Jose Nogueira Hotel Punta Arenas

... history of the area and the indigenous peoples(3 tribes) who were sadly colonised and through this and disease and extermination they are now lost and we are left with their artefacts and history and photos. I love learning about the local history this way through museums.Meanwhile Wayne was back in our cosy room on the computer. I picked up our laundry (there are NO self serve/ Laundromats in Sth America) and headed back. Our laundry had been dry cleaned and everything ...

... was actually relieved! The water experience continued, as I boarded a tourist boat at midday to sail back to Puerto Natales. As peak season is past, it was very quiet and so the six French passengers and myself were upgraded to first class, where we sat sipping whiskey with glacier ice, observing the fresh overnight snowfall on the mountains, through the cloud and rain, from the comfort of a large squishy seat in ...

... dream, I am there! A few days later I still have trouble realizing that it's real, although the weather reminded me quite a few times of where I am... :) There is little road south of Puerto Montt, and after that it's wilderness and crazy natural parks. It's possible to go by bus from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas, but it has to go through Argentina, it's a 36h trip and it's only 25% cheaper than going by plane. So it's been a 3h flight for me, I like ...

... firm handshakes and a farewell. As we ride towards Punta Arenas I can sense that this will be our last ride. A somber thought. Once again I dawdle enjoying the scenery, can it be true it's almost over. We drive around Punta Arenas and find a suitable hotel. Mike contacts the potential buyers and we are meeting with them tomorrow morning at 8:00. We both take the bikes to the car wash and give them a good wash just to encourage the sale.Later in the ...

... lake, WOW. As I arrived early in the afternoon I decided to sit and relax in this most wonderful spot. I also topped off my tan. My friends arrived a little later and like many people from the northern hemisphere they are not to concerned about swimming in freezing water and I enjoyed watching as Phil freezed his butt off. We planned our next day thinking that we could walk the 5-6 hour return valley walk to the base of a glacier and walk another 2.5 hour walk to the ...

... of the wind is everywhere: trees only have branches on one side (called arboles de bandera, or flag trees), the stones on the lake beaches couldn´t have been better polished in a rock tumbler, and flowering plants, ground orchids especially, grow only a few inches tall, to prevent being ripped from the soil. For all my complaining, an incredible place. We finished the trek on time and got back to our noisy, dirty hostel save and ...

... s because it's mid-spring here and mid-Autumn there, pretty similar. Scary movies play on every channel. Finally I realize why. It's Halloween. Boo! The next morning dawns clear and bright. An hour later it's snowing; so much for my summer vacation. Life at the extremes can be unpredictable. It could affect your way of life I suppose. It gives new appreciation for the accomplishments of Magellan and his crew who traversed these ...

... amazing sights but the excitement and exhilaration is pushing me on. Quite a few people have asked me if I'm now tired of the travelling, the new impressions and experiences every day. The answer is a resolute NO! Why, I'm seeing the most amazing things, experiencing new cultures and above all, during these four months, I'm actually living one of my dreams: travelling around the world and writing about it. I don't know if it can get much better than this. And ...

... a constant sound of running water in the roof for some reason. This one smelt of raw meat. It took us a little while to notice that it was situated above a butchers shop. Other than this we quite liked Punta Arenas. It was the first place we'd visited for a while that existed for reasons other than tourism and although there were plenty of gringos around we weren't outnumbering the locals. We didn't have much time to spend here though so we immediately booked ...

... to milk a cow, but they used a small stool like a step stool rather than an one legged stool like Grandpa used. Following that they showed how they run the sheep through a sheep dip. They also had a small group of alpacas in the large barnyard where they had various farm implements and other equipment on display.<br><br>They took us to a chapel the family has build using almost entirely materials found on the island. Next we stopped at a pen where they have a puma ...