Week 5
From Puerto Yungay we enjoyed a two day ferry ride down through the Chilean fjords - a narrow network of channels that largely keeps the trip sheltered from the Pacific Ocean. And narrow means narrow; often only a kilometre or two wide within two near vertically rising slivers of uninhabited land. The occasional ship wreck pitched on a rock mid channel also attested to the fact it was not uniformly deep. How it was navigated at night in pre-GPS days is something to marvel at.
Puerto Natales was our destination and our first town in Southern Patagonia, an area which is renowned for its winds. Here the plan was to visit Torres Del Paine, an area famous for its mountain views and something called the W Hike which takes you in amongst the mountains. We made an early decision not to do this hike because its scenic wow has made it a "must do" amongst the back-packer set meaning by all accounts it is overwhelmed and you have no sense of solitude. Additionally the Chilean National Park Service (quite reasonably) makes the most of this popularity and charges accordingly for you to do the hike - all the fees mean a four day hike will cost you well over US$500 each, a bit much for our budget. We instead took the easier option and drove around the park service road instead - 50% of the view for 5% of the cost.
Next stop was Punta Arenas on the Magellan Strait, the passage that seperates the mainland American continent from the island of Tierra Del Fuego on which lies or target of Ushuaia. When we were there Gaby treated me to a ship visit - just in case I was missing work!
Another ferry ride, only a few hours this time and we were on the final leg south but with a quick stop for a King Penguin colony.
And then, in almost the first rain in 5 weeks we were there:
From Puerto Yungay we enjoyed a two day ferry ride down through the Chilean fjords - a narrow network of channels that largely keeps the trip sheltered from the Pacific Ocean. And narrow means narrow; often only a kilometre or two wide within two near vertically rising slivers of uninhabited land. The occasional ship wreck pitched on a rock mid channel also attested to the fact it was not uniformly deep. How it was navigated at night in pre-GPS days is something to marvel at.
Puerto Natales was our destination and our first town in Southern Patagonia, an area which is renowned for its winds. Here the plan was to visit Torres Del Paine, an area famous for its mountain views and something called the W Hike which takes you in amongst the mountains. We made an early decision not to do this hike because its scenic wow has made it a "must do" amongst the back-packer set meaning by all accounts it is overwhelmed and you have no sense of solitude. Additionally the Chilean National Park Service (quite reasonably) makes the most of this popularity and charges accordingly for you to do the hike - all the fees mean a four day hike will cost you well over US$500 each, a bit much for our budget. We instead took the easier option and drove around the park service road instead - 50% of the view for 5% of the cost.
Next stop was Punta Arenas on the Magellan Strait, the passage that seperates the mainland American continent from the island of Tierra Del Fuego on which lies or target of Ushuaia. When we were there Gaby treated me to a ship visit - just in case I was missing work!
Another ferry ride, only a few hours this time and we were on the final leg south but with a quick stop for a King Penguin colony.
And then, in almost the first rain in 5 weeks we were there:
Hi! I'm Carolina, from Cholila. You gave me the Book In Patagonia, and I am really thankfull! Hop you are safe and sound!
ReplyDeleteCheers, from Argentina!!