Blogs from Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 12

E venne il momento di lasciare la punta meridionale del continente per cominiciare la lunga risalita che dovrebbe portarmi all'estremo opposto dell'Argentina. Questa strada però passa dal Cile e così, partenza alle 7:00, presenza alle 6:30, eccomi a prendere l'autobus della compagnia Buses Pacheco che viaggia tra Ushuaia e Punta Arenas. Dopo il diluvio del giorno prima, il tempo continua a essere grigio ma ovviamente, dovendo passare l'intera giornata in autobus non sono particolarmente preoccupato. Ovviamente non conosco a priori il percorso che sta seguendo l'autobus. Di certo deve puntare verso la città di Rio Grande, seconda per grandezza nella Tierra del Fuego Argentina. Si sale un po' valicando un paio di passi tra cui uno che si chiama Paso Garibaldi, si passa accanto al Lago Fagnano. Vedo nelle foreste che passano ai lati della strada ... read more

When I was six, and in love with the song, 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'...I never paid much attention to the lyrics, or saw the video....I didn´t really think much about it. It was just on the radio all of the time. Then it disappeared from my existence, I never thought much about it again. Now that we´re traveling in the south of South America (Magellanes, which is lots of fun) and this song is literally played in every establishment and on every mode of public transportation, I feel like I´ve gotten to reconnect with an old friend. I was just discussing this with Mark, when what should come on the radio in the cafe?! Why this song? What is so special about it? In general, I've heard lots of old 80s music around...but this one ... read more

Yes, the sun has largely disappeared from our travels, at least to the extent that it offers enough warmth to combat the wind that that is our new companion. The 4 day, 3 night journey on the ferry saw us mostly confined indoors as outside it was perishing, even with five layers of clothes on! The cabins were petite as you´d expect on a ship, enough that I cracked my forehead on the headboard before learning the confines of this nautical space...... We were pleasantly surprised with the ferry as it is a trip regarded as having high potential to go pear shaped, especially if the weather is unkind. We splurged on a private cabin with our own bathroom, the alternative being 21-bed dorms sharing three bathrooms: somewhat unappealing...... We thought that all we got for ... read more

16th January Bags packed we headed for the Metro to take the Airport bus for the 3rd day in a row! We had gained 1 bag but unfortunately Sam still didn't have hers so we had given LAN the address of the hostel we had booked in Punta Arenas. The flight was on time & we left for Punta Arenas, we were aware that the plane would stop once on the way at Puerto Montt but soon discovered that it would stop once more in-between Puerto Montt & Punta Arenas. This meant a total of 3 landings & 3 take offs in a 4 hour flight! It was like being on a bus People got on & off at each stop and I was impressed at how efficient it all was, we were not on the ... read more

Wir sind mal wieder in Chile. Allerdings nur fuer ein paar wenige Tage. Von El Calafate duesten wir mit dem Bus nach Puerto Natales. Ein nettes kleines Kaff mit ein paar gemuetlichen Cafes und Restaurants. Aber es ist im Grunde nur hingestellt fuer Massen von Touristen, die in den Nationalpark Torres del Paine gehen. Obwohl wir auch einige Tage hier auf Trekkingtour wollten, hoerten wir auf unser Bauchgefuehl. Wir hatten so viel Einsamkeit erlebt auf der Carretera Austral und so viel traumhafte Landschaft gesehen, wir waren ueberfordert mit so vielen Menschen. Also entschieden wir uns, nur fuer einen Tag in den Nationalpark zu gehen und eine Tageswanderung zu den Torres del Paine zu machen. Es war eine goldrichtige Entscheidung. Auf den Wegen musste man an manchen Passagen regelrecht anstehen, weil so viele Leute unterwegs waren. Die ... read more