmly until the noise of the next set of rapids began to rise. We went through maybe 5 sets altogether with the guide shouting over the sounds of the river, instructing us as to the positions we should take on each approach. All too quickly it was over. The hour we were on the river felt like perhaps 25 mins. It was exhilirating and something I´d love to do again.

Afterwards I went with Fionnuala and Bev for something to eat on Pucon´s main street, Avenida O´Higgins. It was totally relaxed and carefree. These last few days in Pucon have been a real highlight. Meeting up with Fionnuala, climbing the volcano and now the hydrospeed have been pure enjoyment the whole way.

While Sipping on some beers John and Jim, the Americans, came strollinbg down the street and asked how we´d got on on the river. Our reactions sold it to the lads who promptly signed on for tomorrow. It was John´s 40th birthday so we arranged to meet up later, after the lads had dinner.

After a quick shower back at the hostel I got the bags ready for leaving in the morning and went back out to meet Fionnuala at ´Mamas and Tapas´where we´d agreed to meet the lads. The rest of the night was a good laugh with Fionnuala and then the lads who sauntered along later. The two J´s were sound. I got on with them from when we´d met at the start of the hike. It was really entertaining listening to Fionnuala´s tales of her adventures in Central and south America. I thought I´d been adventurous cycling acroos America but listening to Fionnuala she really did have some adventures which contrasted so much to my solo little trek.

I was very tempted to stay on in Pucon and was beginning to regret having bought the ticket to San Martin. However doing the activities was a drain on the pocket and I had to be budget conscious. Having Fionnuala there was so good. It had been great looking forward to seeing her and having a laugh with her. By the end ogf the night I was confused in my own mind.... should I stay or should I go?

Tues 18th Nov: Volcan Villarrica

Up just after 6am. Our group met at 7am. There were about 12 of us in the party, one of many to do the hike today. Soon we all piled in to a minibus and, after a quick tour around town to pick up some of the guides who had slept in, we hit the road for the mountain.

By 8.30 we were on the slopes and very quickly hit the snow fields which we would follow to the summit. There were three guided in the group. Already there were groups high up on the slopes above us. They looked small and distant against the vast white flanks of the volcano. The hike itself was a slow 5hr climb to the summit. But it wasn´t difficult. You simply had to concentrate on where you put your foot. It was simply a case of following the footsteps of the person in front of you. I found the slow rhythm of the climb became quite hypnotic and drifted off into daydreams every so often. Whnever this happened I was brought back to reality very quickly as I would miss a secure foothold and slip. I didn´t daydream very much!! It was important to stay alert as everybody at some point slipped in the soft snow.

The vuews were fantastic and kept improving the higher we went. Through certain phases of the climb the slope became very steep but we had been given ice picks to support ourselves and they were very useful when the footholds in the snow did give way. It was tiring but but when you paused to take in the views it was exhilirating. Mountains stretched away for mile after mile. Scattered among them were the higher peaks of major volcanoes.

Our group began to dwindle as the slower ones fell back and by the time we reached the summit one guide remained with 6 of us. I was with 2 American lads I´d been chatting to on the way up. The other guides were lower down, shepherding the stragglers to the top. Teaching the top was great. The crater was billowing out thick sulphurous clouds of vapour that stank of rotten eggs. The wind up her was strong with a cold bite. Very quickly we put on the waterproof suits we´d been given at the centre. Everybody suited up in preparation for the long slide back down the flank of the mountain. We wouldn´t climb back down. we would slide. It was going to be great!! After 20 mins of taking in the views we began the descent.

It was great sliding down. At times zipping through the snow. My suit leaked however so by the time we got down I was soaked. I wasn´t the only one though. 40 mins later we reached the bottom of the snow line. 20 mins later we were back at the jump off point. Everyone was buzzing after the adventure. Back in town we had a couple of beers with the guides. The two American lads, John and Jim were staying at the same hostel as myself. I had to go back and sort out a bed for myself and then I snoozed from which I found it very difficult to rise from.

After struggling back up I checked my email to find Fionnuala couldn´t meet up this evening as her group had made arrangements so I got a bite to eat. Wandering around town I had a quick chat with the American lads but feeling the effects of the day I called in early tonight as did the lads. It didn´t take long to get to sleep

Monday 17th Nov: To Pucon

I caught the 9am bus for Pucon. Its a six hr journey from Puerto Montt so I settled down to watching the countryside go by. Fionnuala Farrell is in Pucon at the moment, or she should e according to her email. She arrived yesterday for a week. I was going to send her an email from Puerto Montt but decided to hold off until I arrived in Pucon. I´m looking forward to meeting her as it had appeared as though we wouldn´t meet up.

The landscape through this part of Chile is again very pretty, lush green fields, snowcapped mountains with, every sooften the cone of a volcano emerging in the distance. We stopped, briefly, in Osorno and then in Valdivia. It had been overcast this morning in Puerto Montt. Indeed it had rained throughout the night. But as the day progressed the weather cleared and by the time we arrived in Pucon it was a beautiful warm day.

Pucon is a small town, easy to get around. Its a resort town, pretty and wealthy. Its very European looking and quite touristy. But it has a very relaxed atmosphere and its setting is beautiful with the cone of Volcan Villlarica dominating the landscape. The fact that the town lise by a lake is almost forgotten by the almost hypnotic affect of Villarica. Your eyes are constantly drawn to the sight of the towering 3,000mvolcanoe, its upper slopes covered by pristine snow. Most people come here to climb the volcano. THere are many other activivties to do here, there are many adventure related busineses here. But the volcanoe is the big one.

I checked into my hostal and got a bed in a 3-bed dorm but was told I´d have to move tomorrow as the room is booked. I was hungry. So before emailing Fionnuala I went to the supermarket to get some food. Wandering around the aisles looking for the bits and bobs for lunch who did I see only the bold Fionnuala. I went over and said hello. The look on her face was priceless. To say she was surprised was an understatement. We went across the street to a cafe to have a chat and a laugh at meeting up in South America. I hadn´t expected to bump into her so easily, thinking she would be doing onbe of the activities ot at the language school her group is attending for the week.

After catching up for a while we went over to one of the adventure companies and I signed up climb the volcanoe in the morning and I showed Fionnuala the hostel where I was staying. The restaurant had a decent restaurant so we ate there and over a few drinks we caught up on Fionnualas adventures over the last few months which really sounded quite something. By 11.30 Fionnuala went back to her house her group had rented for the week and left me to get ready for an early morning hike up Volcan Villarica.

Sun 16th Nov: Puerto Montt

I´ve decided to stay on here for the day. After breakfast I paid up for a second nitght, and then promptly went back to bed!! I lazed for most of the day reading, snoozing and watching TV. (I don´t have the energy I used ta!!) I watched most of Hull v Man City.

I got up and out around 5.30pm and went out to get something to eat. It was a bit cooler today, overcast for much of it but has cleared up this evening as I make my way downtown towards the bus terminal. I get my ticket to Pucon for tomorrow morning. It wasn´t as busy as yesterday but still there was a sizeable crowd milling about. All the winos were back, this area obviously being there main haunt. There were vendors selling sticks of grilled meat. Their grills sizzling, sending out plumes and aromas of cooking meat. Couples and families, many dressed up were out for their evening stroll. There are lots of dogs in Puerto Montt. Some look a bit mangy and underfed but for the most part they appear to be the happiest, jolliest and laziest dogs I´ve seen. They seem to have the run of the town, not in an agressive way but as if the whole town were their playground. They frolic around leisurely, weaving around the strolling humans. Then, spotting a convenient patch on the pavement, they stretch out for a delicous little snooze. Even the odd dog that decides to make the effort to bark follows this with a long yawn, its tongue dripping with contentment. It doesn´t so much lie down after this as slowly keels over, with a look of heavenly bliss as it settles itself. Another quick yawn and the dog is asleep, serene as a couple of toddlers run around it.

I get a meal in a family run restaurant - Dona Mila´s. This was a simple basic eaterie fronting the main thoroughfare down near the ferry terminal. It was quiet this evening. Two other tables were occupied with some people sipping beer and wine as they chatted. Three generations of the family were out the back in the kitchen area and by the sounds of it had their living quarters upstairs. Two of Dona´s little grandkids came out to play in the main restaurant floor. They came over to stand and stare beside the white gringo. They got all excited as I responded to their approach, saying "Hola" and asking their names. They didn´t respond but ran away shrieking with excitement before sidling up beside me again, all smiles now. Very quikly Nana Dona put an end to their adventure, hauling them back into the kitchen, their shreiks of laughter turning to howls of protest as their fun was abruptly cut short.

I had salmon steak with chips and a bottle of water. For some reason she wouldn´t serve me any cerveza. As I left Don Mila´s some fairly serious incident seemed to have occured as a crowd of onlookers had gathered to watch as police vans and motorcycles sped past, their sirens blaring, into an adjacent residencial area. I left the crowd of onlookers and strolled into the town centre. After a quick look around darkness began to fall and I decided to head back to my room. I´m looking forward to Pucon and enjoy another night of sleep in my single room...... with tv!!

Sat 15th Nov: Into Chile

After mulling over what to do during the night I decide to head for Puerto Montt and catch the 9am bus. As we pull away from Bariloche an English guy comes over and sits beside me. He tells me I can´t bring bread, fruit, meats etc into Chile. I wasn´t aware of this and brought a bundle of food with me for the journey. I have quite a large breakfast so and will have to dump anything I don´t eat at the border. We´re also given a small breakfast on board so I´m stuffed as we head for the mountains. As we head northwest for the mountain pass which will take us into Chile we travel through high valleys covered by woodland which extend all the way down to the shorelines of sparkling blue lakes. As we head deeper into the Andes we leave the lakes behind and the snow speckled mountains begin to rear up all around.

We stop in a pretty touristy town and I get pangs of guilt as I see a group of cyclists with their panniers and gear all loaded up rolling out of town. We leave the town behind and the road winds higher into the mountains. Trees begin to thin out leaving patches of bare rock and snow scattering across the view. Soon we are at the Argentine border post. We all troop off the bus and present our passports while border officials sign the paperwork, enter our data into computers and, finally stamp the passport. This border post was located in a very pretty dip in the mountains and it was no great chore to sit in the sun and look at the views until we were given the all-clear to progress towards the Chilean border.

A few miles later over the tops of the mountains we repeated the procedure only this time everything took longer. All the luggage was unloaded and passed through an airport style monitor. Our hand luggage was inspected for suspect foodstuffs and meats of mass destruction. Thankfully I had been tipped off earlier and dumped my offending lunch as I ticked off all the boxes of illicit foodstuffs........ contraband salami and, God forbid....... bananas!!!!

The Chilean customs officers were jovial, plump and well-fed looking characters. One guy appeared to be salivating at the thought of all the cheese and hams he was going to confiscate from us gringos but sadly he would be disappointed. I looked so downcast as he failed to locate anything to confiscate for his lunch that I considered offering him a sympathetic square of my chocolate. Then I thought I´d better not in case he decided to take it and my biscuits as well!

Into Chile, we trundled through the mountains for some more miles before beginning our descent to the plains below. We emerged from the mountains into a region of lush green pastures. The colours on this side of the Andes were much more vivid than in Argentina. The fields with cattle grazing, lined with trees. The grass an emerald green resembled the good quality land in the east of Ireland. At times you felt you could be at home on a bright summers day until you looked to the horizon and saw the snowcapped mountains.

A brilliantly white volcano suddenly appeared miles away on the left of the bus. Its cone shape was captivating. My first volcano. Soon a second volcano appeared, then a third neither as tall or as striking as the first, Volcan Osorno. We stopped at the town of Osorno briefly and most of the backpackers on board got off to change buses for Pucon 5hrs north of here. Weaving slowly through a saturday street market the bus left Osorno for the 100km stretch south to Puerto Montt. All the while we had the sight of Volcan Osorno filling the view on one side of the bus. Your eyes were just drawn to it. We stopped briefly in Puerto Varras a small town on a lake which has spectacular views of the volcano towering over the far shore.

20 mins later we were in Puerto Montt. This is a bustling port town sitting on the northern end of the Chilean fjords which extend all the way down to Punta Arenas in southern Patagonia. Most come here to take a three day ferry to Puerto Natales, the gateway to the famous Torres del Paine national park. A short walk up a steep hill took me to Hostal Vista Hermosa where I got a single room. I was looking forward to this after a week in dorms. Hopeful there would be no mosquitoes this time. I lay down for a while and then got up to get some money, food and have a look around town.

First impressions of Puerto Montt weren´t great. It looked pretty rough. There was a lot of hustle and bustle. People looked poorer here. I felt as though finally I had really arrived in South America. I think the anxiety I felt was more to do with a little bit of culture shock than any real danger in the town. There were a good deal of winos in this part of town, close to the bus station. But people just seemed to be hanging around and I didn´t see much of this in Argentina. People looked a lot different on this side of the Andes, with darker skin and a more South American look to them. I had to find an ATM and get some money and I´m never fully relaxed when I have to get csh. I always feel slightly vulnerable at ATM´s so this probably helped me feel on edge.

There were a lot of street vendors among the streets of the business district which led away from the bus terminal. It felt very different to Argentina. Once I got my cash the anxiety I felt began to fade away and I started to enjoy the place. There were a lot of Cafes and fast food joints along one street. A football match was being shown on tv and each place had a posse of people filling up the place to watch the game. Where the TV sat just inside the entrance the doorway filled with onlookers craning their necks to get a glimpse of the action.

Ten to twelve blocks down the street the general shopping area became a bit more upmarket. This must have been the high street of Puerto Montt and led to an open plaza which itself opened onto the seafront running prrallel to the shopping area. I got a bite to eat in a local eaterie which left me feeling unsure if my stomach was going to react (thankfully it didn´t). It was getting dark so I went back to the hostel for the night.

Fri 14 Nov: Bariloche

I spend much of the morning sorting out a bus ticket for tomorrow morning. My intention is to go to Calafate in southern Patagonia and I¨ve been under the impression I can go direct. I go to a ticket office in town to find out I cant get a ticket from him and have to go out to the bus station to get one. I go to the bus station and find out this particular bus only goes once a week on a Sunday night at 21.00. What hasnt been explained to me is that for the regular journey I have to make three connections en route. Things get lost in translation I suppose. However I now begin to consider other possibilities. I decide to get a ticket to Puerto Montt in Chile and then take a bus down through the Chilean fjiords to Puerto Natales from where I can then get back across the border to Calafate. It sounds like a great idea so I get my ticket to Puerto Montt.

Its lunchtime before I m sorted. By now I m hungry si I get some food in a nearby supermarket and bring it back to the hostel to eat. In the dining room I get talking to a Belgian couple, Michel and Eve who have just arrived from Ushuaia in the extreme south of Patagonia and a particularly long 3 bus 50hr journey. We end up chatting for the rest of the afternoon. They are sailing around the world together and have been travelling for the past 15 months. Their boat is moored up in Venezuela while they tour around South America. I find it fascinating listening to their sailing adventures. They re a lovely couple and by far and away the most interesting people I ve met so far. I have dinner with them in the evening and we join a table with a Dutch lad, an Aussie couple and a hilariously camp English "gent" in his forties. A lot of stories get trotted out through the evening about each others travels and, we find a lot of similar experiences with muggings and attempted robberies in Buenos Aires. It seems my episode was far from unusual there. The Aussie couple have come from Chile and tell tales of climbing Volcanoes and sliding back down its slopes in a town called Pucon. It sounds fantastic and Im intrigued.

As the conversations progress I get asked about where Içm going to next and I tell of my fresh plans for Puerto Montt and the great bus journey down through the fjords. People frown and are surprised I can do this and begin to cast doubts as to whether there is a bus link from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. I double check with the guide and indeed There is no bus conection. Now Içm not sure what to do. Should I bother going to Puerto Montt at all? As I go to bed I decide to sleep on it over night and see what I think in th morning

Thurs 13th Nov: Cerro Otto (Cerro Bambino!!!)

I sleep in Today. Up at 9.30. There is a turnover of personnell in the dorm today. All the lads are leaving. Denni for Puerto Madryn to go whale watching on the Atlantic coast. The English lad to Puerto Montt in Chile and Kevin heads south to El Bolson. I´ll miss talking to Kevin. Some people might have got a bit freaked by all his talk of conspiracy theories but behind it all he´s very laid back with a very wry sense of humour. It was easy to have a laugh with him.

Hostels can bring together an odd mix of characters. It can be a very hit or miss experience in these dorms. You can be thrown in with any kind of character from the sound to the mildly eccentric to individuals you just stay away from. So far in this dorm its been grand but I´m glad I´m not sharing a room with some of the characters in the hostel. There´s an aussie and a couple of Kiwi girls whom you might describe as being up their own @#*e!!.

In the afternoon I head out of town to a smaller mountain, Cerro Otto, some 5km away. A local bus drops you off at a cable car station which goes up to a refugio at the summit. I hike up a rough dirt path which follows the line of ascending pylons. This hill is a lot lower than cerro Catedral but much steeper. Its difficult underfoot as the loose dirt and gravel prevents you getting a good grip. The path doesn´t zig zag up the slope it simply runs straight up. I have to stop regularly for a breather. Under a strong sun I begin to sweat heavily making me wish I was in a pair of shorts and not my trousers which begin to stick to me. After a long 90mins I reach the top. The refugio here has a restaurant with panoramic views. There is also a phone kiosk so I decide to call home, not having managed to get through to home so far. It turns out to be an expensive call but a memorable one. Talking to Marie I hear that she has terrible cravings for chocolate. I then get the news that we have another wee baby on the way. Marie ther´s plenty of chocolate in Bariloche for those kind of cravings. Two girls in the dorm made themselves sick gorging on chocolate today!!. Its exciting news and in years to come I´ll be able to tell exactly where I was the day I heard the news. With all the excitement I felt too tired to hike back down the mountain and instead took a cable car. After a day where Içd spent very little I blew three quarters of the daily budget in a matter of moments. But it was worth it. Today will live long in the memory, not so much for what I did but for the news I recieved. Its not often you here you are going to be an uncle but to hear it on the top of a mountain in Argentina certainly adds to the experience.