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    Day 1 - "We walked on a fenced path, watching the penguins that nest in summer - so cute!"

Finally... Patagonia! I was in Punta Arenas, where I had arrived by plane the night before. Maybe it was just my imagination and an immense desire to see something on the landscape from the plane, but I think I saw the Cuernos del Paine at twilight... at 10:30pm! Under the full moon light, I saw for the first time the famous Strait of Magellan.

My trip was begining at Punta Arenas, capital of the province of Magallanes, far south of Chile, a city without tourist attractions but the gateway for Chilean Patagonia for those arriving by plane. It was named "Sandy Point" by John Byron, who arrived there in the 18th century during a scientific expedition. At Hostal Estrecho's breakfast room, I think I was the only tourist. I learned that scrambled eggs are huevos revueltos in Spanish.

I left just past 8 and stopped at many travel agencies to check the information I had about the tours around Punta Arenas. They all offer the same tours at more or less the same hours and prices. The tour that had been more recommended, to Isla Magdalena, runs only three days a week and it wasn't one of them. The tour to Magallanes Reserve, where we can walk and learn about the local vegetation, is not offered regularly and so I opted to take the tour to Fuerte (Fort) Bulnes, which I booked at Eco Tour.

 
Ferdinand of Magellan
  As I had time before the tour, I took a walk downtown, that was once rich due to the international ship traffic, but it lost importance with the opening of Panama Canal. The main economic activity in the region today is oil production and coal mining. I walked up to the lookout to see the city with the Strait of Magellan in the background. The day was gorgeous and it wasn't very cold.

At Muñoz Garnero Square there is a statue of Ferdinand of Magellan, the famous Portuguese navigator who, working for the kings of Spain, found a passage - today named after him - to the west through the extreme south of America in 1520. It was an extremely tough voyage that costed many human lives - Magellan himself died in Southeast Asia. Around the square there are some old mansions that eblonged to the rich wool traders of the end of 19th century, such as Sara Braun Palace, today the Hotel José Nogueira.

 
end of America
 
bent tree
 
Fort Bulnes
  I had thought that the tour to Fuerte Bulnes would be a bit annoying, but in fact it's interesting for the landscape along the way, offering a first contact with Patagonia and its strong winds. On the way, we saw many cattle ranches (estancias) where they raise cows and sheep. From a lookout we saw the end of the Andes and the tip that is the end of the continent - below that, only islands, including those that form Tierra del Fuego, shared between Chile and Argentina. After around one hour, we arrived at the fort, but before visiting it, we did a short a pleasant walk on the rocks by the sea - a calm sea that didn't show a trace of the fury faced by those past sailors. Located at Punta Santa Ana, around 50km from Punta Arenas, in reality the present fort is a reconstruction of the original one from 1843, which played a fundamental role in the colonization of the region by the Chileans, as the British had been settling Southern Chile. The fort is composed of many wood buildings, including a nice chapel. There is a cafeteria by the fort that serves snacks and meals, but I preferred to walk and take pictures.

The way back to town was a tedious trip. The history of the region is of many challenges, what can be observed in the names given to the places, such as Puerto Hambre (Port Famine), where we stopped briefly. At this place in the 16th century, Spanish sailors died of hunger after a shipwreck. Despite being at such a southern location, we were surprised to see on the road a mark for the geodesic center of Chile: Chileans consider that part of Antarctica belongs to their territory...

Back in town, I bought yogurt and cupcakes at the supermarket (that was my lunch) and I stopped at the inn before taking a bus to the Zona Franca (a duty free mall), where I had planned to buy some photo equipment. There are many buses going there, with tariffs varying from 150 to 200 pesos, apparently a function of the quality of the vehicles. After around 15min zig-zagging in residential roads, I arrived at the Zona Franca. There is plenty of electronics and home devices, but very few photo equipment. Although I had arranged with the tour agency to be picked up at Zona Franca, as it was still early I returned downtown, where I bought a berret to try to protect my hair from that gusty wind.

 
penguin
 
penguins
  Before 5pm I was at Laguna Azul agency to take the tour to the penguin colony. This time it was a bigger van, with maybe 12 people. I found one of the tourists of the morning tour, Massimo, with whom I practiced my rusty Italian, although what I spoke was a mixture of Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. We drove for around 70km to Seno Otway, a channel linked to the Pacific Ocean where there is a reserve in which Magellan penguins nest from November to March.

penguins, Seno Otaway colony
 
During around one hour, we walked on a trail - which is fenced to prevent tourist from disturbing the penguins or even destroy a nest - watching those neat little creatures. Some were quiet, others were roaming, all apparently oblivious to our presence. At four months of age, a --puppy-- is already almost the size of their parents, but have a grey plumage. At this age they take their first incursions into the sea to learn how to fish - until then, their parents feed them by ---- throwing up --- the fish they catch in the rich water of the channel. The penguins form couples for life and return every year to the same area to nest - one or two eggs each season. On the road we saw a baby grey fox, who together with the sea lions are the main predators of the penguins. On the way back we also saw a ñandu, the Patagonian rhea. I was sorry about not bein able to take the tour to the Monumento Nacional de Los Pinguinos, at Isla Magdalena, where the colony is huge - over 150 thousand penguins - and there are no fences. Those who took it, loved it.

I was back in town almost at 9:30pm, though still not dark - this is very confusing, it looks like it's still early. I had a sandwich at Lomit's, a few blocks away from the inn. I met Massimo again there - that's a small city!

 
    Day 2 - "For the first two hours of the trip, we only see plains; at the end mountains and snow begin to show up."

I caught the Bus Pacheco bus to Puerto Natales that left at 8:30. Although I had bought my ticket the day before and the company seemed organized, there was another passanger at the same seat, but as I was already there and my ticket number was at the driver's list, I stayed right where I wanted, on the first row, with a panoramic view. Approximately 250km of a well kept road take us to Puerto Natales, a city by Seno Ultima Esperanza that lived mainly from cattle before the tourist boom. It's a small and pleasant city, that I had imagined full of tourists at high season, but although many inns were full, I didn't see that many people. It must be a twisted vision of mine, as I live in a big touristic city. Puerto Natales is the arrival port for those coming by boat from Puerto Montt - a four-day trip that is said to be very beautiful, crossing channels and passing by glaciers.

From the bus stop to Hostal Drake it's just a few blocks. The inn is very pleasant at a reasonable price - a good hint from my Footprint guide.

I went to Onas, the agency from which I had booked a full-day tour that would take me by boat to Torres del Paine National Park. There were still some details to be set on my reservations and I had to come back later to get the vouchers. I had lunch at Cristal restaurant, which has a varied menu and had been recommended. I walked a little bit more and visit a nice church, small but cozy.

There is a popular tourist attraction close to Puerto Natales, the Cueva del Milodon. It's a cave in which the fossil of a prehistoric giant sloth was found - there is even a full size plastic model of the animal - but that did not attract me. I preferred to enjoy Puerto Natales, getting ready to finally begin the main part of my trip.

At night I had a bowl of soup at the pleasant Concepto Indigo, by the channel, in the company of a Brazilian couple I had met at Onas, Marcelo e Flávia. We watched a slide session they present (but not every night, should one ask for it?), with images mainly from Patagonia. I also had a delicious brownie. Their dessert menu, by the way, made my mouth water...

 
    Day 3 - "Under a magnificent sun and a blue sky, I have all the Paine massif in front of me, up to Grey Glacier. A dream scenery!"

Before 7am I was taking breakfast, looking forward to begining the tour. I left my suitcase at the inn, where a van from Onas would take it to Paine. That was convenient, because later I saw the trouble suitcases are in this tour.

 
Mount Balmaceda and glacier
  I went to the dock, where the boat Nueva Galícia was. It was suppose to depart at 7:30, but it left in delay because of a big group that arrived late. The boat was completely full. It takes about 4h navigating along Seno Ultima Esperanza. The word "seno", for what I understood, means a sea passage, like a fjord. On the section close to Puerto Natales, we were supposed to see dolphins, but we didn't see any. After about one hour, we could see Mount Balmaceda (2035m) and part of the Paine massif - a vision that filled me with excitement.

Paine massif seen from Seno Ultima Esperanza
 
We saw a big colony of cormorans on the cliffs and further ahead three sea lions hiding in a cave. I spent much time at the bridge, which offers a much better view than the passengers' cabin, besides being warmer than the deck... Mount Balmaceda is visible most of the time and as we approached it, we had a better view of Balmaceda glacier (or glaciar, in Spanish), which descends from the mount. Until about 15 years ago, the glacier reached the sea level.
 
Serrano Glacier
  We arrived at the boat's destination, Puerto Toro, at the entrance to Bernando O'Higgins National Park, around noon. From there we walk for about 45min to see Serrano glacier. It's an easy trail, with a lake full of icebergs on one side and Patagonian vegetation on the other - including the calafate, a common bush in the region that produces a red little fruit used to make jelly and even icecream.

We could not stay long watching the glacier, as the guides called us back to the dock to resume our journey, now in zodiac boats going up the Serrano River. Our group was only about 14 people doing this tour, the rest would return to Puerto Natales by boat. I believe that, if it wasn't for the delay in leaving Puerto Natales, we would have had more time to enjoy the glacier. But Paine was waiting for us.

The boat is big. Under the seats, there are compartments to place the luggage (backpacks, basically, as suitcases don't fit in). We are required to use life vests, but the ride is very smooth, the only thrill being the gorgeous scenery. The sky was clear - it had been partially cloudy in the morning. We saw Mount Balmaceda by other angles, then Tyndall Glacier, which is 7km wide and 90m high. It is Paine's largest glacier - oh, yes, by now we were at Torres del Paine National Park, 180,000 hectares of Patagonian wilderness which was designated a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO.

Tyndall Glacier
 
Like all main glaciers of the region, including the famous Perito Moreno in Argentina, this one is part of the Campos de Hielo Sur (Southern Icefield), an ice pack that begins around 350km from there. After around 1:30h of navigation, we reached some rapids, so we left the boat and followed a short path (another inconvenient place to have a suitcase) to meet another zodiac boat that was waiting for us to continue upriver, in a relaxing and pleasant trip.

After one more hour, we arrived at Serrano campsite. Total ecstasy: the Paine massif was all in front of us, its peaks emerging from the plains as if piercing the earth, the white of the glaciers and of the snow blinding us. We were like fools, out of control with the beauty of the landscape ahead of us, taking photos and more photos. A curious thing regarding these mountains is that the land surrounding it is almost at sea level. These mountains are not part of the Andes, belonging to a different and more recent sedimentary soil uplift.

Paine massif seen from Serrano Campsite
 
I at Serrano Campsite
  We had our snack in front of this breathtaking scenery, then I got far from the group for a while to enjoy it in silence - or almost, as the wind never stopped blowing, shaking the low vegetation. I said to myslef: "Welcome to Patagonia".

I think we stayed there for one hour, then we were assigned to different vans depending on our destination within the park. I and other three tourists stayed at Hosteria Tyndall (my suitcase was there - what a relief!). It is part of an old ranch and has a magnificent view to the mountains. I couldn't get tired of enjoying it from my room's window. This night at the hotel, dinner included, was part of the package I bought from Onas, a very good price for those who buy the boat tour.

 
Paine at sunset
  The hotel has guides and offers tours. My plan was hiking the Grey trail - one of the three legs of the W circuit, as the most popular trails in the park are called, also composed by Valle Frances and Las Torres trails - but there was a fire in the area and, according to the information obtained by radio, the trail was closed because of the smoke. I decided then, although it was a bit expensive, to take a full day car tour around the park. There were other hikes besides those I had already planned to do the next days, but all were very long - such as 6h each way.

I went to dinner almost at 9pm, keeping an eye at the sunset. The food was fine, although there wasn't much variety, except on salads. The bread was delicious! While I dined, I watched the view outside, waiting to take photos of the red late sunrays paiting the peaks. A nice way to finish the day!

 
    Continues...    

  © Maria Adelaide Silva
  Rio de Janeiro, September 2002

  Last updated on Sept. 21, 2002

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