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Published: December 6th 2013
Puerto Natales
A beautiful drive onto our first town in ChileThursday 21
st November (Odyssey Day 13)
Today was a slightly earlier start as we headed for the border for our first crossing into Chile. We had an early lunch to finish all our fresh foods before they could be confiscated at the border. While we were stopped for lunch on the side of the road, we had a visitor in the form of a guy who is cycling around Argentina. That is a bit more ambitious than I care to think about – especially in this wind! Good luck to him though.
We crossed the border near Rio Turbio, heading toward Puerto Natales. It was a relatively easy crossing and I have a new stamp in my passport now. There was a bit of confusion as they made us unload our luggage to scan it but then there wasn’t enough room to actually do so. It was a bit of a mad scramble to sort it all out and pack everything up. I’m not sure how much actually got scanned in the end but we did manage to get through. All they took from us was our lentils, since we had given the last of
Puerto Natales
Hot chocolate while waiting for the truck our fresh food (mainly onions and apples) to some gaucho’s after lunch.
After the border crossing we headed for Puerto Natales, our first stop in Chile. A chance for everyone to change some money and do any shopping they want to before we head for Torres del Paine, where there won’t be any shops at all. Four of the group (Glen & Donna, and Maddie & Lou) decided to stay in town in a hostel rather than bushcamp with the rest of the group. The plan was to return to Puerto Natales the next morning anyway, to finalise a few things before heading for the national park.
Looking for a bushcamp out of town was interesting. A lot of fenced off areas where the farming was. In the end we stopped and asked some locals for an idea on where to camp and they pointed us in the right direction.
It was a stunning spot we stopped at. Clearly part of someone’s pastures as there were a few cattle around and we had to employ the shovel a bit before we could set up – but well worth the effort as
Puerto Natales Bushcamp
Stunning setting for a camp the views of the mountains in the distance were stunning!
We managed a fire at this camp and everyone enjoyed the fine weather whilst sitting around it after dinner.
Friday 22
nd November (Odyssey Day 14)
I decided to get up early in the hope of some really good sunrise photos, so I was up at 0500 to catch it. I wanted to see those mountains with the sun coming up from behind us. Unfortunately when I got up, it was too cloudy to see the sunrise and then it started to rain. So back to be for another hour’s sleep it was!
When looking for a campsite last night we had seen a sign for some caves in the area. So this morning we decided to go visit them before heading back into Puerto Natales to meet up with the others.
This was the Cueva del Milodon, where in the late 19
th century the preserved remains (skin, bones, etc) of a Mylodon (Ground Sloth) were found. It is an extinct animal and the life-size replica they had there looked a lot
Cuevo del Milodon
A view from inside the cave like a really big bear with a longer nose. Remains of the sabre-toothed Smilodon were also found in the area. It was a really interesting cave formation, caused by waters eroding away the softer rocks.
Having finished at the caves, we headed for Puerto Natales again. More shopping and a chance to restock the bar before heading out to the national park for a few days.
Lunch was a steak sandwich but unfortunately no internet for me as I couldn’t connect. Oh well, guess my emails will just have to wait until I get back. We did notice that it is generally more expensive here in Chile than it was in Argentina.
We headed into National Park Torres del Paine via the entry point at Lago Sarmiento. The drive through to the campsite at Lago Pehoe was beautiful. Mountains, lakes, birds, guanacos. The camp itself has some beautiful views, not to mention wonderful showers – but no power points. It is ironic that the internet was relatively good, but there were no power points…
Only 12 of us are staying in the campsite with the truck though, as
Torres del Paine - Camping Pehoe
Stunning view in the national park half the group is doing the full W trek rather than just day walks. This involves them spending three nights and four days trekking. I’m more than happy to make do with a few shorter walks thank you very much!
Saturday 23
rd November (Odyssey Day 15)
Today the majority of the group caught the ferry across the lake to either embark on the W trek, or do a day walk up to the glacier. There were only four of us left in camp. I decided to do a walk around the closer side of the lake instead. There are actually quite a few lakes and lots of different birds in the area.
There is a pair of birds near the camp that keep coming around and raiding the nests of the smaller birds and eating the chicks, as well as some sort of small rodent they manage to catch. Amazing to see as you can get quite close to them without them taking off. There is also a swan in the area that is white with a black head and neck. Quite a beautiful looking bird.
Torres del Paine - Camping Pehoe
I think this is a Caracara, a type of falcon It is a beautiful area and well worth the effort of climbing those hills – though it doesn’t always seem like it when you are half way up one…
Sunday 24
th November (Odyssey Day 16)
Relaxing day today. At breakfast, it decided to start snowing. Well sort of anyway – it was a mix of snow and soft sleet I think. Pretty, but not conducive to encouraging me to go hiking for a day. So I decided to stay in camp, watch the birds, and clean the truck instead. A nice relaxing day it was.
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