Beanie Rides Again.
UHURU
Steve Powell
Mon 21 Mar 2011 17:17
Twice on one trip well this is to much, I wanted to leave on a good note because this last week has been fantastic and now we are getting near to our last couple of days before heading home back to civilization.
When I blogged last time we had been through so many difficult situations then we turned around and started a different course and everything changed.
After we had done our epic mountain climb we thought that would have been the height of excitement, well it wasn’t. We couldn’t move after it however, the muscles were definitely telling us that perhaps we are not quite so young as we think we are and definitely were aching for quite a while after that.
Well we left Steve the Aussie and his crew and sailed of to another caleta, this time it was Caleta Beaulieu, just to make us feel at home.
Caleta Beaulieu, slightly more dramatic than Beaulieu, Hampshire
Anyway Willie and I felt as if we were doing the Antarctic with five layers of cloths on. We arrived near to where the caleta started, it is a long channel with glaciers at the end of them, we started going down the channels which was full of growlers, so constantly looking out for the big ones. There was another boat in front of us so we followed it up the channel, he must have had a stronger hull; because we came to a halt and decided to go no further as the growlers and ice in the water were getting more dense.
Following a steel hulled boat up the western arm of Seno Pia. Beans & Willie bravely fending off growlers.
We turned around and went towards the next glacier up the Eastern arm of Seno Pia, what a spectacular sight, we took the boat right up to the base, we weren't anchoring up there but a little further back. We didn’t want to be asleep under a glacier with an ice fall risk!! Anyway we left Steve on board while we took the dinghy to the edge, we tied up and walked all around the base of the glacier, it was huge and felt a bit nerve racking as it kept grumbling and having ice falls all the time.
That little dot ^ is Beans and crew in the tender exploring the glacier, that should give you an idea of scale!! Beans, Botty & Willie ashore next to the face of the glacier in Seno Pia, and Chris thinks about taking up a career modelling, while he reclines on this arm chair shaped growler.
After we had had our fill of that we went back to the boat and took her to where we wanted to anchor. Out came the ropes again, were getting a dab hand at all this tiding up lark. It does seem a necessity around these parts. The next morning the Botts and Steve and I went for an explore, just a little hill and no comparison to what Willie and I climbed. But exercise never the less. We then went back to the boat and set of to Caleta Olla, well we arrived, what excitement. We were tying up yet again, Chris and Willie taking the ropes to the shore when we had a pod of Dolphins come up to the side of the rib, they played with the rib for about half an hour, there must have been about eight of them. Everywhere the rib went the Dolphins went with them, Chris was even hanging out of the rib stroking them, Willie doing a sterling job of driving. They kept bringing the rib close to the boat so we could get the full picture, it really was quite amazing.
Our nightly tying up exercise became a game when a pod of Dolphins started to ‘harass’ our tender team. After trying to avoid them they finally gave up and joined in the fun.
Well another hike the next day, getting used to this now. Captain Fluff came off the boat but we left Bottie doing his smalls, Chris had mapped out where we were going, another viewing point and another glacier. It was a great hike, we saw beaver dams, more beautiful birds and a few little penguins. When we got back we all had such a laugh because Botts explained what he had been up to and how weird the washing powder was and a funny blue colour, well bless him he had got this powder out of the washing machine but it was in a zip lock bag. But it turned out to be Mikes power drink and he had washed everything in that!! He had to rewashed it all.
Off we go again now to Caleta Ferrari to go riding, we start and wow in front of us is a colony of Sea Lions, there must have been about ten of them basking in the sunshine, all ages. Little baby ones and great big fat hairy old ones, we got really close to them and Steve took some great pictures. They were grunting away but amazing to look at and such a good start. Then we had whales, well we have had quite a few whales this last week.
Big old Daddy Sea lion shows his teeth.
Anyway yesterday we went for the ride, this is the place where the boys went last time with the Gaucho, Jose and his girlfriend Animee who sailed to the farm with her husband and then fell in love with the gaucho. This is a whole new experience of life that I have ever seen. They basically look after this land that is owned by someone and they keep control of all the cattle there, there is no one else around. The nearest being a four hour horse ride to another station. They have 12 dogs, 8 cats endless horses. There are endless wild horses around that Jose catches and trains, using them to collect wild cattle that he has catches and brings them down from the mountains to sell to the fishermen. They go of for four days at a time into the mountains to live in the hut up there while they get the cattle to bring back and slaughter. It definitely wouldn’t be the life for me. However they also do horse trips for the yachties that arrive there, so of we all set. Were going for about five hours, dropping Bottie and his horse of on the way to do a little fishing. We are given our horses all saddled up in a variety of bits and pieces as bridles and saddles.
Botty leads the charge across a freezing torrent. Beans riding Gaucho style, with Prada accessories.
We are western riding, not used to that. I am given my horse who is very fast as I have been told by Animee, she was right I spent the whole time trying to hold it back as all it wanted to do is be in the lead. But what an adventure we had, going through raging rivers, nearly lost Willie as her horse started going another way where it was deeper. Going up huge rock faces and down the other side, seeing the red Argentinean fox cowering in the bushes. A perfect finish. Jose, Animee and Marcel ( Another yachtie) , came back to the boat for drinks and Canapés.
We are now off to Puerto William to sign in and fuel up for Steve’s next leg. We then go to Ushuaia tomorrow to perhaps go out to a restaurant for a change. This week has been a perfect ending to a not so good start. Its defiantly put me through my paces and I have done things I wouldn’t have dreamt I could have done, but we've survived it all.
So the Botts and I fly out on Friday to go home to a nice hot bath and clean clothes, but best of all to see our daughters who I always miss heaps when I am away.
So bye for now and back to Captain Fluffs blogs, thanks for the fan mail
Beans and all on UHURU
21st March 2011