Patagonia Dreaming: in January 2008 I joined a Gap Adventure to hike in Patagonia. It was my first GAP experience and a very favourable one. We flew to Buenos Aires and explored the city of a couple of extra days prior to hooking up with the tour guide and our group of 12 (3 men and 9 women – apparently more women than men join up on GAP). We flew to Bariloche to start our adventure, making our way down to southern part of Argentina and Chile. We spent days hiking, canyoning, rafting, horseback riding and other sorted options. 5 days were spent hiking and camping in Torres Del Paine national park in Chile and hiking in Argentinian part of Patagonia. We finished up in Ushaia at the tip of Argentina before flying back to Buenos Aires. All in all 23 days of wonderful weather, making new friends from around the world, amazing vistas and a great tour guide who kept us going. Although it was ranked as ‘basic’ our accommodations were surprisingly comfortable – ranging from hotel to hostel to camping. www.gapadventures.com

Patagonia, Argentina

Catherine Daw