13 April – Bariloche

We left Puerto Natales on board the Navimag Ferry for 4 nights and 3 days crising the Chilean Fjords. The weather was wet, cold and very misty but the scenery was fantastic. On day 2 we were warned that the sea would be rough and it was. We had taken a sea-sickness pill and were both fine although many suffered the mal de mare, In fact Gerry surprised himself by having 2 servings of the main course at dinner!, The next moring was much better and we waited in anticipation as we entered a bay known to be a favourite place for a pod of Hump Back whales. We saw several spouts but only a tiny bit of one whale. Disappointing in some ways but fantastic in others – we had already seen seals, sea lions, penguins and sea otters as well as quite a few sea birds that were new to us. We docked in the middle of the night but did not disembark until after breakfast (civilised).

The journy back into Argentina was through some beautiful countryside with often a decidedly English autumnal feel. The weather closed in as we arrived in Bariloche but we woke yesterday to a cool but sunny day so we took a trip up a cable car to a revolving restaurant at the top of a 1400 m high mountain. The views were very beautful and we stayed for 3 hours drinking Mercier Champagne (Argntinian made). We were impressd by the quality and th price (US$10 in th restaurant US$4.10 in the supermarket). Quite a few of our group ended up at the restaurant and joined our inpromptu party. Today Annie and 3 other girls have gone to a Health Spa for a pampering session. Gerry and another chap went fishing but caught not even a bite. But the boat ride was really nice if not rather expensive !

We leave tomorrow morning and head back into Chile and more camping. That will be a strain after 13 days of proper beds or bunks.

Thanks for the comments – plase keep them coming. Lots of love Gerry and Annie