Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine

Patagonia. 

Patagonia. 

Patagonia.

Patagonia is a magical place. 

I arrived in Puerto Natales after almost 40 hours of travel via bus. It was dark and so I decided to take a cab from the bus station to my hostel and just head to bed because sitting for 40 hours is surprisingly exhausting My friends Birte and Kiki were also arriving that night and we had plans to meet up the next day. My hostel was ok, I actually ended up changing to a great hostel after a few days. The biggest problem was it didn't have a kitchen and restaurants are limited and expensive in Puerot Natales, however the hostel hat Kiki and Birte had booked was just as odd and it too didn't have a kitchen for personal use, so the three of us decided to have a picnic dinner down by the water that night after exploring the town and buying our bus tickets for Torres Del Paine for the next day. 

My picnic

Mirador de los Torres was the first day hike we took in TDP it's the classic must do as it takes you to the towers which the park is named for and it is beautiful. However, the hike was 9km which originally I thought was a nice short distance to hike on day 1. Patagonia is also known for "Patagonia flats" meaning that you may be walking up and down 100s of meters at a time but overall not actually gaining any elevation it is exhausting on the knees. The hike though winds through cliffs and waterfalls and climbing over boulders to get to the top. My German friends were great for hiking with, and we brought lots of snacks, water and changes of clothes. One second it was sweltering and sunny and we were hiking in only sports bras, the next the Patagonia wind was so strong we had to hold on to the face of the cliff and the next it was snowing. It was bout half the way up the hike that it dawned on me that if the hike is 9km to the top, it was actually 18km in total, not including the 2km beginning. This was a bit disappointing as I was dying from the short distance and slight elevation we had completed. There was also a time limit because we had been told that the last shuttle from the end of the hike to the bus lot in the park left at 6pm. By the time we finally made it to the end it was 6:30pm. However it was just our luck that another company offered to drive us over so we thankfully did not miss the bus back to Puerto Natales. Overall the hike was incredible though and the views were absolutely worth it. 

We made it!

Just a few moments later it started raining and hailing on us

The next hike in Torres Del Pain was special for a different reason, it wasn't the most famous but it was perfect, here we had a moment. 

The hike was deserted unlike Mirador de los Torres and it was so peaceful and beautiful. It starts by going past a set of water falls and rapids then followed by a very narrow trail to panoramic view of the backside of the towers. The water has such a blue color and the glaciers and rest of it all contrast in ways that just can't be captured in photos. I wish I could explain what our moment was like but I don't know how, I wish I had poetic skills or something but it was just the most amazing, relaxing and feeling I have ever had. We had our lunch in the sun and napped with some white wine and appreciated the silence and privacy as well. We spent hours there laying there in the sun and enjoying the unbelievable views in front of us. 

However we had anticipated to spend only about half the day in the park and then take the 1:30pm bus back to town, we woke up from our naps around 3pm so we ended up taking the 7:30pm tour back to Puerto Natales. However, the best laid plans don't always work out and so while we were waiting for our bus it didn't show up until almost 8pm, and out hike started from where the catamaran takes hikers/visitors to see glacier grey meaning that anyone who headed out on the catamaran also took the our bus back to the bus lot. The catamaran was running in the morning but due to the high wind in the afternoon they were delayed until much later, and so most of the visitors were stranded on the other side of the lake. Our bus was the only bus that decided to wait for the last passengers because it is illegal to stay in the park over night with out a reservation. This means that not until around 10:30pm did we head back to the park entrance and got the privilege of eating Pringles and beer for dinner as that was all the convineience store was selling. 

Asleep in the sun (me and Birte)

The waterfalls

The first day Kiki, Birte and I has tried to go for a 5km "hike" around Puerto Natales that their hostel and told them about, however we quickly learned that we needed to ask more specific questions.  The number of times we asked how far the walk would be, everyone informed us that it would be 5km long. This turned out to mean it was about 5km out of town, 5km to the trail head after that, 5km up the mountain, and 5km back making it almost 30 km in total. This was not what we had expected when we were told it was a "short walk". We had no water or food with us. We decided to attempt the "mountain" as it is dubbed by the locals on our day in between the two TDP hikes. We took a Taxi to the start and back to the town which made it much more enjoyable as well brought water and food with us. 

The mountain was so cool, however if wind gods exist then let me tell you they were angry. It was so windy up there that I was physically pushed against a metal fence and could not move until the wind died down. But you could see so far form the view. 

Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas has my heart and it always will. 

The people are always incredible, and the food (empanadas) buenisimo, and city it self is the perfect mix of city life and country side. It's so small, the whole population is smaller then that of UBC, and the neighborhood/city center is more like that of Madison Park then Seattle but I love it so. 

After the 10 hour bus ride from Santiago, Gabi and her father picked me up at 7 in the morning. Her house is gorgeous and her parents had made a huge breakfast spread as well, I also got to meet her older sister, and two younger sisters. Her mom is an amazing chef and for lunch made the most incredible chicken with mushrooms and noodles, then that afternoon we went paddle boarding on Lago Llanquihue with Antonia who was in my class at Colegio Puerto Varas. That night we also went to hang out with a bunch of other friends from CPV. 

On Wednesday I went to the farm that Gabi's father owns and is the vet on, and got to spend LOTS of time with the cows and calfs (we also had the most delicious cauliflower soup for lunch). On the farm I got to learn how to weigh the cows, how to give them antibiotics, shots, and artificially inceminate them. It was such a cool and interesting experience. That night we had dinner with her grandmother and family friends at the pizza restaurant that her older sister works at, (in Chile everyone eats pizza with a knife and a fork). That night Gabi and I went to a party where my entire old class was and it was so nice to see everyone again and hangout with those who I hadn't seen in three years. Although it felt as if nothing had changed. On Thursday I hung out with Isabel mostly and booked the next legs of my trip. My Spanish is improving crazily and surprisingly spending time with a 6 year old is the easiest way to practice. She uses lots of hand motions and we have about the same level of vocabulary. We even enjoy reading the same books like Peter Pan, and Matilda. 

On Friday, Gabi and I grabbed lunch with one of my best friends from CPV Vale, and spent the afternoon in el centro. 

This was our dessert from lunch <3 

That afternoon I spent with my Chilean homestay family the Dorners and had dinner there as well. They even picked up my favorite food (empanadas from Dane's Cafe). 

After dinner there was another party that Isi, her friends from Santiago, many of my friends from CPV and Gabi and I all went to. The next morning I left to go camping for the weekend.

After Puerto Varas I boarded a 30 hour bus ride to Punta Arenas and then a 3 hour bus ride to Puerto Natales which is the gate way to Torres Del Paine park for hiking throughout Patagonia. 

I also happened to have the last seat in the back of the bus.... Next to the bathrooms for 30 hours. 

Tagua Tagua

This started with me, laying on a rocky beach, hungover and being attacked by very large alien bugs. 

Regretting many of my choices from the night before, such as gabi and I returning home at 4am when we had to wake up at 6:30 and especially regretting not asking more questions about what we were about to spend our weekend doing. After the three hour car ride we were almost an hour early for the ferry to take us "somewhere" that I had yet to figure out. Gabi, Antonia (her neighbor and my friend from CPV), Gabi's father, her little sister Isabel and her older sisters boyfriend were now hanging out on a beach waiting to send Gabi, Antonia and I off. The beach was beautiful and right on the lake except the terrifying creatures were everywhere. I also found out that they feed on blood which was really encouraging, and that they were attracted to the color blue. I was wearing a bright blue jacket, with blue shorts, a blue tank top and a blue sports bra I had zero hope of removing the blue from my body. Luckily they don't drink the blood of dead animals, so as long as I pretended to be dead, didn't move or talk they would eventually go away..... 

However, while this camping trip started off on an "interesting" note, it ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life and easily is one my favorite places in the whole world. After the first ferry I thought we would start the hike, but instead actually boarded another very small boat. After crashing through the waves (which I loved and reminded me of dingy rides in the the summer) the boat drivers showed us a huge waterfall and then stopped in front of a large rock and Boulder wall. At first I thought they were joking with the Austrailians tourists who didn't speak any Spanish and were on our boat, because they told them to get out. Then they started unloading backpacks and equipment onto the rocky cliff and then in Spanish told us to get off as well. Here I was wearing a massive and heavy backpack, with trecking poles in one hand and a cellphone and water bottle in the other. I watched as the first two found a small rope between the crevices of the rocks and began to scale the cliff while pulling them selfs up with the rope, next thing I knew I was being looked at to go, well it wasn't graceful and my pack was very top heavy so every time I bent forward I kind of face planted into the ground. After one of the staff members from Tagua Tagua parked helped me stand up and ask if I was ok, I realized that we weren't even at the start of the hike yet, and I had picked the worst day to be hungover. 

The hike was incredible, it was my first time hiking with my backpack which was a whole new experience but the treck to our Refugio for the night was about 6.5km and was long but beautiful. We coursed over beaches, under waterfalls, through fields of flowers and into depts of the forests. The entire trip was steep and hard but so worth it because the view from our cabin as well was breathtaking. In our Refugio was 4 members from the park, one photographer and the rest that I believe help maintain it. Also was Gabi's aunt, cousin and her cousins girlfriend, along with 10 other Chileans. The Australian tourists had made the brave choice to hike to the second Refugio 10km from the start. And the last 2km were basically just ladder/stairs up the streepest part of the mountain. 

That night we cooked dinner early and had wanted to watch the stars but went to bed too early as we were exhausted from the long day. The next morning we woke up to explore the rest of the park, finish the end of the hike up to the second Refugio and a long the way take the smaller side hikes to waterfalls. 

The information center view... Had no idea what I was in for at this point 

Us before the Ferry

View from our Refugio

Gabi and I <3

The top of the hike, last Refuigo

Taking in the view

Swam in that water fall 

Dinner time

Tagua Tagua is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, all of the water is perfectly crystal clear and as we hiked we just continually dipped our bottles in the river to refill them. We had lunch at the second Refuigo and talked with the austrialians a bit as well before heading back down to our camp. That night we made an excellent dinner, a pasta with a creamy tuna sauce, and then our entire group watched the stars together, a couple people played guitar, a few people sang it was wonderful. (PS in Chile/ South America you can't see the North Star.... Duhhhh because we are not in the North Hemisphere but it through me off so much when looking for stars in the sky). Each day had been sunny and gorgeous if not too hot, we even went swimming in the very very cold waterfall on day two. On day three we needed to hike back down to the start to catch the 11:30 little boat so that we could make the bigger ferry, so that we could make the bus back to Puerto Varas.The third day it also decided to rain most of the night and our entire walk back. Now walking downhill is one thing with bad knees, but walking down hill in the rain is hard for everyone especially when the trail is mainly mud. I spent the majority of it sliding down the mountain trying to keep all of my things together, the best part was my pack felt as if had been emptied because almost all of the weight that had been in it had now been eaten. 

Eventually we made it down the treck and were absolute drowned rats by the end of it, I somehow forgot that my Patagonia was rainproof and that I had brought it with me and so I hiked the entire thing in shorts and a fleece which I spent the entire ferry ride wringing out, luckily in the small informational building at the start I was able to put my raincoat on for the rest of the day. 

Before we became drowned rats, start of the hike down

MY EMPANADA POST HIKE

Which came into handy even on the bus, because during our 3 1/2 hour bus ride back to PV, my seatdecided to start leaking from the heavy rain. But possibly the very best part of all of it was the empanadas lady selling hot empanadas de queso y carne right before the bus (aka lunch) as well the hot shower once I got back to Gabi's house. 

Los Dias del Santiago

I am on my way south to Puerto Varas, where I studied during high school to see my old friends. However, I just had the best past few days in Santiago.

I arrived at around 8am on Friday the 7th and as soon as I stepped off the plane to the airport itself I felt a sence of freedom. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face even as I waited in the very long and slow line to go through immigration. I was unbelievably excited. I had just walked into freedom. I was in another country with no idea where I would be staying and no plans of what I would be doing or for how long but the possibilities were endless. The first necessity once I had collected by backpack was to find a hostel. Once I was learned how to connect to the airport wifi I booked myself a cool hostel for two nights in the Bellavista neighborhood of Santiago. Now the new challenge was how to get there and what to do until 3pm when I could check-in. I decided to try my hand at the bus since a cab seemed like a very unnecessary expense. However, the bus whose route I had looked up was no where to be found so I decided to hop on a different bus and see where it took me. Forgetting I had no wifi or service I took the 40 minute ride into the city and assumed I could just get off when I recognized downtown Santiago. Noting is that simple. The bus didn't seem to go that far and instead I was forced off at the last stop with absolute no idea where I was and no service. The next logical decision I made was that since that transportation experience went so well I should try my hand at Chile's metro system. So after about 10 minutes of wandering around I found an entrance to the subway and bought my self a bipcard (the subway pass here for Santiago). I decided that I should head to the university area, because where there are university students there would be coffee, food and most likely wifi. This turned out to be a very good idea, except for the fact that I was carrying a very large winter jacket, two carry-ons and a massive backpack through a subway station and packed car. I made it though, the stations are labeled very clearly and everyone was so helpful. It was now close to 10:30 am and I spent a solid half hour wandering around until I saw a sign for Starbucks (a familiar face). The baristas and I bonded over similar Starbucks experiences and they helped get me turned around. From here I decided to walk through La Moneda and take to 20 minute walk to the art museums I have been dying to see. Luckily when you are looking lost and carrying a very large backpack everyone is surprisingly helpful and got me to the museum after I took myself in a few full circles, the streets ares not easy.

The museums are AMAZING. It is two each with an entrance on opposite ends that connect throughout, the MAC ( Museo de Arte Contemporeno) is contemporary and run by the University of Chile and the MNBA (Museo National de Bellas Artes) is a more classical and historical art museum. The exhibits in both were beautiful, the MAC's main show was based on Le Corisbusier the architect which just so happened to have been my favorite topic that I studied in human geography last year. The MNBA had many exhibits from one of a Swedish artist, to classic Chilean art but my favorite was one about the idea of masculity and its role and effects on our society, politics, art, and history. The show had pieces from the early 1200s to the 1700s to the 1950s and modern pieces all mixed thogeher to display themes such as birthright and honor/status, the colonial history of masculinity, the "father" figure and its power/state relation, the patriarchic definition of "being a man" and ultimately the changing definitions of gender and masculity throughout time. (This is what I got from the exhibit and the text in Spanish, hoping I am right) It wasn't a show about male vs female, nor a critique on men, but an exploration of why masculity exists the way it does now, and what it changed/caused in our history. After spending many hours in the art museums I decided to walk to 20-30 minutes to my hostel in Bellavista to see the neighborhood, and because I didn't know where the nearest subway stop would be. 

After taking a very long nap (exhausted form the 6 kilometers I walked with all my belongings for 7 months and the 20 hours of travel I had just endured) I woke up feeling ready to hit the town again. I got ice cream with 4 super cool Australian girls that I had just met in my hostel who were just finishing a 2 month backpacking trip around South America. It was their last night and my first night. Embracing my freedom I had ice cream for dinner (of course chose Manjar as the flavor). We went out that night and as they had done the pub crawl the night before showed me to cool bars and clubs, we ended up sneaking on the pub crawl to get the drink deals and got the wrist bands for half off. Chile really never sleeps and most of the bars were still going at 5am, the bar tender at one of the clubs told me happy hour was starting in half an hour, it was 2:30am. 

The next morning I got up early and the two German girls who were my other dorm mates invited me to go to Cerro San Cristobal (the large virgin statue that can be seen from all of Santiago and located directly behind our hostel). We also took the metro into the city together as they needed to buy bus tickets south and I was going shopping and exploring other parts of Santiago. For lunch I had the most amazing 4 cheese empanadas and a salad with calamari and fried shrimp on top. It was incredible. Afterwords I met back up with Katharina and Birte and we walked over to the funcionar (tram) which takes you to the top of the mountain where the Virgin Mary stands. The line was hours, hours, long. 

We knew there were trails up and around the top and decided that even though I was very unprepared (no water, wearing Birkenstocks and a skirt) that it would be more worth it to walk up the mountain. However, we couldn't find the trail, eventually running into a Chilean couple who warned us that it was very long and complicated and easy to get lost, assuming they were exaggerating we said we wanted to do it and asked where the start was. The directions were to look for a hole in the fence with a sign that said "No Pasa" or No trespassing that we should start there. Well we found the sign ok but it immediately stars with a fork in the road going to different directions up the mountain and is just tiny dirt trails going strait up at a severely intense inclines, and intersecting with bike trails. While contemplating which way to start a group of three Chilean guys came through the fence and started hiking to the left so we followed. Next a middle aged Chilean couple followed us. Katharina and Birte and I felt better knowing that if we got completely lost on this mountain there would be 8 of us total. However somehow the guys slowed down and we took the lead and all of us hiked together single file with me leading, but I DIDNT KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING, there were constant switch backs with would head in opposite directions and I randomly chose either one. About half way up we took a rest and began talking to the guys. Somehow we lost the couple on the trail, but found them at the Virgin Mary and celebrated all of our success at surviving together. An hour after we started we made it to the top. Also let me explain that between that bottom and the top of the mountain is the zoo, so while we were lost we were also hearing all of the animals roaring from who knows where. However, it was incredible. The views were absolutely amazing you can see ALL of Santiago from the hills and we stumbled upon many picnic areas hidden around. In an ironic twist one of the guys was in the military and another a police officer, and so we felt better about trespassing since it was with them. However I was not walking the 8kilometers back down. We decided to see how long for the funcionar was, another hour, so the 6 of us took the cable car across to a different mountain and down. As someone who is terrified of heights I spent the majority with my eyes closed but opened them to capture a few photos because the view was unbelievable. 

The beginning 

   All of us at the top of the hill

That little white thing on top of the mountain is the Virgin Mary. 

Once back at the hostel I said goodbye to to the Australians who were headed to the airport and Katharina, Birte and I decided to cook dinner in the Hostel as it was the most economical choice and we were to hungry to find a restaurant. Monday morning I packed up my backpack which seems to be much larger and impossible to pack up again even though I haven't bought anything new, hoping to somehow get a system down. I stored my backpack in the hostel storage, and wandered around Bellavista. I had wanted to go to Pablo Nerudas house/museum but it was closed, just another reason to come back. I spent the afternoon booking ferry and buses around Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay as well figuring out Patagonia. I am hoping to meet up with the German girls again in the south potentionly Punta Arenas or Puerto Williams. And the Austrailians invited me to stay with them in Brisbane if I head that way while in Australia. 

Ultimately I spent my last afternoon in Santiago in the sun with 6 new people from my hostel, two Americans (one taking a break as he just finished working on Hilary's campaign), a German (who has been traveling for the past 7 years), and two women from Portugal who offered to let me stay with them when I reach Portugal. We sat and talked for few hours over beer a typical southern Chilean drink of rum cinnamon and milk. The perfect ending to my weekend in Santiago. 

My final thoughts

      I started this post while sitting in the Dallas Airport after finished my first flight and realizing this was actually happening. I was waiting for my flight to finish taxiing to the gate and to get the most important dinner before being fed airplane "food".

      The past couple of days had been interesting. Originally the plan was on Wednesday I would drive up to Vancouver to party and say goodbye to all my friends one last time and then drive home at some ungodly hour in the morning to make it to a lunch with my entire family. Then a dinner with Seattle friends, with time in between to finish shopping and other last minute details that I hadn't gotten to. However about 15 minutes into the three hour trip on Thursday morning the car decided to break down. The alternator broke, the battery died and it started making many weird noises before simply not doing anything. This was not only a problem because one of my best friends Anna B. and I were now stranded on an icy road with no idea how to fix a car, but we also had no idea how long it would take to fix and my flight was in about 24 hours but from Seattle. 

      Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. While yes, my car broke down, I was stranded in the wrong country with a flight to South America fast approaching and I couldn't do the shopping I needed to do in Seattle as well missed lunch with my family; it was so fun. We got to be towed and ride up front in the tow truck, which I had never done and was pretty sweet. Afterwards while the car was in the shop Anna and I explored Granville Island (one of my favorite places in the entire world and a key reason I chose UBC for school). After getting coffee and breakfast for our poor hungover bodies we walked around some art galleries on Granville street and then headed to the Granville Market for macaroons. After getting the macaroons we ended up at the Granville Distillery tasting flights of spirits (Vodka, Whisky and Gin) at 11am.

            After this we were able to grab lunch and see one of my best friends from UBC Sabrina who hadn't been able to make the party last night. It the perfect last day in North America, relaxing and distracting from any nerves I had. This is also a very classic Anna travel experience, I tend to have the worst luck that turns our alright in the end when traveling. Having been detained in countries, made emergency landings in other counties, and had more flights then I can count be cancelled or planes break. Yet through it all they are usually the best times. I'm sure that throughout this trip I will experience many a travel casualty that will in the end turn out to be some of my favorite days and adventures.