Blogs from Puerto Natales, Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 2

Our transit across the Beagle to Argentina had been arranged for 2pm. It was going to involve a 50km drive East along the road until reaching the other town called Puerto Navarino. From there it would be a small speedboat across the 20 minute stretch direct to Ushuaia. Unfortunately, the backwaters of the world things rarely go to plan or schedule. The hostal owner pulled up at the arranged pick up point and explained the boat had been cancelled due to strong winds. It was blowing a gale sure enough, so we headed to the information shack again. Carina found out that they were not rescheduling the boat, they had stopped now for the season and the next scheduled departure to Ushuaia would be in October. We have to be back to work in August. Flying ... read more

When I first decided on South America for my sabbatical Torres Del Paine was one of the main attractions. All the information from home suggested it was one of the premier trekking sites in the world. Therefore I set out with high expectations of fantastic walking, mountains, lakes, glaciers, spectacular landscapes and challenging trekking. However, on beginning my trip I began to hear some disturbing rumours - Torres Del Paine was over-crowded, it would be difficult to arrange refugios, the refugios and campsites were of poor quality, the weather would make the walking difficult and would obscure any views. So with this advice in mind I set out for Chile and Puerto Natales with some trepidation. From Ushuaia I flew up to El Calafate, overnighted, and caught the bus the following morning to Puerto Natales. The ... read more

Long but pleasant bus ride brings the wanderer under the snow-patched peaks and icy coastal waters of Puerto Natales. Much booking means the (slightly amended) plan is now lined up for an exit from the park the evening before originally planned and then onwards into Argentina and to El Calafate, gaining access to the Perito Moreno glacier. Many, many more hours on many more buses lie in this wanderer's near future but much, much beauty lies at either end of every one of them. Tomorrow begins six nights in tents under the grandeur of the Torres del Paine. A long standing plan rolling into sight.... read more

We finally made our way to way south Puerto Natales, after a 4+ hr flight from Santiago and then a 4hr bus ride. The bus ride is more comfortable than I had imagined. Its a small town, somewhat bigger than I had expected with quite a few houses and some hostels. I was expecting a place just made for tourists with big hotels or hostels spread all over, but so far it feels like a real town with some hostels. The place also has a vibe of "end of the world", you look out on the streets and it feels like the world ends where street ends, kind of same feeling I had on a native-american reserve at north-west tip of USA. As soon as you enter the place, you can see that its expensive being ... read more

The Navimag is a commercial ferry that also takes tourists, it is a four day crossing from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt through the patagonian fiords, and this is why it is a popular option for tourists. It truly is a beautiful way to travel this distance, the water is black and still like a mirror, passing hundreds of islands showing waterfalls cascading with rainbows overhead. The crossing includes a section of open sea where the weather did get a bit rough delaying our trip by about 12 hours, we didn´t feel unsafe at anytime though. The ship has an entertainment officer who gives talks on the different wildlife and flora of the islands which was a bonus. We saw penguins, seals, albatros, cormorants, flightless steamer ducks, dolphins and the highlight was seeing a whale on ... read more