Border
We had to change bus between borders, most likely due to
tax, road insurance or safety. Most likely all the above actually. We drove
into a dusty area and unloaded all the bags, and waited another half an hour
for our Chilean bus to arrive. It was at this point we realised how much stuff
some of these women had. Bags and bags of all the tourist stuff – materials,
hats, little bags, scarves, even cheese and cigarettes which they were trying
to jam down some of their bags to hide them. We filled out our customs forms
which limited us to 2 cartons of cigarettes and no dairy products…I’m sure I
just saw a woman shove a 2kg wheel of cheese and 5 packs of cigarettes in her
bag somewhere??
Our bus eventually arrived and they unloaded that one and we
swapped over. One woman hauling two mattresses with her to our old bus. We
drove another 200 metres down the road before arriving at Chilean immigration.
At this point it was nearly 10am. We thought an hour and we’d be on our way,
reaching Calama by 1pm. Even the driver assured us of that.
We got our stamp with not much bother, but the customs line
was ridiculous. We had to wait for the bus infront of us to finish, and by
10.30am, the five woman dragging what looked like a market load each were
allowed to approach customs because they were declaring goods. This took no
less than THREE hours!! The rest of us got checked quickly and we boarded the
bus, but we had to wait for the women to pay up. By 1.30pm the women were back
on the bus telling each other, ‘I got away with the cheese,’ ‘they didn’t spot
my cigarettes,’ ‘they counted my hats wrong and I didn’t pay tax on five of
them.’ No apology to the rest of the bus! This was apparently the right time
for our driver to go and get some lunch, claiming he was hungry – not that he
didn’t have 6 hours to eat something whilst we all waited. And laughed that we
were all wasting the day. All back on, we left to get to Calama.
Calama
We reached there at 4pm…actually no, the clocks had gone
forward an hour so it was 5pm. We had managed to change £6 worth to Chilean
pesos at the border but that was all we had. Enough to get us the 1.5 hours to
San Pedro but it seemed every bus company in town was full for their 6pm. Even
one company that didn’t leave till 9pm was booked up.
We tried to get some money out but my card kept on coming up
with ‘transaction unable to complete.’ Then I remembered my bank telling me
customers had had issues taking money out in Chile. We had survived on this
card, one that didn’t charge for transactions at all abroad. And after nearly
12 tries on different ATMs, we gave up and tried my HSBC, receiving a 404 blue
error screen. We tried to change up some dollars but they didn’t want $20, only
$50s and $100s which we didn’t have. And they had to be in perfect condition!
We managed to convince them to take $40 worth of our freshest, crispest notes.
Knowing we couldn’t get a bus, we managed to find a hotel where the staff were
super friendly. We checked our messages and told Mariana what had happened and
that we’d reach her the next day. Unfortunately missing her as she was funnily
enough visiting Calama that night!
We actually had a good night sleep in the end and booked a
bus out for the next morning. The next morning we tried our luck with my TSB
card, and although we were charged an extortionate amount from my bank and the
Santander ATM we used, we were glad to have some cash in our hands.
San Pedro de Atacama
Our bus was pretty swish to San Pedro, and we arrived on
time, mid afternoon and headed to the tourist agency Mariana worked out. She
was lovely, and it was so nice to see a welcoming friendly face. She was
originally from Venezuela and had travelled all over South America, settling in
a few different places for a while, but the last few months had settled here in
the desert with her boyfriend who worked at the same agency.
She gave us directions to her house where we met Sebastian.
We turned their offer to go on their tour to the Valley of the Moon down as we
wanted to cycle there the next day for sunset instead.
We grabbed some lunch at this place that served us this
veggie meal which was some kind of corn mush wrapped in the outer leaves of the
corn. It was tasty, unlike anything I tried before. We managed to get some cash
out with my normal card. Unfortunately the guy at the ATM next to us didn’t
have as much luck…he was getting a receipt for taking out £200 worth, but the
part where the money comes out wasn’t opening even though it was flashing
green! He stupidly decided to try taking out another £200 worth, having the
same problem!! Poor guy. His son was trying his best to pull apart the jaws of
the money dispenser!
We walked around the town and headed back to their house for
a bit before meeting them that evening when they returned. They had a
Portuguese girl called Rita staying with them and before that, two sisters from
Swansea who had been staying with them before we arrived who had gone on the
tour.
We all decided to go for dinner, minus Rita who went to meet
a friend. Not hungry, Luke and I just went for a bottle of wine to share with
the girls, but everyone’s food looked delicious. One of the girls was vegan but
on her 3 month travels decided to be veggie, just because it would prove
difficult to find anything…something I suggested Luke should’ve done, but
despite my best efforts, he’s stuck up for the cows and chickens the whole way
(with the odd exception).
 |
| San Pedro town walks |
The next morning, Mariana and Sebastian headed off for work,
and Rita went off to meet with her friends. I was not feeling great, having
woken up feeling sick and with a cramping tummy. After a shower, I turned faint
and was not well for a good 15 minutes of pure pain…is this what it felt like
to give birth?? I was drained, and the stomach cramps persisted for a while.
There was absolutely no way I could ride a bike. I was gutted (it felt like I
was literally) that we weren’t going to Valley de la Luna. We just walked (very
slowly) around town after sorting out our bus for the next day, and found some
late lunch for Luke. The rest of the day was a film day as I could barely move
unfortunately. Maybe another day I’ll return to visit the Valley, and possibly
do a three day Uyuni salt flats tour! Who knows?
After an early start for everyone in the house, we said
goodbye and headed to the bus stop. We boarded one to Calama to catch our bus
to Santiago 2 hours later. We passed the two hours in Calama by going back to
the hostel we stayed at a few nights ago, where Lucy, the owner was kind enough
to let us sit for a while and help ourselves to coffee. It was a holiday that
day, so most of the shops were closed and the dogs were enjoying the quiet as
they were scattered across the pavements sleeping...not that it would’ve
stopped them anyway.
We eventually jumped on our bus to Santiago, not knowing
whether our couchsurfing host had seen us confirm, but as it was a 24 hour bus,
he had plenty of time to reply! A simple diet of bread it was for me today.
Joy!
Santiago
We arrived in Santiago early the next morning to a busy bus
station. After getting connected to some wifi we managed to check our email
from our couchsurfing host Nacho. He told us to head to his house where someone
would open up for us as he was at work. We managed to find his place pretty
easily and were welcomed by his mother who was heading out the house, and
another couchsurfer who had been staying for a month already called Federico,
from Buenos Aires. We met Nacho’s girlfriend, and after a quick chat, headed
out into town to have a look around.
It was a gloomy, wet day, not great for walking around for
hours. So we dived into the cathedral on the main square, which was stunning. A
little peace and quiet, it was nice to sit there amongst the beautiful stained
glass and low lighting for a bit. We eventually headed up and out to the only
sensible thing in this weather…a wine bar! We were in Chile after all, it would
be a shame not to!
We headed back after that to Nacho’s house, who was back
from work, as was his younger sister and his older sister. His dad eventually
turned up after a late night in the office…an accountant (how I do not miss
that).
The football was on that night – Chile v Peru. It was the
qualifying rounds on S.America for the 2018 World Cup. It started pretty late,
at 11pm, but we pulled through even though we were knackered from our bus
journey, much because of the buzz in this family’s house and their energy and
enthusiasm for the football. Chile eventually won after a pretty decent match
4-3. And every time Chile scored, we all fist bumped each other…an obvious
tradition in this house, or maybe the country! His mum made us all some steaks,
and Luke some mushrooms. I thought how much his mother reminded me of my friend
Camila’s mum, also Chilean and a feeder! Such a lovely family, it was one of my
best couchsurfing experiences.
Valparaiso
The next day we headed to Valparaiso, a town a couple hours
away known for its vibrant colours, beautiful ocean front setting, and great
viewpoints across the city. Unfortunately we had decided to visit when the
heavens had opened up. It was pissing it down! It rained, and rained…and
rained. It didn’t stop all day, and it just ruined our visit a little as the
views weren’t all that great, with the colours blurred and grey skies lurking
over the city. We made the most of it by finding the street art that was so
well known around the city. They were amazing, and alleyways were lined with
these amazing pieces of work.
 |
| Same same |
But we obviously had to dive into a bar to shield ourselves
from the cold, wet weather. We eventually headed up these elevators that took
you to viewpoints across the city. They were little old things that went up
these steep inclines. The views were pretty cool, and we walked around as our
feet got soaked. Gortex my arse!
 |
| Valparaiso street art |
Santiago
We eventually squelched back to the bus station and shivered
all the way back. Nacho’s mother quickly gave us a hairdryer to dry out our
shoes and insisted that her husband give us a lift to the airport that evening,
which was just so kind of them.
We packed up our bags, leaving some stuff at their house to
pick up on our return and jumped in their car. We speeded along and dropped off
in what must have been a record time. After checking in, we had a couple hours
of waiting for our 2am flight.
It was cold, and it was about to get a lot worse as we
headed to Patagonia.
Arriving in Punta Arenas headed to Puerto Natales
Our flight pulled in at Punta Arenas at the glorious hour of
5.30am as the sun was coming up. We asked about buses heading on to Natales,
and there were some coming at 7.30am, if they had spaces…so the wait was on.
And so we sat there in the cold airport until the bus rocked up and we managed
to squeeze on. It was a three hour bus ride which eventually pulled into the
beautiful Natales where on the other side of the water were these beautiful
snow-capped mountains surrounding the town. It was stunning, and the air fresh
and crisp. It was so much easier to breath now we weren’t at altitude.
 |
| Natales lake views |
After a much needed rest, we headed for this afternoon chat
one of the tour/hire agencies did about Torres del Paine at this place called
Erratic Rock. The guy freaked us out about the weather – ‘you will get wet, you
might as well walk through the creeks as your shoes will be soaked, wrap
everything in tonnes of plastic bags, don’t even bother using a waterproof
cover, walk around in a t-shirt even if it’s cold.’ He was obviously preparing
us for the worst case scenario. This was a place where the weather can go
through all 4 seasons in one day. Luckily they told us the wind hadn’t started
yet, which was great for us. He said one summer, the wind got up to 250kmph!
And that generally they can get so strong that if you jump straight up, you’ll
get dropped off in another place!
We were planning on doing this route called the W. It was
going to take 5 days and we’d need good camping gear. We had given our tent
away in the states, but it would have been no use anyway, as we needed one that
could withstand the wind out there, if there was going to be any. Our sleeping
bags were way too thin, so we were going to have to rent some too. We picked up
all our hire gear, including a little mess kit and burner and stocked up on
food for 5 days. We were ready to go…but after a day’s rest first. A few early
mornings and no sleep the night before meant a good rest before we put
ourselves out into nature’s hands. Unfortunately we woke up the next day to
howling wind. I think it had started just in time for us.
The following day we got up early to take our bus two hours
into the heart of Torres del Paine. We watched a video about the strict rules
on no garbage, no making your own paths and definitely no fires outside the
kitchen zones on the campsites. This was due to several fires over the years
that burnt down a good 30% of the park. One was caused a few years ago by an
Israeli guy trying to burn his toilet paper! What an idiot!!
 |
| Burnt out forest... |
Our journey started with a quick hike to a waterfall whilst
we left our packs at the café below. It was ridiculously windy and it was a
struggle to get up. It was a small, but powerful waterfall which had bright
blue waters. The sheer cliffs behind it were amazing and just a glimpse of what
we were going in to. The wind made it a lot easier to walk back down as it took
us with it- half the time!
 |
| Stunning TDP views |
 |
| Windy day |
We grabbed our bags and jumped on the half an hour ferry
across this stunning lake. Eating lunch on the way, we were ready for our first
hike- a 3.5 hour walk to our first campsite, Gray. It was WINNNNNNNDDDDYYY! I
nearly got knocked over by the time we got near Lake Gray. It was about 2 hours
into the walk where we reached the mirador which gave us an amazing first view
of the Gray glacier. Vast, beautiful and blinding, this thing crept out the
lake, splitting into two behind this little island in the middle.
We eventually, after another 2 hours (longer than expected
because of the wind, and Mr Weston stopping at every photo opportunity) arrived
at Gray campsite. Quickly setting up our tent in between the trees to shield
ourselves from the wind, we unpacked our stuff and headed for the cabin for our
first of many delicious (ahem, boring) camp stove meals.
 |
| Gray glacier |
We met a few people who were on their last day of the W,
having done it from east to west instead, saying they had a lot of snow in the
first couple of days. I didn’t know whether to feel excited about that or not!!
We made friends with people who were doing the same route at
us (impossible not to bump into them again)- a guy from Santiago doing the W
for the second time, an Irish couple who were 3 months into a year away, and a
French Canadian couple who were on a trekking holiday in Chile.
Unfortunately the next morning, the Canadians woke up with a
broken tent, the wind too strong, with one of the poles snapping in half. They
taped it up, determined to carry on. At least it wasn’t as bad as the tent we
saw up in the trees which had gotten away whilst the owners were having
breakfast! Oh dear!
We set back off in the early morning down the same route we
had come up yesterday. Plus another two hours to a basic, free campsite called
Italianos. It still had toilets, and a little open hut to cook, but you had to
collect your water from a fast flowing river where you had to climb over the
rocks to get at it and balance yourself a little too precariously on the edge!
 |
| Just a casual lunch spot |
Another delightful pasta dinner and rain all night had us
wake up to some bland porridge. Unfortunately it was still raining, and a
little misty. That day we were meant to hike up a valley for three hours each
way, but it was clear that the views the guy from Erratic Rock was talking
about were going to be covered in low hanging clouds. We tried our luck anyway,
and rain soon turned into snow after an hour. We eventually reached the mirador
with everyone and caught the snow capped peaks of some mountains, but the route
ahead was covered in cloud so we turned back.
 |
| Misty valley morning with United Colours of Beneton |
After reaching the same campsite,
we packed up our tent and were ready to leave. Luke was a bit grumpy, not
having trekked more than a day before this trip so was not keen on putting his
heavy bag back on. It was only two hours to the next campsite, and I was loving
the walk along the lake and then inland a bit next to the river. The views were
gorgeous over the lake, and when we started walking, it stopped raining and the
clouds cleared up. You could see snowy mountains surrounding the whole of the
water’s edge, it was breath taking.
 |
| I'm not lying...it was that blue! |
After rocking up to a pretty decent campsite called Cuernos,
we paid up and pitched our tent on one of their wooden platforms. We ate dinner
and drank the wine we had been carrying around for three days- that’s
determination! After another delightful pasta dinner, we had a chat with a
couple from Vancouver who had just walked the glacier in Argentina that we were
planning on going to, and we were now looking forward to it even more after
they said they had the best experience! We practically ran back to our tent
from the warmth of the kitchen for another cosy night.
|
| Just a casual lunch spot |
We woke up to snow- around our tent, on our tent and coming
down on us as we stood in awe. It looked beautiful as it settled on the trees
but OMG was it cold!! We had to warm ourselves up with several cups of tea
(abandoning the worst coffee in the world after day two) and porridge that was
made only slightly acceptable by a family giving us some sugar and dulce de
leche (like a sticky condensed milk). Mmm sugar, how I missed you.
 |
| Oops, had a bit too much for lunch |
We set off early, knowing we had a good 7 hour trek ahead of
us. Sir Grumpsalot was struggling just a bit to keep up, or just even walk at a
snail’s pace. Me, feeling grateful for the beautiful snowy views and a slightly
lighter bag with only one dinner and lunch left in it, had a bit of energy so
was ready for a productive day…but it seems Luke had had enough.
The snow persisted for a couple more hours before finally
stopping and giving us time to snap a few National Geographic style pictures.
We eventually picked ourselves up and carried on, heading into giant muddy
puddles, made even worse by all the horses that had trampled through it. It was
inevitable that our feet were going to get wet, but we definitely tried our
hardest for that not to happen, at least for it to mot soak over the top.
 |
| Such gorgeous footpaths |
We could see the light at the end of the tunnel after nearly
5 hours of walking as the refugio that marked another hour and a half to go,
appeared in the valley. We decided to take a well earned break and plopped
ourselves in the kitchen, got out our cooking gear, and to solve all problems
as the English do, we made ourselves a cuppa tea.
 |
| Snowy mountains |
One of the guys working there was kind enough to offer us
some food called sopapilla, like a
fried bread that we had with salsa. He also caught a bird that kept on hitting
the glass windows in the hut to get out and let us stroke the cute little
fella! My cold ears had started to thaw, and my trainers practically melting
next to the fire, we decided it was time to head on or it was going to get
dark.
We went on through slipperly mud for another hour or so and
eventually rocked up to our last campsite – a free but basic one. We found one
of the last spots that wasn’t covered in snow and plopped our tent down. We
made dinner quickly as my toes started to freeze and dove into bed early,
knowing that we were going to get up at 5am to try and catch sunrise the next
day. It was FREEZING, and it took me a good hour to fall asleep whilst my legs
and feet adjusted to the warmth of my sleeping bag.
At 5am, we got up to the pitch black, made some tea and
started on an hour’s walk uphill through ice and snow to get to Torres- the
famous peaks of the park, known as the towers. The sun came up as we walked,
casting a dim light over the cloudy mountain tops. We arrived at the end of the
path to a beautiful lake with everyone waiting and watching the skies for the
towers to appear from the clouds. It wasn’t until after 6am that the light hit
the back of the towers and revealed just the top of one of the towers…then
slowly the others one at a time. Unfortunately there was a giant strip of cloud
between the two. We hadn’t listened to the Erratic Rock guy, and didn’t bring
our sleeping bags with us! I wasn’t jealous of the Irish couple who had
listened to him at all…not one bit. I could NOT feel my toes, no matter how
much I wiggled them, and for a moment I wondered if that was what frost bite
felt like and how bad it actually has to get before your toes fell off! We had
downloaded Everest a few days earlier and I wanted to wait until after this
trek to watch it!!!
 |
| Waiting in the morning... |
The views were pretty spectacular, even though I knew there
was much more hiding behind the clouds. But with snow all around us, at least
20cm deep in some places, it just looked and felt magical.
 |
| Good morning Towers! |
After hanging around for the best part of an hour, we didn’t
think the views would get any better, and headed back down to the campsite. We
packed up quickly and skipped breakfast- favouring a stop at the refugio we
were at the day before where there was a fire and a kitchen hut that actually
had a door.
Most people had the same idea, at least for an hour’s rest
as it started to fill up. We only had another two hours left, all downhill,
with reasonably light backpacks, so took our time at the refugio before setting
off, taking in the last few breath taking views. We watched as horses went up
and down this valley to deliver food and goods to the refugio we just left and
bring back down the rubbish. We passed many signs for falling rocks, with the
river far down below us. You felt pretty insignificant in this grand park.
 |
| Deliveries in the W |
The last stop was Hotel Torres, which was big, grand and NOT
made for campers! The lobby was huge and full of dirty, stinky, exhausted
campers who were all waiting for the shuttle bus to pick them up after having
finished the 5 days of the W. Apart from the stinky and dirty bit, I was
actually not exhausted and even contemplating doing the W backwards again once
we had stocked up on food! But as soon as we jumped on that bus and started
heading to Natales, I fell asleep and knew it was the end of the road.
But what a journey- it was just incredible!!! I would really
suggest anyone heading down that way to strap on their hiking boots, wrap up
warm, pack the world’s supply of pasta and give it a go! Your feet might be
soar, but the views are enough to take away from the pain!!
We dumped our hire gear back off in town and rolled into the
nice warm hotel we had left behind before. I had a massive craving for
vegetables so we hit the supermarket and bought every kind in sight…sweetcorn,
spinach, peas, carrots and my beloved beetroot (a crazy obsession at the
moment). We decided to hang out for two nights and relax with wine and a
well-deserved lie in before getting up early to catch a bus to El Calafate in
Argentina. Leaving some unnecessary stuff behind in the hotel in Puerto Natales,
we took only one rucksack with us and jumped on the bus.
The bus journey was a short 5 hours (short for us anyway).
And I did what I do best and slept most of the way…such a curse this ability of
mine. We cruised through passport control and were back on the bus in record
time. A little different from our 6 hour wait at our last border crossing!!
Argentinian Patagonia -
We had changed up some Chilean money into Argentinian pesos
and were ready to hit the pricey country, with the lonely planet saying that we
should expect 25% increases in prices from those mentioned in the book within a
year.
It was clear when we arrived at the bus terminal that this
wasn’t true, and with the bus ticket previously being 110 pesos (about £6), it
had increased to 480 pesos (£24). A 300% increase!!! Was this headed Zimbabwe
way?? So we were ready to feel disappointed already. But luckily the lady at
the tourist information pointed us towards a hotel where they had reasonably
priced rooms and kitchens we could cook in…not only to save money but to find
something for the vegan instead of steak orientated restaurants.
The same day, we organised a trip to Perito Moreno glacier
for the following morning. Not just a bus ride over there and a walk on the
viewing platforms but a boat trip and what we were excited about most…a walk on
the glacier itself with crampons!!
 |
| Walking on what?? |
We awoke at the crack of dawn for the start of our adventure
and were picked up early for our bus to the glacier. Amazing views unfolded as
we whizzed over to Perito Moreno. First there were snow-capped mountains, then
a stunning lake, and as we took switchback after switchback, the glacier came
into view and it was incredible. We had one hour to walk around the platforms
that stretched across the front of the glacier. It was stunning, and on this
bright blue skied day, we heard it crack in the heat and watched bits fall off
of it and make the epic noises as the bits of ice crashed into the lake. It was
amazing and a beautiful creation by nature.
 |
| Perito Moreno glacier |
 |
| How much ice?? |
This glacier, like others, advances
two metres every day, and 30cm on the sides where it touches the mountains. It
is part of the Patagonia Continental Ice and extends 400km in length overall
and 100km wide. This also contains Gray glacier which we visited in Torres del
Paine. It is the 3rd largest water source on the planet, and let me
tell you…the water is the freshest I’ve ever tried! Perito Moreno is the
largest of all the ice caps that this contains…sizing up as 5km wide and 60
metres tall, it overall spans 1260km². That means that the ice at the very
front will have been about 300 years old. Insane!!!
 |
| Just 60 metres tall |
We eventually jumped on a boat, taking in the sheer size of
the glacier as another boat got close to it and it looked tiny next to this
giant thing!! After a stop over for lunch, we were split into groups, got our
cramp-on, and headed off into the glacier.
 |
| Cramp-ons! |
 |
| Walking on ice...just like I'm in Frozen... |
It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it.
We stopped for numerous photos, checked out some incredibly bright blue pools
and walked through a crevasse. We were told by our guide that this was an
unusual day…no cloud in the sky and so sunny, and that he was usually fighting
against rain and wind everyday.
 |
| Glacier hikes |
 |
| Clearest and tastiest water |
After walking and taking it all in for an hour, we
eventually came to a surprise bar of whisky and chocolates laid out for us…and
he wasn’t doing half measures as he loaded us all up, with glacier ice. It’s
not everyday you have a whisky on a glacier with 300 year old ice in your
glass!
 |
| Such a pro! |
 |
| On we march |
We eventually waddled off the ice and handed in our
crampons. When will I next get to ever do that again??? After a boat ride back,
taking in the last of the glacier, we boarded our bus and took off.
We decided to head off the following day back into Chile and
spend the night back in Puerto Natales. Having most of the afternoon there, we
took a stroll by the lake which was beautiful and saw some unusual statues down
at the waterfront, including a hand, a couple of acrobats and an old dinosaur…
Punta Arenas
The next morning we set off for Punta Arenas to spend our
last 4 nights in Patagonia. We were couchsurfing and staying with Juan Paulo
and his girlfriend Antonia. They were a lovely couple and we had such a great
time staying with them and their dog Theo in the countryside. It was a short
bus ride away from town but the place was amazing, with a large garden and
quaint spot by a lake. We had dinner with them the first night and had some
wine by the fire they made in their garden.
Over the next few days we had long walks around the town,
visited the cemetery (it was recommended in the lonely planet, and was actually
quite beautiful), the view point, the harbour and the main plaza. It was a
small city and was nice to walk around. We even walked for a bit from their
house one morning and hitchhiked the rest of the way with a guy from New
Zealand who had been living in Patagonia for 24 years, taking his 20 metre
yacht out to Antarctica for tourist trips and with scientists too. He told us
about the harrowing trips he’s had to make through an infamous route amongst
sailors that way called the Drake Passage, where high winds and crashing waves
make it a dangerous journey…most of all from February for a few months, but any
other time is still pretty treacherous apparently!
One night we planned on cooking them a mushroom risotto. We
bought some lovely mushrooms, fresh spinach, lots of garlic and of course wine…of
both varieties. When it came to cooking, I looked at Luke in shock…omg, we
forgot the vital ingredient. Cheese…Antonia asked? No…the bloody risotto rice!
I had picked it up and put it right back down in the supermarket…wanting to
check on the mushroom situation first. Muppet. Luckily they had a little bit in
their cupboard, just enough to not make us look like disorganised chaos rather
than just chaos.
The main reason we had saved time to visit Punta Arenas was
for the penguins. The first day we arrived we had gone to a couple of agencies
who said that the season doesn’t start for another couple of weeks and that
there were no boat trips out there. We were so disappointed…our guide book said
the season started in October, and we were nearing the end of the month!! We
gave up hope and were pretty annoyed, but the following day we thought we’d ask
a few more people…as anyone who has travelled knows that you need to ask at
least 2 people…if not 5 to get the true story sometimes (this includes
directions, whether a hotel has actually closed down or if it’s just in that
person’s interest to tell you otherwise, distances and time, and definitely
whether something is vegetarian or not!).
We got lucky with an agency who said they were doing trips
to see the penguins…but the price was twice the price of the other company that
started in two weeks. We were debating whether we needed to go and see penguins
that we had seen before in South Africa. True, there were going to be more of
them, and yes, they were apparently slightly different looking, but only
slightly. But it was the picture of what looked like an Emperor Penguin on a
poster that caught our attention. After enquiring as to where that was, we were
told it was in fact a King penguin and that there was a trip that headed to
Tierra Del Fuego to see the colony which had settled there not too many years
ago. We were sold! And we got a pretty decent deal too…with the agency saying jokily
in Spanish to Luke that it was a trip for two there, but that they had to leave
one behind. Luke apparently said he’d swap me for a penguin. We all had a big
laugh…except me, I was clueless as to what they were saying…and he didn’t tell
me until we’d left the office. Boo bad Spanish skills. We had been warned by
people that they could be so far away from the viewpoints that we might only
see them through the park ranger’s telescope…a good 40-80 metres away, but we
thought we’d take our chances.
The morning of our penguin outing, we were picked up by the
minibus…although they did have trouble finding the little house, as Juan Paulo
mentioned that there was also a house with the same number a half a kilometre
before they’d get to theirs, but with guidance by them on the phone, we were
eventually found.
We boarded the ferry which took us just over two hours
across the Magdalene straights, which were the rivers (technically sea) that
interlocked around the parts that made up Patagonia. We arrived in windy Tierra
del Fuego and jumped back onto the minibus. It was a two hour journey through fields
of guanacos (llama like animals) and woolly sheep before we arrived at our
destination.
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| Guanaco |
It was bitterly cold, and our fingers froze as soon as we
got out of the car, despite our gloves! Our frozen fingers struggled to get out
our cameras as we approached these amazing penguins. They were luckily only
about 10 metres away. We didn’t realise just how lucky we were until the park
ranger said they haven’t been that close all season, usually requiring a telescope,
and this is the first time they’ve come down to the water! Amazing!
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| Having a meeting |
We spent ages taking pictures and admiring these penguins,
about a metre tall, some losing the last of their fur. There was one baby, but
he looked the biggest of them all…this little brown fluff monster. I just
wanted to SQUUEZE him! We watched them as they waddled towards us (parted only
by this stream running into the sea). One of them nearly took a tumble, which I
magically caught on film. But he was at the back of the crowd so picked himself
up like nobody was watching!!
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| Brown fluffy monster!! |
The park ranger told us that the colony only tuned up there
a few years ago and that they’re only there because food is only 100km away, rather
than the 4-500km that they usually travel to find food. Fast food then! Can’t
blame them for liking convenience…
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| I spy... |
After a quick hour of taking photos, we got back on the
minibus and thawed our hands, on our bus were two old siblings from Canada, and
4 other Spanish speaking women. We all had a bit of a nap as we hit the road
again for 2 hours to reach a different ferry crossing. This boat was more of a
working man’s ferry, but as the commercial one we had taken over returns not
long after it arrives, the tour wouldn’t allow for us to take it back, so all
tour buses went this way on the return, which was to the north of Tierra del
Fuego. We watched as it was being loaded with cars, trucks and buses and saw
how much the wind was causing trouble. It was creating massive waves that were
crashing into the side of it, and spraying all the workmen as they boarded. We
drove on and quickly got out of the vehicle. It was so windy! So strong it
nearly blew you into the wall. We carefully navigated up the stairs to the
small (and I mean small) waiting room…which had two benches facing each other
and people pretty much knee to knee. With sausage sandwiches being served…this
was a proper working man’s ferry!
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| Huddle for warmth |
The boat trip took double the time as it kept on sweeping
the boat off track and the driver had to keep realigning with the dock on the other
side. It was at this point that Luke and I both noticed that of the 4 Spanish
women on our bus, 3 of them were identical triplets! We had both noticed the
face on the bus, but registered them as the same person every time! They were
so lovely, with smiles and giggles like 3 cheeky girls. They were talking the
Canadian women whilst we couldn’t help overhearing that they all liked the same
guy, but he only fancied one of them. One of the girls couldn’t understand why
he liked her sister more as they all looked them same! Bless. Difficult when you
all have the same type I guess!
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| On my own... |
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| What you looking at Willis? |
We eventually reached the dock and as our minibus drive off,
we had to catch up with it. It was a massive battle as we got hit by the wind.
It was pushing me sideways and I was getting hit by dirt from the banks which
hit you like needles in your face. Safely reaching the bus, our driver ushered
us on and told us how lucky we were that we caught that ferry as it was going
to be the last of the day as the winds were too strong! There were at least
another 5 tourist minibuses left on Tierra del Fuego. I asked later what
happens to the people left on the island, and he said they have to stay there overnight…some
opting to find a hotel, others sleeping in the bus! Thank god we didn’t do it
the next day when we had an early flight out that evening!
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| I believe I can fly... |
We arrived back at JuanP and Antonia’s house to homemade
pizzas…yum! Even dairy free ones for Luke! The following day we had a lazy one,
packing up our stuff and popping into town for a bit. We had a flight out at
5.30am and they kindly ordered us a taxi for 3am. We got about 2 hours sleeps
that night due to Piscolas, wine and beer causing our conversation to run into
the wee hours of the morning, but it was a lovely last night with our great couchsurfing
hosts.
With the help of JuanP at 3am, our taxi driver finally found
us and dropped us off at the unearthly hour of 4am at the airport. It was clear
that other travellers had opted to stay in the airport that night instead of splashing
out on a taxi or accommodation!
Santiago
Our flight was quick, wishing it was longer so we could sleep
more. But we arrived in Santiago at 9.30am to a ridiculously hot day. We bused
into town and found a hostel just to dump our bags for the day.
We walked a fair old distance to get to a museum which told
the story of Pinochet, the hold he had over the city, the killings,
disappearances of anyone with any relation to communism and the many protests
which turned violent.
Pinochet, a general, instructed the army to go into the city
and bomb the presidential palace, to kill the president. He was portrayed as a
man who was going to ruin the country and lead them into a downward spiral of
communist activity. So the army did as was instructed, and bombed the palace 20
times in 30 minutes, killing many inside, including the president.
Pinochet took over and that was where the actual downward
spiral happened. It took years before things got better and order was restored.
Two stories that remain in my mind are of two people, a girl and guy who were
cornered by the army, had petrol poured on them and lit on fire. Another of a
girl shot by a traffic cop, just for peacefully protesting…and he just shrugged
when someone asked why he did it, like it was nothing.
This museum had pictures of people who had disappeared over
the period of time, some tortured to death, some starved, threatened and raped.
It was a sad time in Chilean history, not one I will claim I know much of other
than that. Unfortunately most of the information was in Spanish, but it’s
something I think will find interesting to research when I get home. It’s funny
the things you learn and really get to you when you travel, with some countries
terrible history that will always remain in the forefront of my mind…Cambodia,
Uganda, Rwanda, Chile and South Africa.
We slowly made our way back to pick up our bags. Jumping on
the metro, we reached Nacho’s house and were greeted by their maid. All of them
were out, but his mother arrived shortly after we did. She was glad to hear we
had such a good time as we showed her the penguin photos and told her about our
trek.
The rest of the family arrived that evening and we chatted
more about the W with Nacho and his older sister who had done it together a
couple of years ago. Thank you for the tent matts loan!
We had dinner with Nacho’s parents and had an early night.
We awoke to breakfast with his parents and sister whilst they others had their
Saturday lie ins. We collected our stuff and were off to Buenos Aires.
After some goodbyes, hugs and photos, we went to catch our
bus, refusing a lift from Nacho’s father again…too kind!! We took the metro to
the stop we got dropped off at just yesterday, but it was a different exit. As
we went to ask the police guards where the buses from, they told us the road
was closed so they wouldn’t stop here because of the football…we would have to
get back on the tube to the other end of the line. We were really pushed for
time. We tried to tap back in, but had no money on our card! Hang on a second…what
did I say earlier in this post about always asking twice if not more??? We
backtracked outside and asked another guard. He pointed us over the bridge and
across the road. Low and behold…a line of buses were right there. We were going
to possibly miss our flight because of the wrong info. Oh travel, why do you do
this to me?!?
We arrived at the airport and checked in, patting ourselves
on the back for thinking like travellers and not panicking (too much).
Goodbye Chile, it’s been wonderful!
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| Andes views |
