Pure Patagonia trip - Week One

Day 1, Santiago

Had a free day so Lou, Martin, James, Ollie and I went up a fenicular to San Cristobel where you can look out over the whole city and the views were pretty amazing! It was so hot - about 33 degrees - so instead of wandering around the city all day we decided to go and chill out by a pool! Great idea in theory - can jump in and cool down then as soon as you dry off you get too hot again so have to go back in!! Only issue was that we just had no idea how hot it actually was until we got back to the hotel... I am now quite stripey as burnt pretty much every bit of skin that the sun saw, so am not a great sight at the moment! Bit stupid really as am now in pain but hopefully that won't last too long!

Had a quiet evening as had to be up at 5.30am!! Went for dinner and then went to bed! I can't get used to it not being dark at 4.30pm so I'm thinking it´s about 3 in the afternoon when it´s actually about 8 at night!!

Day 2, Santiago to Pucón

Left Santiago around 6.30 am and sat in our lovely truck called Fran for about 12 hours! There's not loads of space on it so it was quite hard to sleep but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough! It was a pretty uneventful journey, scenery wasn't that great, apart from the odd view of the Andes obviously!, but we passed the time chatting, playing cards and dozing! Arrived in Pucón and then had to set up camp. Am sharing a tent with Lou and we managed to quite successfully put up the tent, only to realise that if it rained all the water was going to run our way!!! So we had to pick it up and move to a better location!! It has been a while since I've camped and I'm already thinking I'm getting too old for it!!! But it's only for a month and we do have some hostels along the way so I´m sure it'll be fine...!! We all have chores to do aswell - cooking, washing up or cleaning the truck and fortunately I had a day off so did nothing!! No wild night either as had to be up at 6.30 the next morning - who thought this travelling life was easy...?!

Day 3, Pucón

Climbed a the Villarica Volcán today which is about 2,847m high I think (although we didn't start at the bottom)! We had to get all kitted out with crampons, ice axes and helmets which was pretty cool, although didn't get to use the crampons so just had the delight of having to carry a bloody heavy bag all day! It was bloody hard work - we took it slow although somehow I ended up in the faster group, not sure how that happened but we got to the top first which meant I could have more of a rest!!! A gorgeous guide was a great motivator for the ladies to get up to the top, so that might´ve had something to do with it!!! The weather had been quite bad previously but when we went up the weather was fantastic - clear blue skies and very hot. At the top we looked into the volcano and were rewarded with a faceful of sulphur which really wasn't a pleasant experience!!

After lunch at the top we had to get back down, and the best way was on our arses! Basically there was a bit of a gully in the snow so you just had to sit down, use your axe to slow you down (or speed you up!) and hope for the best...!! There was a bit of a pile up at one point and Martin had an argument with an ice axe (which someone lost on the way down) and ended up with a cut on his head. But apart from that we all made it down in one piece and it was great fun! I managed to ended up going head first at one point but made a good recovery and managed to get myself upright again!! We were all pretty knackered when we got down but went to the pub to celebrate our acheivements anyway!! Some celebrated more than others though so it got a bit messy!! But it was good fun! I can't handle two big nights in a row anymore though so am saving myself for New Year which is going to be massive I think...!!

Day 4, Pucón

Had a bit of a lazy day today, although not hurting as much as I thought I would after yesterday! Am massively sunburnt from yesterday though and one ear is bigger than the other as it´s so burnt and have blisters around my nose and top lip so am looking stunning at the moment! I feel like I´m falling apart!! New Year was excellent - started off at the campsite drinking from about 5pm, had some food then went in to the town to meet some other people in a bar. At midnight we went to the beach to see the fireworks and drink champagne and it was pissing down with rain so we all got soaked! After that we went back to the bar for a few more hours and then back to the campsite to pass out!! Everyone has now realised that I´m not actually that quiet, after my Freddie Mercury hoover dance to 'I want to break free' and some other random dancing so the evening was quite entertaining!!

Day 5, Pucon

Yet another lazy day, recovering from last night. Slight headache when I woke up but not too bad! It appears I remember less than I thought about last night but I don't think I embarressed myself (too much!) so it's all good! Had a BBQ at the campsite which was great, apparently we're going to be eating lots of steak and meat when we get to Argentina so am looking forward to that! Doesn´t look like I'm going to be losing much weight whilst I'm here with all this great food we're having, unless I get some nasty disease, but don´t really fancy that whilst I´m camping as the toilets aren't that nice!!! Ended up back in the pub again (which they opened for us!) and we got to watch the Liverpool vs Bolton match whilst they cleaned the pub around us! But we´re just having a quiet night (famous last words!) as it´s a 6am start again tomorrow and we're crossing the border into Argentina.

Day 6, Pucón to Bariloche

Long drive day. Photo stop at Volcán Lanín. Crossed border into Argentina - for some reason the guard at the border crossing took a bit of a liking to me, not sure why as there are far more interesting people on this trip than me but takes all sorts I guess! Decided to cheat and instead of camping went for a bunk bed instead for the next three nights! Such luxury! Am now looking stunning as all my sun burn is starting to peel - swollen and crusty and the words of the day at the moment, and fortunately I am not the only one suffering which makes me feel slightly better....!

Day 7, Bariloche

Went shopping, tasted the hot chocolate that Bariloche is famous for! (although not that special to be honest!), and chilled out by the lake in the afternoon! Had a BBQ in the evening at the campsite. They made the best empañadas I have ever had (basically like a cornish pasty but sooooo much nicer!) and just had lots and lots of meat until we all felt a bit ill! And then washed it down with some red wine of course as that´s what you do over here and it would be rude not to indulge!