Third Time Lucky

My first attempt at skiing was during my semester at university in New York. A group of us went, a friend and I had never skied before and for some reason we decided it didn’t look all that difficult and so with no teaching, we headed to the slopes. How both of us ended the day with no injuries I shall never know, but I remember our university lecturer from the UK told us not to go again as the university insurance definitely did not cover us!

Fast forward to when I moved to New Zealand and decided to try skiing again. This time I made sure to hire the right stuff including a ski instructor. All was fine until after a couple of hours in, a snowstorm came in, visibility was zero and everyone was evacuated off the mountain!

I love spending time in mountains in winter. In recent years I’d had great experiences cross country skiing in Norway and snow shoeing in Bulgaria, so, when a friend invited me to a week skiing in the Swiss Alps with an instructor, it could only be third time lucky!

It was at times painful, challenging, fun and strangely peaceful. We cried with laughter at points, perfected our ‘hip hop’ walk in the ski boots, enjoyed many sweet treats and amazingly ended on a high tackling part of a red run. Finally, success on the slopes! What a week to complete a nine week journey with the backpack. Tomorrow it’s home sweet home.

Thanks for reading and travelling along! Until the next trip…

Goodbye to Summer

 A short flight back to Buenos Aires and just enough time to explore the Palermo district with the botanical gardens, the Eva Peron museum and lots of colourful street art. 

After eight weeks of hostels and climbing up bunk bed ladders, my treat for my final night was a room to myself and a hotel bed. Luxury! 

South American adventure complete! I have loved it. This continent is so vast and the natural scenery never fails to impress. The hiking has been at times challenging, but always with great rewards and I have shared trails with new friends and found moments of solitude.  I’ve taken journeys by plane, boat, bus, car and bicycle, as well as thousands of steps. 

Now it’s time to leave the sunshine for a night flight to return to Europe in winter for an adventure in the snow…

End of the World

After time in the capital, I missed the mountains so returned south to Patagonia to visit the city ‘at the end of the world,’ Ushuaia. I loved it from the moment I landed! 

Beautiful days spent hiking in Tierra del Fuego along the coast, up to Glacier Martial and to Lake Esmerelda, with gorgeous, cosy cafes back in town and a great, social hostel to stay in. The scenery in Tierra del Fuego was very different to anything else I’d seen in Patagonia and after meeting some lovely ladies at the hostel, we had two great days hiking together. The weather stayed kind to us and on the last day as I walked back to the airport, the mountains had been lightly covered with fresh snowfall. 

One lady who I had hiked with, Liz, was off on a ship to Antarctica. I had spent one afternoon on a boat trip on the Beagle Channel and as I came back into the harbour, Liz’s boat was leaving! I was both excited and nervous for her - she would be crossing one of the notorious stretches of sea, the ‘Drake Passage’ and would be onboard that boat for two whole weeks! I’m not sure I could do it, but I equally cannot wait to see her photos and hear all about the amazing, once in a lifetime experience.

For me, it was back on the plane for one last night in Buenos Aires before Europe was calling for a winter adventure…