Charles Darwin Puerto Natales

... sad to leave a country and we had also grown very attached to Clark, our van.

On Saturday we flew out of Auckland at 4pm & arrived in Santiago, dazed & confused, 4 hrs earlier than we left! Our first impression was: ITS COLD!! Santiago is a pretty city, lots of crumbling, faded colonial architecture, wide boulevards and street cafes. It is also a very peaceful city, a relaxing place to wander around, until you stumble upon ...

Patagonia is the most southern tip of Chile. It is the closest region to Antarctica. When you go get a book on Chile usually the national park Torres del Paine is on the cover with some extreme natural beauty photo. It is the hiking - camping dream of those that love hiking and camping. Spontaneously one day my classmates told me that everyone was going out of town next week and no one would be in class. I went home and told Ryan we were going on ...

... And unbelievably, it only rained on one night. When we got back to town, the hostel owner said that we were the only people this season to have 5 days without rain. I must be in some serious karmic debt, so am prepared to get mugged or hit by a bus or something in the next few days. Now I have few days to rest my feet (and catch up on sleep and decent food) and then I`ll head South into Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire.

... is really worth a visit eventough it is less accessible that it´s brother Torres del Paine. At Glacier Serrano, you can walk all the way to the bottom of the glacier for wonderful picture taking. From the pier at Glaciar Serrano, it is also possible to go by kayak or zodiak up the Serrano River all the way to Torres del Paine - an option I may try if I ever come back to this area. On the return boat journey, there is a ...

... it didn't actually depart until 2:30. All was good. The boat trip was incredible. A bit pricey, but well worth it. First, we took a short walk up to Grey Lake and a raft ride out to the boat. Then, we spent about three hours on the water, going straight up to the face of the glacier and back again. They even served us pisco sour on the boat. We took the shorter route back to Puerto Natales, which was a bit fun after the sun set, but was pretty okay. The rental car held up ...

From Rio Gallegos, we took a long and dusty bus ride to our next destination: Puerto Natales, a small fishing/tourism town in the far south of Chile. Although our bus looked like it had spent the last ten years gathering dust in a junkyard, the journey was rather uneventful, with the exception of a falafel-related hold up at the Chilean border. As our bags were being inspected, the border guard, on alert for any stray fruits or grains that ...

... flamingos, gray foxes, and huemels. Very interesting! We were finally dropped off at our hotel (which was along the tour's route) around 6 pm or so, which was situated on the bank of a river that cut through the park. The mountain range could be seen right outside our window. It was incredibly beautiful. We enjoyed a nice dinner there at the hotel, then played some Uno and read with the window open until it was time for bed. We got to ...

... to the bus stop. Along the way the windshield was peppered with stones and cracked all over place and started actually falling out. So the conductor with the help of some others held the windshield in place while the driver kept on going! This did not last long, as another gust came in, and swept the windshield out and away like a kite. We got back to Porto Natales without incident, crashed at Teresa's place again, and headed out to El Calafate the next morning.

... day bus journey mainly through the back waters of Argentina at this stage did not turn me on. The Ferry however was something different if not rather expensive for what was included. But considering the path the Ferry took I can understand why it was expensive. Before I left I spent 2 days in Santiago, a very conservative, cosmopolitan city. Pretty much like any city in the western world. However saying this I learnt a little history about Chile and its past really still does ...

... br>On the way we saw some groups of llama type creatures, but I've now heard so many conflicting names for them that I will refer to them only as "llama type creatures" from here on in! ;)



There was just enough time for one last look back at the towers over a lake and then we ...