A 3+ hour flight from Santiago to Puerto Natales, in the heart of Chile’s Patagonia.
PuertoNatales (pop ~ 20,000)
This town has no direct road connection to the rest of Chile; the alternative to flying is a 4-day, 3-night ferry from Puerto Montt through the fjord lands. It is mainly a service centre for Torres del Paine National Park about a 2-hour drive to the north.
Townsite images:
it’s a global (media) world…
The usual cemetery walk-through (this placid dog was not happy to have his photo taken, stalking us until we left…)
Hain spirits of the Selknam people (one of the original inhabitant groups, aka nativos):
TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK
The park pass is for 3 days and it is a 2-3 hour drive to the park, each way. We decided to rent a car so we could explore the park and reach hiking trailheads on our own timelines. Bus transport would also be more expensive. Unexpected adventures ensued.
Day 1: a drive through the park with exceptional scenery, exciting gale force winds (famous in Patagonia), a broken down rental car 16 km before the park exit, and finally a late evening ride back with the rental agency’s hiking group. At 10 pm, we were given a replacement car.
Day 2: hike to base of the Torres
“Paine” is the right word for what was our most challenging hike ever. 23 km return with a 1250m elevation gain, with much vertical boulder climbing in the last 2 km up. Loose rocks on stream beds dominated the trail. Too many people climbing down while many still ascending in order to beat the trail closure time. Treacherous descent where each footstep must be carefully chosen. There was a time when we could count on descending a trail much faster than ascending, but alas, we are now old. Five hours up, 5.5 hours down, topped off by the last 90 minutes in a rainstorm. Nonetheless, the scenery was stunning, and were very happy to have our car waiting for our late arrival. As were the 4 people who we gave a lift back to the town when their rental van broke down on the side of the road. In the days that followed, every young person, including guides, described this hike as brutally difficult. We feel a little less old…
Day 3: not getting to bed til after midnight, we couldn’t face another 2-hr drive to the park or another climb on similar terrain. M was hobbling, but wouldn’t know for another week that her ankle was sprained. 😖 However, a simple drive around the bay had our replacement rental car sustain a flat tire that S couldn’t change…we trekked several km back to town, handed over the keys and got our 3rd day refunded. Then a well-deserved beer over a game of Jenga.
PuntaArenas (pop 145,000)
A 2-hour bus ride through the pampas takes us to the “big city.” An important city on the Straight of Magellan for it’s access to Antarctica. (above pics are examples of the many tile mosaics in the city)
Every day, we walked through different neighbourhoods, along the shore of the Straight, and up Cerro de La Cruz. Many cruise ships stop here and there is even a fancy casino. We spent a lot of time at the Museum Maggiorino Borgatello (sections on native peoples, explorer Alberto Agostini, petroleum industry, flora & fauna of the region, history of the Salesian missionaries, etc.).
This region of Chile is also high in German and Croatian populations, and M smiled each time we walked past gardens with gnomes…
Hope that Michaela’s ankle is getting better, what a hike!
Wonderful photos!
I’ll be testing the ankle on another major hike tomorrow. It,s been on again off again with the icing and ibuprofen “treatment”. I was most relieved for the X-ray that showed no break. This is in addition to the plantar fasciitis that both of us have since October – mostly painful first thing in the morning.
Never a Dull Moment 
Wonderful to hear your adventures !!
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Hope that Michaela’s ankle is getting better, what a hike!
Wonderful photos!
I’ll be testing the ankle on another major hike tomorrow. It,s been on again off again with the icing and ibuprofen “treatment”. I was most relieved for the X-ray that showed no break. This is in addition to the plantar fasciitis that both of us have since October – mostly painful first thing in the morning.