Patagonian Adventure Part 1 Chile

For many years I have yearned to explore the southernmost region of South America, so was extremely excited to be able to plan my dream holiday. We flew direct to Santiago with BA overnight in comfort in business class, which allowed us to get some good hours of sleep, so we would feel refreshed to start our adventure. We arrived at a glorious sunny Santiago and were met by our driver who took us straight to our hotel. With nothing planned for the rest of the day, we took a taxi out to a Military Aviation Museum, which suited my husband, and gave me a chance to see the city as we drove across the city. First impressions, were wide streets and leafy parks, peppered with some lovely European architecture. After an early night we met our personal local guide who took us around the city using public transport, and on foot. It was a great way to see the city from a 'local' perspective. The metro was clean, comfortable and felt safe. We wandered through the local markets, which sold everything from fish, vegetables and fruit to beautiful flowers in stunning arrangements, being mainly for funerals.

We headed to the centre, walking through pretty plazas, passing the Basilica, Post Office, which was housed in a lovely French style building through to the seat of government, an area where the public demonstrate. On the day we visited there was a peaceful pro-abortion demonstration. We continued to a view point which gave us a panoramic view of the city, backed by the Andes. All in all, a very nice, safe city, with friendly people.

That evening we flew to Punta Arenas, arriving in the evening, met by our driver, and driven to our overnight hotel in the centre. The following morning, we were ready for a long five-hour drive north to Torres del Paine National Park, which I really looked forward to visiting. The first couple of hours we drove along some flat and fairly uninspiring scenery, stopping to take photos of guanaco (a type of wild Llama), seeing rhea, and surprisingly some flamingo too. After a couple of hours, we stopped at an Estancia (ranch) for a Patagonian lamb BBQ, some Pisco sours and local wine, followed by a demonstration of sheep shearing. A nice way to break the journey. After about three hours we could start to see a change in the scenery, and the mountainous National Park in the distance. We passed very close to the Argentinian border, which we would return to, to continue the next step of our adventure in a couple of days.

Our hotel in the National Park was lovely, and everything including the long transfers was included. We woke to a beautiful sunrise and set off on a day long excursion stopping for numerous photographs. At every turn were stunning vistas, a photographer’s dream. This is what I had hoped it would be like. This area is a hiker’s paradise. I've never seen so many fit people! All ages, although no children. I'm not the fittest of people, so we took the gentler route, by minibus, but still had the opportunity to enjoy every bit, without the effort. There were also keen cyclists who had hired bikes to explore the area too. We were taken to Lago Grey Glacier, and to get there we had to walk across part of the dried-up lake, which no doubt in winter will fill again. It was quite strenuous walking on the shingle for about 15mins, but we kept stopping to take photos along the way. We eventually arrived at the lake, and boarded a boat, which took us to the edge of the glacier. An enormous chunk of ice had broken off and up close it was beautiful. It became very windy on the return, struggling to stay upright as we returned across the shingle, but well worth it. We stopped on the return to the hotel for an impromptu picnic. A lovely way to end the day outside with other travellers from around the world.

The following morning, we wandered around outside our hotel watching the horses being prepared for their riders' excursions, one of the options we could have chosen. Others set off on various hikes, some for a day, some for a half day to different parts of the Park. We headed to Lago Azul, the Blue Lake, which would give us another perspective and photo opportunities. Again, another lovely area, where were walked along the edge of the lake admiring the scenery all around us. We stopped to see a pretty waterfall and admired a small bird called the Torrent Duck, battling to stay upright as the waters plunged over the edge of the waterfall.

Then it was time to take the 4-5hrs transfer across the border into Argentina. We didn't leave the hotel until 2pm, so by the time we got to the border about an hour later, the border traffic was minimal. We'd heard from others who'd crossed in the morning, that the wait can be quite long. The border itself was interesting. After leaving the National Park and all its stunning beauty, we travelled along the dusty roads to the Chilean border point. Pretty straightforward getting our passports stamps, and a quick 'Banos' stop, we travelled for about 8km in no man's land on a fairly decent road, which abruptly came to end arriving in Argentina. The road changed to a dusty bumpy track, and border point was no more than a large hut. No facilities, but a strategic sign telling us that the Malvinas were part of Argentina - very subtle! As we were only two on our minivan transfer, we didn't have to wait long. We went back to our minivan, driven another mile or so, and then stopped again. We wondered what was happening as most conversation was in Spanish, but quickly realised we had to change to another vehicle and a new driver, who would continue our transfer for another 3hrs.

Noticeably there were no guanaco, or indeed any wild life along the way. Scenically the long straight road cut through miles of empty brown plateau. I was glad I had my book with me and my husband put his seat back and had a snooze. By the time we got to our destination, El Calafate, it was beginning to get dark. El Calafate has grown since the airport was built there a few years ago. It is a small town, purpose built really for tourism, set on the largest lake in Argentina, Lago Argentina. We stayed outside of town, on the edge of the lake, with lovely views across to the mountains in the distances, but this area has not been developed, so there is nothing there. 'Back of Beyond' I think I said at the time! On reflection I think I would recommend staying in El Calafate itself, as there are places to eat and shops.

To be continued. See Part 2 .