Blogs from Chile, South America - page 4

As said in Firesign Theatre.... it's the stinking desert! There are those of us who prefer the verdant greens, the lush vegetation, abundant colorful flowers, and a plethora of animal life. While we have come to enjoy these types of venues, we also love to admire the desolate, bleak, stark and wind-swept environs of the desert. This seemingly inhospitable environment possesses its own beauty but displays it differently. Sunrise and sunset are particularly enjoyable. Now, this is one dry desert. Wait….what does that mean? Well, technically by definition a desert is an area of land that receives less than 10 inches (25cm) of rain per year. Pretty dry, yeah? Well, the Atacama is the second driest desert in the world, bested only by a patch of land in Antarctica. The Atacama Desert is the result of ... read more

Le voyage tire sur sa dernière partie : l'extrême sud du continent, avec notamment les Torres del Paine, la Terre de Feu et le détroit de Magellan, à quelques encablures seulement du pôle sud. Difficile pour moi de rester insensible à l'appel de ces noms mythiques entendus depuis le collège. Mais il nous faut avant tout regagner le Chili et retraverser une dernière fois la frontière. 300km à peine de route: ca ne devrait pas être une journée trop compliquée. Alors qu'Alexis s'efforce tant bien que mal de rattraper ses bêtises à coups de bouquets de roses, on prend la route pour pouvoir traverser la frontière et commencer l'ascension des Torres del Paine dès le lendemain. La Patagonie nous avait habitué à des routes difficiles, mais là la piste est vraiment détestable: trous, grosses pierres, bosses... ... read more

Friday 27th - Monday 30th January 2023 Boarding the bus, with all the other tourists, we were super excited to be on our way to Torres del Paine to start our 4day/3night trek, as well as super aware at how busy it seemed to be! After showing our national park passes and switching to a shuttle bus (which was still like a coach) we saw the peaks of the Torres towers basking in the orange sunlight and they looked magnificent; as well as a little scary. Arriving at the Central Hostel, where many start this trek, we became even more aware that it is not just W-trekkers that come here, but families, tour groups and day trippers who also, understandably, want to see the famous towers of Torres del Paine up close. So, slowly but surely, ... read more

Saturday 21st - Thursday 26th January 2023 Dropping below the cloud line as we came into land, we got our first real glimpse of what we’d imagined Patagonia to look like; huge deep fjords sitting low between mountains reaching up into the sky, topped with snow and dotted between smaller mounds of rocky earth which levelled out to plateaus covered in towering green trees, all with a deep blue sea in the background, stretching endlessly into a hazy horizon. We’d made it to the end of the world (well, almost!) and it looked beautiful. Punta Arenas, capital of the southernmost region of Chile, is the coldest coastal city and one of the most southerly ports in the world, serving as a gateway to the Antarctic, and I can confirm, it is definitely colder down here! Dropping ... read more

After finishing our 6-day hike in Torres del Paine we decided to treat ourselves to a special dinner. I guess that everyone has their own different tastes. Nathan chose a hot dog ... four dollars ... no problem. Leanne and I decided to sample the last remaining culinary delicacy from southern Patagonia, King crab, served three ways and followed by a minted rack of lamb. This was all washed down with pisco sour then a delightful Maipu valley Carmenere. A little more expensive than Nathan's hot dog, but who cares. We deserved it. And the restaurant in Puerto Natales, if you're looking for a very nice dinner, is called Afragonia. Our final stop on this seven-week trip was Santiago. We had five days left and decided on a nice top-story apartment, or should I say 'penthouse', ... read more