Ushuaia (Arg) to Torres del Paine (Chile)

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After returning from Antarctica we were completely exhausted, and so took a few days to just relax in Ushuaia. Our time there was spent mostly eating, sleeping and getting ready for Christmas. A couple of days into our stay Josh and Melanie (who we had previously met in Buenos Aires and Montevideo) turned up in our hostel and we decided to spend Christmas together. We ended up having a great Christmas Day (my first ever away from Wales!) which was significantly helped by Melanie´s (French) knowledge of cooking. Tasty chicken, plenty of other bits of pieces, wine and champagne - delicious.

Despite the celebrations we were awake very early on Boxing Day (26th December to those not from the UK!) to catch a bus for the long journey across the border and into Chile. It turned out to be a bit of an adventure with complicated border crossings, the bus breaking down, catching a ferry half way, etc, but we made it to Punta Arenas by the evening and were lucky enough to get a decent hostel straight away.

We spent a few days in Punta Arenas, getting used to Chile, the Chilean way of speaking Spanish, the Chilean food, etc. Punta Arenas is a pleasant enough place and we enjoyed lovely views over the town and the Magellanic Strait from a mirador in the town, we went shopping in the tax-free "Zona Franca" (we are now the proud owners of some very snazzy sleeping bags), visited the local cemetery (a smaller version of Recoleta in Buenos Aires) and sorted out various onward travel plans. However, the best part of our visit to Punta Arenas was the visit to nearby Isla Magdalena, which is home to some 120,000 Magellanic Penguins. It was great fun to visit as the penguins are very curious and completely at ease with the human presence (more so than in Antarctica). Unfortunately our time on the island was limited to one hour, but we could easily have stayed there all afternoon.

And so, how to spend New Years Eve? I am sure that when we were planning this trip I had visions of us sipping champagne in Santiago or cocktails in Columbia. In reality we spent it hiking in Torres del Paine national park, pitching our tent in gale force winds and cooking spaghetti with tomato sauce for the umpteenth time (but we did manage to get a bottle of wine and some beers..!). After a few days in Punta Arenas we had moved on north to Puerto Natales which is the "gateway town" to Torres del Paine. This was a part of the trip we had been looking forward to for a while: hiking the "W" trail in the national park. The trek usually takes 5 days, exploring three linked valleys and taking in most of the highlights of the park. However, we managed to contract it to 4 days, mainly by missing out the last part of the trek! We were soaked, our tent was soaked and the weather didn´t look like clearing, so we decided we would head back to Puerto Natales a day early. This was disappointing in some ways, as we were unable to get a decent view of the famous "Torres". But, getting back to civilization was definitely enjoyable and a warm, dry bed was like heaven. I enjoy backpacking and I enjoy trekking, but I hate bad weather! Luckily the first few days of the trek had brought us good weather and we were able to enjoy wonderful views of the massive Glacier Grey and the stunning Valle des Frances. The photos describe it better than my words, so I will leave you to look at them.

After returning from Torres del Paine, we spent another two days relaxing in Puerto Natales. We also bumped into Pete (Australian) who we had met on the Antarctica trip and so enjoyed catching up with him over a few pitchers of cerveza! Next we are heading north on a 4-day ferry to Puerto Montt...

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Comments

[Stephen and Mum]

Very nice
It all looks lovely. We were particularly impressed by the penguins!