Punta arenas, ushuaia and the end of the world

This post is a bit late but I've been home in CA for the last couple of days, eating Korean food and vegging out. I'm finally coming out of the happy haze I've been in since I got home and realized that being home is ... kind of boring. A good boring but boring nonetheless. Well, at least to a world adventurer like me :). No, one of the best things about traveling is how great it is when you finally come home.

But I didn't want to neglect the last parts of my journey, especially since my last days were so great. I headed out to Punta Arenas from Puerto Natales, determined to see penguins and eat king crab in the one afternoon I had there. All flights on the day I wanted to head back to BA were booked so I had to book my return ticket a day earlier, thus rushing the last part of my trip. It wasn't so bad since I was able to see all the things I had wanted.

Once arriving in Punta Arenas, I dropped my bags off at this hospedaje (sort of like a B&B) called the Hostal La Luna. The place is run by this very nice lady and the room was quite cozy. Full-sized bed and down comforter, too! It was really just like staying at someone's house, especially since the owner explained that there was no key to my room but that I could use a butterknife to gimmy the lock open when I wanted to get in. But its not like I had much to steal anyway so I didn't care.

Right after checking in, I boarded a minivan to Seno Otway to see the Magellanic penguins. Apparently, Isla Magdalena has a better penguin colony but the tours only visit the colony on Tues, Thurs and Sat so I wouldn't be able to go. The colony at Seno Otway was much smaller but they were cute anyways. I just kept laughing at them waddling around, falling down and doing cute penguin things. One of the penguins even came right up to the fence where a whole bunch of people were gathered to take a closer look. But alas, we only had an hour there so I quickly snapped my pictures and we headed back to Punta Arenas. I topped my evening off with a nice dinner of vino and king crab pasta. Most of my meals consisted of coldcut sandwiches, instant pasta and soups so it was really nice to splurge on a real meal.

Magellanic penguins. They are maybe a couple feet tall. They nest during the summer though I didn't see any babies when I was there.

Nesting penguins. Amazing how I got all of them grooming at the same time.

Curious guy.

But the best part of Punta Arenas was seeing the Magellan Strait. This was where Magellan had sailed! One of the greatest explorers in history! It was so amazing to think what it had been like when him and his crew discovered a route to the Pacific. I can actually say that I was gellin' like Magellan.

The man himself, Magellan!

The Magellan Strait. Can't you just feel the history?

The next day, I headed to Ushuaia. I won't say much about it because it was just 10 mind-numbing hours inside a bus. I don't know why they don't have overnight buses but they all run during the day. It was a day wasted but at least I made it to Ushuaia.

Ushuaia markets itself as the 'Fin del Mundo' though there are actually a couple of towns south of it. Ushuaia has just done a better marketing job and plus its on the Beagle Channel (I will spare you with a gushing paragraph on Charles Darwin but we're talking the Beagle Channel!). I only had the day before my flight that evening so my options were a bit limited. I had wanted to visit the Tierra del Fuego National Park but I didn't have time. Instead, I climbed up almost to the Glaciar Martial to get a stunning view of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. Standing up there was just the best finish to my trip -- looking down at the end of the world and taking it all in. I, of course, topped it all of with another dinner of king crab. Its everywhere down there and it was so delicious. Crab soup, crab pasta, crab casserole and my favorite, crab with rice. Yummm, centolla....

Ushuaia. Its a beautiful little town and you can see these huge imposing mountains all around.

King crab. Its HUGE and pretty ugly. But bring it on! Its sooo delicious.

The view of the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia. It was quite a climb through mud and snow but totally worth it. Just look at that!

I also had some time to squeeze in a quick visit to the Maritime and Penal Museum since Ushuaia used to be a penal colony. I personally thought the Maritime part was more interesting. They had all these miniature boats (all crafted by the same guy to keep everything to one scale) to show the progression of sailing from Magellan's day to the present. And it was also interesting to see a portion of the history of exploration.

A miniature of Magellan's boat, the Trinidad. I love Magellan.

Overall, Patagonia was simply amazing. Every view left me breathless as did every single one of those crappy hills I had to hike over. Its so different from Buenos Aires and I'm so glad that I was able to experience them both. I got sick, I got rained on, I froze my butt off but it was all worth it. Its definitely a trip that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

My last few days in Buenos Aires were a blur. A frenzy of goodbyes and Christmas shopping but I got through it. Thanks to everyone I met in Buenos Aires and especially in the residencia for all the laughs, the meals and the good times! I will definitely miss my BA family!

Some final parting shots:

Finally, pictures of my kids! They are all so full of live and rambunctious and innocent.

I worked with 15 kids in total. I would have taken more photos but I was sick and infectious during what would have been my last week.

The most impressive fruit and vegetable stand I saw. For a city that eats almost nothing but steak and potatoes, they have some really fresh produce.

Shots of the polo game I saw. I had no idea what was going on but it was still impressive!

You are looking at some of the best polo players in the world.

Very posh and Ralph Lauren of us (me and Colleen).

Isn't this city gorgeous?

Sunshine in torres del paine

Sorry its been awhile. The internet connections in Chile were far slower than the connections in Argentina and after spending 2 HOURS in an internet cafe on the last post, I decided to wait until I got to BA to finish my Patagonia posts. Plus, I was racing through Punta Arenas and Ushuaia in the last few days of my trip so I didn't really have much time anyway.

Before heading out to the Torres del Paine National Park, I spent a couple of days in Puerto Natales in Chile. There really isn't much to recommend the town except that its sort of the gateway to the TDP park. I stayed at the Hostal Dos Lagunas, which was more of a B&B, run by Alejandro, his wife Andrea and their cute daughter, Valentina. They were very nice but the best part was I actually got my own room and it came with a heater, towels and breakfast (eggs and bacon!!). I splurged a little but I figured the US$5 extra a night would be worth it.

The first afternoon I arrived in Puerto Natales, I ran around like a crazy person to try and organize my transportation. I still needed to go to Punta Arenas and also to Ushuaia. I was a bit nervous because I didn't really have much time built into my schedule and I had heard that the buses fill up quickly so I tried to figure out schedules and prices. Sounds easier than it was since there's no central bus terminal so I ran around to all the bus companies to figure out the best route. I also needed to organize transportation to the TDP park, get food, make sure I had all the supplies for my 4-day trek, etc, etc. That stuff takes up time!

But my time in Puerto Natales wasn't all a waste. I had an extra day so I decided to take a boat tour around the Chilean fjords. It was an all-day boat ride and definitely a splurge but it was fun. Super-cold but the fjords and glaciers were beautiful. Here are the pictures to prove it!

View of the fjords from land. On all sides, there were these huge mountains right on the water. You just feel sooooo small.

The fjords from the boat.

I think this is Glaciar Serrano but I'm not sure. There was this weird guy on the boat who asked if the glacier was named after the ham or the president. The tour guide was not amused.

We got off the boat to hike around this glacier but I don't remember what its name is. But it was lovely nonetheless.

Proof of the mighty Patagonian wind.

I also found peanut butter in Puerto Natales! This was very very exciting for a couple of reasons. First, I needed to pack 4 days worth of lunches and breakfasts for the TDP trek and peanut butter is a great hiking food. Its portable and full of protein and carbs. Second, I had tried to buy it in Buenos Aires before I left for Patagonia because there is this INSANE, bigger than any Super Walmart "store" in BA called Jumbo Easy that would have anything you could possibly imagine, including international foods. I had found peanut butter there once but when I went back to get it again, there was none! I was devastated. The thought of taking dulce de leche just wasn't the same. Anyway, peanut butter, jelly, salame and bread in hand, I headed to TDP.

The park is gorgeous and really trekking friendly. There are 2 routes that most people take. There's the Circuit, which takes about 6-8 days to complete and takes you through a big part of the park. There's also the W Circuit, which actually is just a portion of the longer Circuit but can be done in 4-5 days. The W is pretty popular since it takes you past the big highlights of the TDP park, mainly the Torres themselves, the Cuernos and Glaciar Grey. The Torres (Towers) and Cuernos (Horns) are these huge granite formations, shaped by glaciars long since past.

There are also these refugios where you can stay along the way. I thought they would be like huts but they are like these super-elaborate hostels in the middle of the forest. Real beds, heating, hot meals and hot SHOWERS! Nice and clean, too. Definitely, camping luxury. I don't think I've ever had it so good. The refugios are spread out so basically they are a day-hike away so you can complete the W by staying at the refugios. It was perfect for me since I'm a single hiker so I didn't have to worry about bringing a tent or being alone. I also splurged and opted to have dinner each night, figuring I would be too tired to try and make myself dinner. Plus, it would mean less food to carry. Anyway, they were perfect. After hiking all day, I would come back to take a hot shower, eat a hot meal and sleep in a comfy bed before heading out the next day. The only drawback is the price. But it was totally worth it. Actually, the refugios are pretty hard to book so I was pretty lucky to get them when I made the reservations a week before the trip.

Basically, I was going to do the W Circuit from right to left but without the final leg. The first day would be to see the Torres. The second day to get to the next camp so I could have an entire day to hike up the Valle Frances on the third day. On Day 4, I would hike out the way I hiked in rather than seeing Glaciar Grey (the last leg of the W so I was actually doing a bit of a U). I didn't have much time and I figured by that point, I would have already seen a bunch.

So on Day 1, I headed out of Puerto Natales on the JB bus early in the morning so I could hit the trail. I had met a bunch of people on the bus and we decided to hike together since it would be a lot safer and more fun. I met Adam, a Bostonian, and Frank and Cian, 2 interpid Dubliners. As a group, we headed up to Mirador Torres to get a view of the Torres. I was pretty anxious to get up there since I heard that the weather in TDP can be really unpredictable. When I first arrived in Puerto Natales I met some people at a cafe who had just come back and they had horrid weather. They said it rained 3 days out of 4 for them. Since I had woken up to nothing but sunshine that morning, I wanted to get to the mirador before the weather changed. We hoisted our packs on our back and headed out.

On the way, we reached the Refugio Chileno, where I would be staying the night. After 2 hours of hiking up some serious hills, I was glad to be rid of my pack. I was even happier not to have it after seeing the rest of the trail to the Mirador. The last hour was a scramble over these huge boulders but it was totally worth it the second the Torres came into view. Just gorgeous!! They reminded me of being in Yosemite because they were huge chunks of granite, like El Capitan and Half-Dome but they were amazing in their own right. We took a bunch of victory photos and just sat on the rocks, staring at the Torres. The guys were staying at Campmiento Torres so they could catch the sunrise so I headed back to Chileno to my hot shower and dinner.

Setting out on our trek (me, Frank and Cian). Cian had the tent in his pack so his sleeping mat had to go on top. It was hilariously tall and kept smacking Frank in the face! The refugio is a couple of hours behind us in that valley.

The Torres del Paine. They really look like towers.

Victory photo!

On Day 2, the guys came to pick me up from my refugio and we continued on the second leg of our journey. I was pretty jealous of their sunrise pictures since Day 2 looked to have just as good weather as Day 1. But then I remembered that they had to get up at 4:30am and hike up those boulders so I decided I was pretty happy in my refugio. Plus, the guys looked a little hungry, dirty and tired and the refugios began to look like quite a steal. Nothing much on that day since we were really just transporting ourselves to the next camp, me at Refugio Cuernos and they guys at Campmiento Italiano. The trail was a little hilly but we had some laughs and a beer when we got to my refugio (they had beer at the refugios!) so the time passed pretty quickly. At least, the weather held out.

The Cuernos, close up. I don't know what the deal is with their color but they are impressive.

Enjoying a well-deserved beer!

On Day 3, we couldn't believe our luck. Yet another day of sun and no rain. We started out early at 7am because the day would include around 10 hours of walking but it was totally worth it. We hiked up to the Mirador in Valle Frances and 5 hours later, we were there. I climbed up to the Mirador, which was this huge pile of rocks and everywhere I turned, the views were just spectacular. 360 degrees of spectacular views. The Valle Frances took us around to the backside of the Torres so from the Mirador, you could see the Torres, the Cuernos, a glacier and down the valley we just climbed out of. And apparently, its really rare to get the entire view because of the weather but we got really lucky. We got to see everything. After sitting for an hour in awe, we finally hiked down. After 9 hours of hiking, that last hour was just tortuous. I was staying at Refugio Cuernos for a second night so at least I didn't have any of my gear with me.

Contemplating the scenery.

From the Mirador, we could see the backside of the Torres (right) and Cuernos (left). Those trees are barren from past avalanches.

Yet another view from the Mirador. We hiked up from that lake wayyyy back there!

Me on top of the Mirador. Check out that view behind me!

Frank and me at the Mirador. I love perspective.

On Day 4, the weather finally started to turn. But luckily, it was my last day and I only needed to hike out. I ran into Talia, a Candian who I had met in a hostel in El Calafate, at the top of the Valle Frances Mirador and it turned out that we were hiking out from Refugio Cuernos the same day. I had parted ways with the guys on Day 3 (they were heading to Glaciar Grey) so it was perfect that I met up with someone to hike with on Day 4. We were dead tired after the monster day at Valle Frances so each step was a drag. We took the bus back into Puerto Natales and I was done with Torres del Paine!

Sun spots on Lake Nordenskjold (I'm pretty sure that's not a Chilean name).

Tired but happy to successfully finish our trek (Talia and me)!

The hikes were moderately tough but probably harder for me since its the first real activity I've done since my knee surgery in August. I had a big pack with me but I was so happy with how my knee did. Everything I saw was breathtaking. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially with all the good weather I had. Especially after all the rain I had in the Glacier National Park in Argentina, I appreciated the good weather that much more. I also want to thank Adam, Frank, Cian, Raphael and Talia. The laughs, the beer and the company through those tough climbs made just so great, better than I could have hoped for. So thanks guys and best of luck with everything!

Cheers!

I also posted more pictures in the previous post so check them out!