First day at the "End of the World" (Fin del Mundo--as the Chileans call it). There was nothing particularly note-worthy about the arrival in Punta Arenas, except perhaps the admonition from the car rental guy that if we opened our car doors without using due caution, the wind might spring the whole door right off the hinges. Although this didn't happen to us, we witnessed it to be a real possibility. Driving up to Puerto Natales required both hands gripped firmly on the wheel and 100% concentration, just to keep the car on the road. I usually do all the driving, but I had to ask J to relieve me after an hour because it was so exhausting!
The first night we went "upscale" and stayed in the Hostal Vaiora in Puerto Natales. We thought a final night in a real bed plus a morning shower would be a good way to launch a week of camping and backpacking. In retrospect we decided that we should have opted to camp in the little tent lot to the side of the clapboard hostal. Our room's heater was broken and we were so cold our teeth were chattering--we figured we would have been considerably more cozy in our tent. However, they served us a lovely breakfast and even dug up some white gas for us, which turned out to be difficult to find in town. We discovered our camping stove is now ancient and all the young whippersnappers are using a completely different kind of fuel. Ah, the strange ways in which we show our age...... *Sigh*
Puerto Natales is a backpackers' haven if there ever was one. The shop fronts alternate between mini REIs and hostals. We even found a lovely vegan/vegetarian restaurant right on the main park/square called "El Living."
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| View from the boardwalk at Puerto Natales. Mountains teasing us from across the water.... |
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| Heading out towards Torres del Paine |
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| An unusual rock outcropping--mostly the terrain on the drive up to Torres was rolling hills with low scrub brush and the mountains off in the distance. Not many rocks, big or small, that we could see. This formation really stuck out dramatically. |
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