Nearly the end of the world
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2007
1
10
48
Trip End
May 01, 2008
Punta Arenas,
Patagonia,
Chile
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Apologies for spelling mistakes - feeling a little bit pished. We´ve just got back from a fantastico meal where we had our first pisco sours (yum!), and tried Patagonian King Crab which was quite tasty. We were also able to hold a conversation with the waiter and understand what was going on. Paul even managed to ask him to recommened a wine for us :)
We left Santiago this morning and managed to get to the airport with no problems. Whilst we were waiting in the checkin queue a LAN lady came up and checked our e-ticket and said she would sort out our boarding passes for us. Unfortunately she had problems and wandered off with our documents but eventually came back and said we had been checked into an earlier flight at 9.45am (we were on the 10.55am). It meant we missed breakfast but we got the Punta Arenas quicker!
The flight was pretty cool, got to see the Andes and some of the lake district. The pilot also made a slight detour to look at the Llaima volcano that recently erupted. We managed to get a couple of good pics when the pilot dipped the wing.
We got a collectivo into Punta Arenas (shared shuttle - cheaper than taxi) and checked into Hostal Calafate. It´s quite nice and I think it will be a lot quieter than the Santiago hostel where people were partying into the wee hours.
We explored the centre for a bit, going up to a mirador (lookout), the Plaza de Armas and managed to find a shop that sold sandwiches and also handmade chocolate (I have made a mental note of the street so we can go back and get some!).
The weather is a lot colder - its now 14oC and we´re in our fleeces and raincoats as it´s also quite windy. The wind reminds us of Wellington! The sun has just set at 10.30pm and it should be rising at 5.30am - quite a long day.
NB Weirdly enough, I can type better on a spanish keyboard when I am drunk - interesting.
