Atacama to Paine Day 13

After a lie in and liesurely breakfast we headed for the metro in Santiago. We were heading for Bellavista district and from there up to the statue of the Virgin at Cerro San Cristobal. The metro is cheap, quick and efficient and after half a dozen stations we were at our destination.



Bellavista is a smart suburb of the city. The houses are large, gated and well maintained, it is obviously very weathy. There are numerous pieces of scupture dotted around with nice grass walkways beside the river. We walked through on our way to the Metropolitan City Park. As we came closer we started to see mountain bikes and runners. The park is the place to be seen and being Saturday it was busy.



We made our way through the park to catch the cable car to take us to the top of the hill where the Virgin's statue is located. The cable car ran for about a mile. The views got better and better and within 10 minutes we were at the top.










This is the location that Pope John Paul II addressed the Chilean people on the 1st April 1987. There is a large statue at the top with great views of the city all around. It is an obvious place of worship for the locals as there is an area where candles are lit and prays are offered to the Virgin.



There is a lovely little church located just below the statue which has unusual stone freezes carved onto the walls, depicting scenes from Christ's life. Just below the church there is a path that leads to the top of a vanicular that takes you down to the city below.




We took ride on this and made our way liesurely back to the metro and then back to our hotel. On the way out of the station there was a lovely reflected image of a telecommunication tower in one of the modern office blocks, George and I couldn't resist picture!




Across the road was a small Easter Island stone head. As we were missing out on the Easter Island extension, we just had to get some pictures.




From there it was back to the hotel to catch up on some R & R before we start our 16 hour flight back to London via Madrid. As I sit and type this it's 31 degrees in Santiago - only 8 in London ... where's my fleece!

It's been a great trip, certainly full of contrasts, both in scenery and weather. The country is very beautiful. Wonderful wildlife and friendly people. For those seeking wilderness at its best Chile is a must.

Atacama to Paine Day 12

Today was really a travel day, from Punta Natales to Santiago. After a lie in we had breakfast and then went for a stroll in town.



Punta Natales doesn't have alot to offer, it's a gateway town, made up of hostels, restuarants and over priced camping shops, but we made the most of it as our bus didn't leave until 1pm. We had a look at the sea front, the church and square, before giving up and retreating for a hot chocolate and wi-fi connection for doing my blog! We did find some interesting art work on one of the streets, telling the history of the local tribal people.







At 1pm we caught our public bus for the return 3 hour trip back to the airport at Punta Arenas. Here we had a short wait before the 3 hour flight back to Santiago. By the time we got our bags and got to the hotel it was close to 11pm.

As this was the last time the group would be together we gathered for a drink and a last meal. We gave our thanks and a generous tip to Emi for all his excellent guiding and making sure the trip went smoothly. No mean feet when you look at the amount of public transport and flights we took on the trip, with the potential for all manner of things to go wrong.

We said our good byes to the people that were flying to Easter Island early the following morning and then retired for a well earnt nights sleep, without a wake up call planned!

Atacama to Paine Day 11

Another early start, 5 am this time to travel into the park to catch a boat to go and view the Grey Glacier. We had a short walk through some lovely pine woods and then emerged onto a beach, to be greeted by icebergs!

These had broken off the glacier and had been blown by the ever present wind down to the bottom of the lake where the boat trip started from.

We transferred by small boat off a pontoon out to the main boat. It was quite large, about 40ft and when full took about 50 people. This trip runs several times a day, but is often cancelled in the later part of the day due to the wind. It is not uncommon for this area to receive 100mph winds!

The trip lasted about three hours. One hour each way and an hour at the glaciers. The Grey Glacier is actually divided in two, East and West. The East is smaller, but equally as impressive as its bigger brother.



The boat gets within 50 metres of the edge of each glacier, close enough to appreciate the size, colour, shapes and beauty.
The colour is an amazing blue, turquoise and white in varying and various shades. The shapes are carved by wind and water and are smooth, jagged and rounded all at the same time. The size varies in height, but the average must be around 75 metres, but some of the jaggered peaks rose well above that.




After visiting both glaciers we headed back, warmed by a glass of whisky over glacial ice! As we got back to the pontoon there were two condors, sheltering from the wind on their nest above the boat. You really got to see how large these birds are.



Back on dry land we headed for several view points of the Devil's Crown. We were fortunate with the weather as it turned sunny with big fluffy clouds which blew past the mountain on a tremendous wind. Several times we had to sit down to prevent being blown off our feet. Clare was actually blown over whilst in the process of trying to shelter from the wind. The gusts were probably in the region of 80 mph and this wind stayed with us as we travelled around the various view points.




We stopped at some water falls and witnessed the power of the water swollen by the rain we had had the previous day. Back on the bus between stops, Emi served up pisco sours to help the day along!



Shortly afterwards we stopped to view a group of 16 condors flying and soaring above the grassy tundra. They were amazing to watch and marvel at thier size and grace of movement, using the wind to best affect.

Further on we saw some flamigoes feeding at another glacial lake. They looked beautiful in the sun gracefully striding along the shoreline.

Finally we made our way back to Punta Natales for a brief overnight stay, before we start our journey back to Santiago via Punta Arenas.

Atacama to Paine Day 10

Today we drove into the park and travelled for approximately 2 hours, with picture stops, to the jump off point for the start of our hike.

Only seven of us decided to do the walk as it was just too demanding for some. We transfered to a small van, which just managed to cross over a very narrow bridge to take us to our start point. We set off and within a short distance we started to climb. This was relatively steep and went on for about an hour and half. The weather was bright and at that point there was a light breeze.

However, the wind started to pick up and as we rounded a bend as the path stared downwards towards our first rest point, the wind was gusting at well over 60 mph. It was enough to blow you off your feet, so we had to take care when walking close to any open drops.

We reached our fist rest stop, a small camp site a with a cafe. This is grand description of something that was really no more than simple log cabin. We ate some food and then set off again about 30 minutes later.

We now entered a wooded valley following the river running off the mountain - although going up instead of down! This was very nice and quite easy walking aprt from the odd climb. This went on for another hour or so.

As we cleared the trees we could see what was ahead of us. A rock, boulder and scree slope and about 45 degrees leading up to our goal, the towers.

Although this was less than a mile it took us close to an hour to reach the top. By now the wind was constant, along with the rain, which was horizontal.

We pressed on and reached the top, to be able to view the three towers and the glacial lake below. It was very impressive and must be spectatular in clear weather.

We stayed for about 10 minutes, before the wind and rain drove us off the mountain. We then commenced to retrace our steps, down the scree and rock slope to the woods and then the cafe and from there back to the pick up point. Our constant companion was the driving rain and wind which made going tough and slippery.

By the time we got back to the van, we were all exhausted, wet, but jubilant that we had completed the 'must do' walk of the Torres de Paine.

Atacama to Paine Day 9

Another early rise to make our way to the airport for a flight to Punta Arenas. Another great view out of the window of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, before the cloud rolled in. A couple of hours later we dropped out of the cloud to be greeted and buffeted by a very strong wind over the Magellen Straits. We landed surprisingly smoothly and then headed for the town.

It was not what I had expected, as it was quite large and not the small outpost at the end of the world I had expected. It had a few nice buildings in the centre of town next to a lovely square where a local market was taking place.

As we were becoming used to for many Chilean towns there were many buildings decorated with graffiti art, which covered the whole building.

We had a stroll and then took in some lunch before heading out on a optional trip to see another penguin colony. This was situated out on the Magellen Straits and was extremely windy, but not too cold.

We saw the penguins, but also several birds of prey and some smaller as yet unidentified birds. It wasn't the most fascinating of trips, but the scenery more than made up for it.

As we were leaving we saw a caracara feeding on a dead sheep just beside the road.

We got back to town just in time to go out for dinner with the rest of our travelling companions to a lovely restaurant, full of character, for a great meal and another bottle of excellent Chilean wine.

Atacama to Paine Day 8

Today we took a bus and ferry journey to Chiloe Island. The bus trip was relatively short about 40 minutes before we got on a small vehicle ferry to cross to the island. Just as we driving onto the ferry we saw a large ringed kingfisher catching a small fish. It was a great start to the day.



The crossing was about 30 minutes and during it we saw dolphins, seals and loads of sea birds. We then drove to a small town on the island to get an understanding of how the local people live. It is strange to see the German style wooden houses, which are painted in lovely colours.



The locals make a living from fishing, sea weed collection and from growing potatoes. The island is very large so we could only get to see part of it, but the countryside was very green and smiliar to English rolling landscape.



We headed to a beach where we took a boat ride to see the local Magellanic and Humboldt penguins. This is as far north that these penguins come to breed and the surrounding rocks were covered in adults and juveniles. Joining them were several types of cormorant, turkey vultures, kelp geese, pelicans and other sea birds.



As we made our way around the colonies we were joined by several sea otters. These were hunting in the kelp and came to the surface to lie on their backs and feed themselves! It was a lovely sight and was certainly the highlight of the day.




We then had lunch, overlooking the beach and then headed back for the return journey. On the ferry back there was a large group of seals playing and thousands of seabirds feeding on the surface. The temperature had dropped quite bit by then, a sign of things to come. Tomorrow we fly as far south as is possible - to Punta Arenas, our cold weather gear will definitely make an appearance!

Atacama to Paine Day 7

We had a lie in and woke up to views across Lake Llanquihue to the splendid sight of the glacier topped volcano Osorno, the weather was bright, clear and sunny.



After breakfast we headed out on the bus for about an hour and twenty minutes around the lake shore line, stopping for pictures along the way, before we arrived at Petrohue National Park. Here we went on a 4 hour hike up towards the volcano Osorno. We were really lucky with the weather as it was warm and sunny, the day before was cold, cloudy and rainy and no one could see the volcano.



We had a really great walk, quite steep in places but worth the views. We were lucky to see the Magellanic woodpecker, Chimango Caracara and a Tufted Tit Tyrant!







We took an packed lunch and had that at the highest point of our walk, overlooking another beautiful lake and having views over to mountains in Argentina. After descending we walked back around a lake edge, where local people were fishing and enjoying the beach.



After our walk we returned to Punta Varas and after a brief tour of the town, went out for another great meal, steak and fish, washed down by a bottle of the finest red wine!

Atacama to Paine Day 6

Up at 5 am today to travel back to Santiago on our way to Puerto Varas. Had a great flight over the Andes with some tremendous views of the mountains and volcanoes.



Due to the flight connections we had time to kill, so we went on a wine tour. We visited two wineries, one a relatively small affair and the other Concha y Toro, our favorite Chilean wine by chance.




The morning tour took us around the grounds, vines, processing plant and storage areas, before the best part the tasting! Needless to say, being tired and having little breakfast we were quite merry by the end!



We then had a great lunch in local restaurant and then went on the second tour. Concha y Toro is Chile's largest producer and the operation was on a more commerical basis than the first. We had a smiliar, although more touristy tour and only two tastings, but that was sufficient in our condition!



We then returned to Santiago, caught our 8 pm flight and reached our hotel around 11 pm. Thank goodness the hotel is of a good standard and we didn't have an early start the following day.

Atacama to Paine Day 5

After an early morning call we set off by bus in the dark to head for the El Taito Geysers. Along the way we stopped to take in the night sky which was crystal clear and full of stars, it was truely lovely.



The journey was by rough road and we shook, rocked and rolled our way for a couple of hours. As we did we gained height, another two thousand metres, so when we arrived it was cold and the air thin. The geysers stand at around 4400 metres and cover a large area.



The view that greets you is like something from another planet. There is steam rising from many holes which rises and gives the area a surreal feel. We went and stood beside serveral of the steaming vents, which provided some much needed warmth for many. The steam made for a ghostly atmosphere as it blew across the barren landscape.



We took in some light breakfast and watched the sun come up which gave some much needed warmth and which also meant that we could take in more of the landscape. We moved locations to see some of the larger water / steam outlets and also for some to take a dip in the hot thermal bath.




From there we started our trip back, by way of a small lake to view some birds. There were some lovely ducks and several pairs of giant coot.



On the way we also saw some Vicunas. These are still protected as at one point there numbers were down to only a 1000 or so. Now their numbers are rising and they are still prized for their very fine wool.



Afterwards we came across a herd of llama grazing with some donkeys. These are farmed for their fleece and for meat. There was a two week old foal amongst the herd, who was very curious at all the human attention!



We next stopped at a tiny village, Machuca, of about 15 people. It had a few small thatched houses and a lovely church, which was very old and must have served a larger community at some time.



The local villagers have tapped into the passing tourist trade and now provide freshly made llama kababs. Needless to say George and I tucked in, they were very tasty and good for you as they are low in fat!



After that we drove the remaining distance back to San Pedro de Atacama for a little R & R, before we set off again for a vist to a salt pan.

We left San Pedro around 4pm and drove for a short while to a small oasis village of Toconao. This looked on first impressions to be a dull dusty town, but in fact it proved to be very interesting.

It had an irrigation system dating back to the time of Christ. From the surrounding desert bloomed orchards growing, quince, pomegranate, grapes and figs. It was amazing to think that this was so old.

We wandered into the town square to view the small church and have an ice cream before we headed off to the salt flats see the flamigoes.

The flats are truely beautiful. They are enormous and surrounded by a string of volcanoes. There are several small, shallow lakes which support populations of Andean and Jame's flamingoes along with Andean avocet and several small migratory waders.

We walked out to the view one of the lakes and watched and waited for the sun set. There were groups of flamingoes flying in with the dramatic back drop of the volcanoes. The sunset around 8pm was dramatic, turning the surrounding hills a stunning orange.

Another great, full day capped of with some great wildlife.