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Published: November 9th 2009
The pod
Home sweet home - the wood stove can be seen through the window.Hello amigos,
So if they'd told me it was called the Chilean Antartic maybe I'd have been more prepared for Patagonia - the 100mph winds, the snow blizzards, the sheer bloody cold of the place!!!! It is astonishingly beautiful, and the glacier "Grey" is gorgeous - but then I have no point of comparison!!! And the Eco camp is great, and I chose it, but the fact that these are posh tents hadn´t really sunk in! Ours was en suite and had a wood burning stove and once you got that going for a couple of hours it was wonderful - especially listening to the roaring wind outside and watching the snow swirling around!
We had a couple of great walks - though personally I didn't like it so much when the wind got really strong.
In the evening we would wander over to the core domes to dine with our fellow intrepids - and what a nice bunch they were too - a mix of Americans, Canadians, Brits, Irish, Dutch and Germans. Norbert is the funniest German I have ever met - putting paid completely to the idea that Germans are serious!! Our guide Javier was really
The view
A snapshot of the breathtaking view that you got from anywhere in the park including walking to breakfast! lovely and each evening would arrange for someone to bring us hot water so we could make tea to have in bed in the morning and also to make up our fire. Sadly the guy who was supposed to do it was very unreliable and only managed it two out of four times - poor Javier would tear his hair out with frustration and apologise profusely!!!
Saw lots of condors (very very big birds!!!), guanacos (like wild llamas) a skunk (v cute), a few eagles, rheas and flamingos.
Really loved the place but the weather is wild and unpredictable and somewhat inhospitable - and a bit of a shock after the desert!!!!
Now we are in Santiago where we arrived last night, and tomorrow we fly back overnight to the UK via Madrid. Today we had a private guided excursion round the city and it really is very nice. Unlike pretty much anywhere else in Latin America we've been to so far, it has a public transport system of metro and buses and the traffic is very light. Like Quito and La Paz it is surrounded by mountains which tends to trap in the pollution. It is
Glacier Grey
View from a boat on the lake which took us to the glacier. spring here and about 22 degrees and it seems a really nice place to live.
Yesterday we travelled all day - 6 hours by car and 6 by plane and we really are knackered, but I am still very much enjoying being here in Santiago. This evening we are off to a very pretty and animated area of the city called Balla Vista for a final meal - and at least we'll be able to get a decent bottle of wine!!!
Tomorrow evening for our first meal back in the UK we will of course have an Indian - as is our way, then we are really looking forward to a few weeks of nice veggie food.
Home sweet home . . . . hogar dulce hogar (as the Spanish say) . . . . we are really looking forward to it!
Love you all lots and lots.
Allison
PS. Balbi - he comprado el segundo libro de Steig Larssen aqui en Santiago - espero que no lo has comprado todavia. . . . .
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Neil
non-member comment
Feeling a bit Chile?
Santiago has a great Mediterranean climate and is sometimes described as the "Deptford of the South". I think I've got that right. Not sure what I'm going to do now that the blog has ended. It's been great fun following your adventures, reading the great descriptions and seeing the super photos. I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms already and will need to find something to fill the void. Really looking forward to seeing the photos at more length. Or 6X4 or whatever you have. You'll be looking forward to the last few rounds of Strictly, particularly as Bruce has been ousted by Tony Blair as a result of Bruno Tonioli getting the Italian vote and becoming European President.