Adventures in Patagonia: 17. Let it snow let it snow let it snow.

4th Dec 2013

It has snowed overnight and it continues to snow on and off throughout the day. We enjoy our last breakfast at Valle Frio and head down to the Comapa office to check in for our Expedition cruise. The check in process is easy and as we don't have to board till 5.30pm we leave our bags and go in search of some waterproof gloves which are recommended attire for the cruise and after how cold my hands were up on Gardner Pass I think they may be a wise purchase. After looking through the many adventure shops we find lots of gloves that are perfect but with price tags of $80 plus and knowing that I have a pair at home I remember a little gem given to me by an adventure racing friend Julie - dish-washing gloves make good cheap waterproof gloves and since I had warm fleecy gloves all I needed was the waterproof function, so it was $20 later we had waterproof gloves for Andrew and I.

The last breakfast

Looking like a real backpacker wearing my day pack on the front

Big fluffy flakes , melting as soon as they hit the ground in town

A break in the weather seemed like the perfect opportunity to jump in a cab and head up to the Martial Glacier chairlift. Our taxi driver suggested that we stop along the way to take a photo on the way up, good thing too as it began to snow shortly afterwards and that was the last blue sky we saw for quite a while. When we arrived at the chairlift it was closed due to high winds so we walked up to the top of the chairlift and waited to see if the winds would calm before going any higher as the path headed into the trees from there and with snow being whipped around it would be easy to loose your way. When conditions didn't improve we headed back down to have a hot chocolate to warm up.

On the way up the weather was looking ok

There where a number of these creek crossings on the way, not all were a obvious as this one and they all were of dubious structural soundness, walking in other peoples footprints seemed a wise idea

Not sure that this thermometer was accurate but it was pretty cold in the wind and snow

Me hoping I wont get blow off the bridge

Andrew loving the wild conditions

Andrew finds a play mate - this dog was an expert snowball catcher

Can I come in for hot chocolate?

A little bit of spring

With the weather looking unlikely to improve we headed back to town for chicken schnitzel and hot chips, Andrew tempted my to try another kind of beer ( Beagle, Cape Horn or some equally unappetizing name ) and low and behold I still don't like beer! On our wanderings while looking for lunch we found C3PO locked in an Irish Pub, he will require rescuing at some stage so another trip to Patagonia is on the cards.

C3PO locked inside an Irish Pub I really don't like beer

5.30pm and boarding time has arrived and we head down to the docks to embark upon the next chapter of the Patagonian Adventure - a 3 night expedition cruise from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas via Cape Horn on the Stella Australis. The Stella Australis was constructed in 2010 and has 100 cabins, it can accommodate up to 210 passengers but being in shoulder season there were only 100 of us, making for a very comfortable cruise. Arriving at our cabin we were surprised at how large and bright it was. First up was the safety briefing which was done in the airline style via a video in the main Darwin Lounge. As we headed out of Ushuaia there was a break in the weather affording us views to the snow covered mountains surrounding the port. Dinner was a feast of seafood, now I'm not a fan of seafood so I wont comment on the food but Andrew seemed to enjoy it. The service was very slow and I found the tardiness of the tea and coffee service to be nothing short of infuriating. Andrew and I gratefully fell into bed at 10pm wondering if the weather would improve enough overnight to allow the much anticipated landing on Cape Horn scheduled for the morning