Felize Navidad!!! Chile to Argentina travel

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Is it day 8? Does it really matter? Feliz Navidad!

Today was our travel day getting from Torres del Paine NP in Chile to El Calafate, Argentina. The group went for a 2 hour hike with a stop for a swim that turned out to have leeches, while I stayed behind to leg my leg heal. I attempted to do some electric charging however the refuge turned off the power after half hour so that ended quickly.

I started tearing down the tent which included deflating the therma rests and with my new TRX workout in mind, decided the best way to accomplish this feat was with my body weight. Which quickly turned into a cat nap in the sun curled up ensuring true deflation was achieved! I *heart* holidays.........

Dressed up Jill in her Christmas hat and bow tie and we got a few good shots with the NP in the background. Laying down almost in a pile of dried horse poop wasn't first on my list of events, but all in the name of a good shot for my loyal photo subject.

We had a spectacular veggie pasta dish for lunch (courtesy of Carlos) then said goodbye to our fearless trekking leaders, Christian, Christian and Carlos. Took our much calmer ride back to the abysmal bus station I was stuck at 2 days prior, with the wild west theme song in my head and of course the dust devils were at full attention, their only goal to cram sand into every orifice at the highest velocity possible. They succeeded.

Watching one of the group pick her teeth and clean her nails with a steak knife at the lunch table was an interesting experience, and I kept trying to remind myself that every culture is different. Not sure which cultural custom this fell into but suffice to say it isn't one I plan on visiting.

We boarded the hot and dusty local bus, squished in like sardines, my "Canadian Space" screaming at the closeness of the person next to me. We all gradually fell asleep, fatigue or heat may have been the culprit but fortunately Fede stayed awake as the bus driver missed our exit! So what to do? The driver slammed on the breaks, which woke up everyone and proceeded to put the bus in reverse and drive backwards on the highway for about 2 kms or so and then dropped us off. Only in Latin America:-)

I had to laugh at the bleary eyed group of disheveled travelers I was part of as we stood at what appeared to be the end of the world with a sole flag pole and a coffee shop/souvenir shop and literally nothing but a paved road and a round about. And of course, the wind.

We had coffee, exchanged money, bought snacks and wine for what could potentially be our Christmas dinner, piled onto our private bus and off we went; for about 50 meters. Got back off the bus and proceeded to "exit" Chile. Back on the bus and we drove in what I can only imagine was no mans land for about 10 minutes then entered Argentina. Boarder crossing was a riot, 2 young officers smiling and stamping our passports through. What was most bemusing was the fact that we had to open the gate ourselves to officially enter Argentina, then close it behind ourselves, polite tourists that we are.

3 hour tour, a three hour tour.........

Actually the bus was uneventful, aside from more Pringles being consumed in that journey then a small nation could muster. The ubiquitous travelers food. (I just had to steal that description from our English Teacher on the journey, found it rather fitting.)

One of the first points of business upon arriving was A: open wine and B: open my present from Crystal. She had taken the time to find me a small light weight gift to open on Xmas which was so thoughtful. It was a wee purple monkey to hang off my backpack, a perfect addition to the team!

We settled into our hotel to discover that as we expected everything was closed for Christmas. We stalked this one small grocery store, the family lived in the back and made the mistake of answering the door. We quickly stampeded their shop, having Fede explain as much to her as possible while this gaggle of tourists tried to create a true Christmas feat made for backpackers. Chips, wine, beer, cheese, crackers and some random salami for our celiac on the trip.

Fede ordered empanadas and we sat around the common area swapping stories of family traditions during this time of the year around the world. That is until the wi-fi monster came out, and modern day communication via text and face-book only over took the old fashioned conversation in person. I succumbed, but only to check on a sick friends status and check on our Easter Island itinerary.

Off to bed, pulled down the covers to discover that Santa had come, even way down here! I silenty squealed with glee (we are all 7 at Christmas time!) but I decided to hold off till morning to open, spreading out the holiday as i would at home. Sleep came quickly at least until the fire works woke us up, a Argentian tradition that reminded me of Amsterdam during New Years. The booming eventually faded away and sleep overtook. A wonderful end to our trekking portion of the journey; sad to leave it behind but full of amazing memories and photos and pride in our accomplishments. Sweet dreams everyone.

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Photos

Our trekking team
Saying goodbye to Christian, Christian and Carlos, our fearless leaders extraordinaire!

Jill
After all, it IS Christmas Eve day:-)

Fox
A baby fox on route to Argentina we saw