Spent a couple of nights in Puerto Natales, Chile after four days of sailing on a cargo ship. It was sleepy, wet, dark - like Seattle in the early 1900s perhaps?
Twelve of us from the ship trooped over to the center of town to find accommodations. Ended up knocking at the door of a kindly elderly couple and were surprised to find they had room for all of us in their simple but very comfortable home. I'd never been so grateful to have my own room and bath (see previous post regarding having three tough bikers as roommates, two of whom never said a word to me). Reminder to self: count blessings more often.
Happy to be back on dry land, we set out to paint this quiet and wet town red. After a dinner of curiously overly cheesy (in the literal sense) pizza, we stumbled onto the only club in town. It seemed decent, but empty at 11pm and soon all twelve of us started dancing in a circle (which is what usually happens when not enough alcohol has been consumed - yet). Fast forward five hours later and the club was actually rocking with cool tunes and locals.
However, I decided to leave my partners-in-crime at 5am only to find myself lost, not knowing the name of my guesthouse nor the name of the club. I was screwed. Then, out of nowhere four jovial partying Chilenos appeared. In the worst possible Spanish I explained my predicament and after I showed them photos taken at the club I was soon reunited with my companions. At 6am, at the club. I hadn't done anything like that in a long time and doubt it'll happen again soon but I enjoyed it tremendously.
The following day, visited the jewel in Chile's crown, Torres del Paine National Park. It didn't fail to impress, in terms of scale and variety of wonders - alpine lakes, a glacier, abundant wildlife and a seemingly endless mountain range with snow-capped jagged peaks. We also got lucky with the weather: it was clear and not too windy. That apparently wasn't the case the day before or after.
Unfortunately, 20,000 hectares of the park was set ablaze in January by an Israeli camper. As a result, he was initially held under house arrest in Santiago. Eventually, most of Chile wanted stiffer punishment. The Israeli government came to the rescue, flexed its muscle and soon the errant camper found his way back home. His supposed fine? $30. (Discuss.)
With a fellow shipmate, Mike, from Scotland, crossed into Argentina by bus. It was snowing at the border and we were greeted in Argentina with a photo of La Presidenta de los Argentinos Cristina Kirchner (fully Botoxed and seated in a gilt chair holding a scepter) and a hard-to-miss sign proclaiming the Falkland Islands as Argentine territory (an issue/farce currently being played out in the world of diplomacy and international relations).
Immediately headed for El Chalten, a small village and the trekking capital of Argentina. Found 90% of the town closed for the season, with only one restaurant open and a lone grocery with very limited selections (what, no eggs or black pepper??). But I managed to score a steak for every day I was there, prompting glances from fellow travelers who prepared only pasta or vegetables. I didn't care: I was finally in Argentina and was going to have all the beef I could, given the short amount of time I had. When in Rome, have pasta. When in Argentina, have beef. A lot of it.
Went with some fellow travelers on two incredible day hikes, having the entire park almost to ourselves. One day it was totally autumn-like, with entire mountains filled with autumn leaves and ending in an absolute surprise: a glacier lake filled with icebergs. Mind blowing. The next day in the other direction it was positively alpine, walking across fields covered with snow and passing frozen lakes.
Then headed for the last stop in Patagonia, El Calafate, a sleepy tony - but touristy - resort town with a casino on its short main drag. The main reason to stop by is to visit the spectacular El Perito Moreno glacier nearby. Went on a mini-trek on the glacier on crampons and had a whisky on glacier ice. I enjoyed it very much - don't know whether it was the ice, the whiskey or being on the glacier. It was great fun.
In town, also enjoyed a "tenedor libre", an eat-all-you-can grilled meat meal with lamb ribs, beef tenderloin, intestines (oh-so-crisp), morcilla (blood sausage): all while a gaucho with a guitar and in traditional attire serenaded the crowd with folk songs. Touristy? A bit, but I joined in the fun.
Tomorrow, Buenos Aires!
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