Giving Punta the punt

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Day 25 - Saturday 5th November
We slept in just a bit because we were both not feeling very well, and we didn’t have breakfast till 9. Today along with what we got yesterday we also got a great bowl of fruit pieces. Shelley has been feeling very fruit deprived lately so it was a fantastic treat. When we headed out the door we didn’t have any great plan for the day other than going for a long stroll. There isn’t a great deal to see in town and what there is we have basically already seen. There are a few attractions outside of town including a penguin colony and a reconstruction of the original town, both of which are best seen with a tour group. We weren’t overly interested in seeing either using a bus tour so decided to just chill in town.
Ended up walking along the foreshore of town taking in the great panoramas of the Strait of Magellan. Punta Arenas is an old port town so we didn’t expect that the foreshore would be overly attractive but it has been redeveloped with a fabulous walkway and cycleway along the entire length of the city and appeared to run for kilometres. There were a few cafes, signboards explaining the history of the area, and remains of the old wharves and associated machinery. The beach adjoining this walkway as would be expected was more just a dirt beach than a sand beach but with the water temperature down here you couldn’t expect anyone to be swimming.
Along this walk we were befriended by one of the many stray dogs in the area. She was a scruffy looking thing that had just came out of the surf and was wet and covered in sand, but took an immediate shining to us. We had been feeling a little dog deprived lately so it was nice to have her hang with us and she seemed to enjoy the attention we gave her. When we sat at a bench she took time to sit on our feet and lap up the pats we gave her. When we eventually left she ran back along the beach to where another dog was sleeping.
By this time Shelley wasn’t feeling well with a dodgy tummy so we returned to our room where she could recoup for a while. It was siesta time anyway so there wasn’t anything open. Late in the arvo we headed out again and went back down to the fore shore where packs of dogs were now chasing cars down the adjoining road. There was so many near misses that we were starting to get a bit distressed watching them and so decided it was best to leave before we witnessed a hit. Walked up to the centre of town and discovered that the centre of town was overtaken with vintage cars. Some sort of car rally was on and there was a small but great selection of cars ranging from early model T fords up to late model Mercedes. What was amazing was how the locals were allowed to hop all over the old cars which was in sharp contrast to such shows back home where most owners won’t let you breath near their pride and joys. One of the old fords had teams of kids hanging off the running boards.
Got a bit more money out before finding a pizza store where we could get an early pizza. Shelley was keen for a simple feed tonight and we ended up getting one of the nicest pizzas we have had on this continent. We were back home before 9 for an early night. Catching the bus tomorrow but thankfully it doesn’t leave till 11 and is only 3 hours long.

Day 26 - Sunday 6th November
Up to the bus company after breakfast for the journey to Puerto Natales and the trip was the usual tin can full of germs, everyone was coughing and splatting. We have discovered that the buses down south seem to jam the seats closer together than the bus companies up north. When you first sit down it seems close but not too bad, but when the person in front reclines their seat you end up squashed in completely. This was only a 3 hour trip so we did not have to put up with it for very long before we came into the pretty coastal town and then a short walk to the hotel we booked.
The room is small but cute and the hotel is very eco/earthy with wood everywhere, local crafts and oils burning throughout the place. We checked in and went down to the café which is very nice with great coffee and cakes, we regained our energy.
After a shower we hit the town well went for a long walk to check everything out and yes everything is closed being Sunday and siesta time except for two very touristy shops which we went into just to fill some time in. In the second shop the assistant followed us around and was only about 1cm away, when I turned to talk to Scott she was in my face so we just walked out I can’t stand being crammed in when I am looking. Brought some water on the way back to the hotel, we were hoping to check emails etc but the internet is not working here, hope it comes up as from Wednesday we will be out of contact for about 6 days.
Late in the arvo we went back out again, but nothing much was open, so we wandered around till we found a restaurant open. The La Mesita Grande restaurant is located in the town’s old general store and everyone that eats there sits along one long bench. We both went the Lasagne that came in an earthen ware bowl and was sensational. The meal with beers came in at under $30 so it was probably the best value feed we have had in a while.
Because Shelley had a bit of a cold we opted to get an early night. We were a little worried the room could have been really noisy because it is located over a café, but thankfully after 9 the place was deathly quiet.

Day 27 - Monday 7th November
Both had a great night sleep and we were up at 8 and downstairs for breakfast. The Hostel put on a great spread for us including cereal, pastries, toast, ham, cheese and salami…a fantastic start to the day. After breakfast I was able to finally get the internet working on the computer, it was because the password they gave me for the wifi was wrong. Not sure if that was accidental or deliberate? Checked our emails and then got our laundry together, and the guy in the hotel directed us across the street to a house where a woman said she could do our huge bag of clothes for about $7 and have them ready this afternoon…fantastic.
With our laundry booked in it was time to hit the streets and to see what the town has to offer. Puerto Natales is a situated on the water under the mountains of the Andes is so picturesque. The streets are neat and tidy and bench seating is everywhere as if the town is demanding that you should stop, sit down and enjoy where you are. We took the opportunity heaps as it was such a lovely day. Did do some shopping as well, as the jacket I had bought from “Rays Outdoors” was crap. The zipper completely broke on it and something similar is happening to Shelley’s jacket; I guess I got what I paid for, rubbish.
There is lots of mountaineering shops in town selling high end jackets, but as I only really need something for a week I wasn’t keen on getting something as big as a polar bear to drag around with me for the rest of the trip so I settled on a jacket as well as a lighter jumper to go underneath. Shelley needs a jumper but we couldn’t find anything before the shops started closing for siesta so resolved to look again this arvo and tomorrow. Also managed to get some cough lollies for Shelley, who has a bit of a sore throat and a nagging cough. Despite Shelley’s best Spanglish and pantomime the guy at the “farmacia” didn’t have a clue what she wanted till she started coughing and that is when the penny dropped. Didn’t get anything strong but did walk away with some cough lozenges .
Note I (Shelley) am fine just picked up some mild bugs from the moving tin cans on wheels, not enough to stop us.
Needed to sort out our connections to Torres Del Paine on Wednesday and the guy at the hotel can sell us bus tickets to where we need to get a boat into the park, but his lack of English and our lack of Spanish once again had us both confused so we went looking in town for more info. Found what we needed at a tourist office that was in a bunker in the town square. Wouldn’t have found it except the locals were able to point it out, we both thought it was a derelict shop or some old school canteen that was long deserted. Now that we had what we wanted and the whole town was in lock down, we wandered back to our hotel for a rest and a tidy up of our mess.

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