Bolivia

Plaza Murillo, La Paz

I have to admit I didn’t know much about Bolivia before coming here. I’m pleased to say I found it to be the most intriguing South American country I’ve visited so far. Intriguing both because of the people (mostly indigenous), and the landscape – a land of salt flats, jungles, ancient cities and, needless to say, mountains.

The top half of Chile

A spurting geyser in the Atacama, Chile.

It was another overnight bus ride to get from Valdivia to the capital of Chile, Santiago. This was just the start of northern Chile, a region with astoundingly disparate climates and scenery. From the sea to the desert, it was constantly astounding.

Northwest Patagonia

Skiing in El Bolsón, Argentina.

The bus left El Calafate in the afternoon and, though its destination was north, it shot east across the country to Rio Gallegos (that weird town of not very much) and then northwest towards the top of Argentine Patagonia. The famous Ruta 40 that runs up the west of Argentina, dissecting Patagonia in two, is closed to buses at this time of year, so there’s no choice but to zigzag across as we did. The scenery, as described previously, was bleak and grey, with only the occasional scrub sprouting life out of the infertile soil. On the horizon appeared the Andes once again, and after a comfortable night we arrived in the small town of El Bolsón.

Southwest Patagonia

Cerro Fitz Roy, near El Chaltén, Argentina

I left Ushuaia behind, starting the long journey up north to who-knows-where. Still, ahead of me for now was a lot more of Patagonia, a lot more mountains and a lot more snow.

Ushuaia: the city at the end of the world

Ushuaia: the city at the end of the world.

After our extended bus journey from Rio Gallegos, we arrived in Ushuaia, la ciudad del fin del mundo, at the very bottom of Argentina, in the early afternoon. As the bus pulled into the town, the white world gave way to a shoreline flanked by mountains. This is the Beagle Channel, named after the British ship that passed through here on a surveying mission in 1828. In 1832, Charles Darwin sailed arrived in the same ship on his famous five-year round-the-world voyage. For me, however, this is as far south in the world as I will get – on this trip at least.