Dormville looks like the only option! Damn!

Hi guys! This is the worse half of the Jen and Terry team...the better half (Jen) has flown home to the lovely sunny UK (lol) after an insurance ´recommendation´(cough....no choice there then). I thought I´d share my day with you, the trials and tribulations, the issues and the basic sheer panic that set in as soon as Jen left and I realised I´d have to pick up the pieces and start doing some organisation of the trip! Overall summary of today....5/10...lots of room for improvement!

I started my day at 02.30 this morning in Buenos Aires. I was to fly down to Ushuia, the most southern city in the world...aka ´The End of the World´...love it. My taxi, that Jen and I arranged to pick me up outside our hotel at 03.00, surprisingly, didn´t show so it left me to wonder the somewhat dodgy streets of BA to find an alternative! Luckily after a few minutes searching, one was located and the short journey to the domestic airport began! Of course, it wasn´t meant to be smooth for me at all and the idiot taxi driver took the long way round. A journey of 20pesos costing me 40 as I blatantly couldn´t communicate with the dumbass (or maybe im the dumbass for that reason?).

Its official, I hate taxis! It was the first time I´d taken a taxi in about 6months...I think im just destined to have a rubbish experience in each and every one of them! I hung about in the airport for a bit and then checked into my flight at 04.40am. Gate 10 was the departure area and solitaire beckoned! Sad eh. Still angry with the taxi driver, I played cards for a bit and then boarded the plane, completely oblivious of course to what any of the instructions were about seat allocation etc as I cant speak spanish! Lol.

The plane was full except for the seat next to me which was for Jen. The sadness kicked in. It was real...the other half of my brain was officially missing and I was on my own!! A new plane was a good sign, but the leg room for a midget who was used to living out of a matchbox meant that it was gonna be a tight ride! The guy in front of me also really smelled bad and refused to have his seat in any other position than as far back as it could go! Thanks Mr Argie!

After trying (and failing) to sleep for a bit, I decided to face my fear and take a look at the Lonely Planet (LP). This of course, was totally Jens dept and I hadn´t even opened one in my life...oh dear! Just reading it made me miss her more and more as I didn´t have anyone to ´discuss the options´with..and so I ended up embarrassing myself by talking out loud; often posing questions to myself! HAHA. Brilliant.

Heaps of turbulence and a short landing in El Calafate to refuel and swap some passengers and I was getting to grips with the LP. Only this time, I was in for a nice surprise when little miss ´I´m going to kick you in the back forever´was seated behind me. Great.

After some more nerve wracking turbulence we arrived in what looked like a Swiss chalet resort...it was in fact Ushuia airport and resembled a large, cold sauna with a short patch of tarmac they use to fly the planes in and out! A pain free luggage collection and I decided NOT to take the taxi for the 4.5kms into central Ush...I was walking baby! Thats right, somehow I managed to ask someone for directions, have no idea what they said and then still find the place. Another success. It was hostel mission time!

The first 4 hostels seemed to think I was born yesterday and tried to charge me 70pesos (11pounds) for a dorm or 170 for a single room. Don´t think so sunshine...I´m off to find a cheaper one (I swear I have Jewish blood). So, after 5 attempts, I found one for 45pesos...but, big BUT...IT WAS A DORM! Agghhh...my worst nightmare had come true....I was to sleep amongst the snorers and the fornicators and the crazys!! Bring back Miss Edmonds so we can get our own room please!

Nonetheless and ignoring the dormville issue, it was tourist time...it was time to put my plan from the LP research into action and achieve everything I could in the rain and grim conditions with no real grasp of the language they speak here, haha.

I decided I´d spend 2-3 days here in Ush and see the Tierra del Fuegas (Fire earth or something), the glacier, go to see some penguins and then get a bus outta here up to El Calafate where Im told its friggin awesome!! On my walk into town I stumbled upon an amazing veggie takeaway place that wasn´t too expensive. A pumpkin and veggie lasagne with cheesy potatoes whilst continuing to walk and I was ready to plan some stuff (and unfortunately pay as well!).

The plans changed over the next few hours and after booking the penguin tour of 6hours for 200pesos, finding out where to get the local bus to the glacier and national park in the morning and paying the 250 pesos to get the 18hour bus to El Calafate in two days time, I found myself on teh 15.30 penguin tour boat! Only 12 ish hours after waking up, I was in a town very, very south and on a friggin boat tour...completely knackered.

A catamaran with circa 60 people on it from Germany and the UK with a twist of Israeli, I really started enjoying the trip. The weather was clearing and the scenery was simply breathtaking. I dont know what it is these days, but I´m in awe of the snowcapped mountains to the extent that I simply want to climb/conquer each and every one of them! There is literally 100 of them all around here, all unique, with different spikyness, height, other characteristics and snow deposits. I´ve definitely found my vocation in life!

It got to 19.00 after seeing the birds, sea lions, penguins and a cool lighthouse and we were on our way back to Ush. Oddly though, it didn´t actually get dark here until 22.00! A pretty lame attempt at cooking meant I had soup and pea pasta with some black pepper...and made far too much!!

I calculate that I could have 6days in El Calafate and 8 in Mendoza. Perfect. The only thing that isn´t perfect is that my baby isn´t here and Im missing her bad already! Pathetic you´re probably thinking, but I dont care! I will try my hardest to make the most of the rest of the trip I have here...or fly home early from BA...

Have to wait and see if I go voluntarily or get deported for killing a ´snorer´in their sleep for keeping me awake! HAHA. Dormville sucks in my opinion (as a light sleeper).

I´ll keep you posted.....

Peace out

Tel

P.s. One anti climax I forgot to mention...they played ´march of the penguins´on the way back to Ush on the boat trip....awesome film/documentary...but they dubbed it with pop music and random, weird kid voices for the baby penguins. Not cool Argies...not cool!