The mother of all bus journeys

We have just arrived back in Buenos Airies (and the land of fast internet!) after a marathon 44 hour bus trip from Southern Argentina (El Calafete). The trip actually wasn't too bad apart from my feet and ankles swelling up to twice their usual size. We got to watch some movies dubbed into Spanish, slept a lot, read a bit and gazed out of the window. Hence the collage. I loved Patagonia. Vast landscapes, big skies, amazing mountains, fantastic hiking.

Route 3 from the bus

Ally's Account

Our 44 hour trip from El Chalten to Buenos Aires was express – and they mean express. There was a 20 min stop for lunch and that was all. By 9pm I was worried that I would not get my dinner. I couldn`t believe the young kids and how well behaved they were. For 12 hours they had sat on their parents laps – some as old as 6 – so quiet with no cries for food or entertainment. Unlike me. We did actually get a light meal so I was happy.

Our first part of the trip was uneventful but then we had to change buses and I realised I had left my pillow on the bus. I shed a tear as my pillow is such a comfort to me. It even goes on hikes to both Witels and Torres. But then I brightened as I realised that both buses would be going in the same direction. I was delighted to find my pillow safe and sound, being used as some else`s back rest.

For 2000km the scenery does not change. Just flat and bone dry with very low scrub due to the icy wind and lack of rain. It was so flat we could see the sun set and the moon rise at the same time. I had never seen that before. I would love to have been able to sit outside and smell the air and watch the colours change.

I did get a fright that night. It was our second night on the bus and when I looked at G`s feet they had swollen to twice their normal size. You couldn`t see his ankles and his toes were like pork sausages. I realised it was because he had been sitting too long. So now I have solved the mystery of Big Foot. He was just some guy who rode a bus too long in the Himalayas and then had to walk home through the snow.