Patagonia Chile ~ Travel Pictures & Information

Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Sound  ~ Patagonia Pictures

Buses Fernadez makes the 3-hour trip between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales (photo) about 7 times each day.

Checked luggage is locked with a cable tie and seats are assigned. There's a washroom at the back of the bus.

I'd gone into Punta Arenas to have a quick look around before taking the 2:30 p.m bus to Puerto Natales, whre I would spend two nights. When I got to the bus terminal, I was in time for the 1 p.m. bus, so I took it. After picking up passengers at the airport, the bus continues north on a route through rolling fields. Keep an eye out for llamas (pronounced 'jammas' in this area, "shammas" in Ushuaia), sheep and rheas (ostrich-like birds known locally as nandus). At 6:30 a.m. the next day, I took this shot of Puerto Natales harbour, Last Hope Sound

Puerto Natales Promenade

Uniformed men on horseback head towards the port area in Puerto Natales, drawing almost no notice. With my hands fully occupied holding my camera and water bottle, I walked past an empty juice box that was on the sidewalk.

An older women seated on a bench nearby glared at me, sighed audibly, got up, walked over, picked it up and put it in a trash bin. I could hear her thinking,"Tourists!" How do you say, in Spanish, 'You know I would if I could, even though I didn't drop it'?

Plaza de Armas Puerto Natales Patagonia

Several blocks (all uphill) from my hotel, the Charles Darwin, itself a block north of the waterfront, I turned left on Arturo Prat street and went one block to Plaza de Armas. The trees here are pruned into mushroom shapes, as were park trees in Punta Arenas.

Puerto Natales has a frontier ambiance, with many tour operators and outfitting shops coming and going, yapping dogs roaming the streets and broken sidewalks littered with bits of glass. There are a few internet cafes and a number of hostels. Vehicles in need of mufflers squeal up and down the hilly streets. For all that, I felt entirely safe.

Patagonia Hotel Costa Australis in Puerto Natales

From the wharf near the Navimag dock in Puerto Natales, the Costa Australis dresses up the waterfront. A couple from Massachussets that I had met on the bus from Punta Arenas was staying here. When I offered that their waterview room must be wonderful, they agreed, but they said that, since none of the windows opened, the room was an inferno for several hours each day. Just to the left of the hotel you'll find El Maritimo, a casual restaurant with good seafood and soups. I had the congrio, arguably the world's finest food fish -- conger eel.

Waiting to board Navimag Puerto Natales Patagonia

This bright yellow building just through the dock gates is where passengers wait for the Navimag boat to take them north to Puerto Montt. With no boat due for a day or so, all was quiet.

One cruise ship was in port, en route from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn. I asked two of its passengers, a couple from Los Angeles, about the reputed roughness of the open-water section about 12 hours south of Puerto Montt.

"It's a night crossing at that point," said the woman. "I was bracing myself against the walls, trying to take a photograph of the waves crashing against the porthole -- we were on an upper deck. He was in the bathroom all night, throwing up."

Torres del Paine Patagonia Park Par Excellence

And so to the 181,000 hectares (442,260 acres) Torres del Paine National Park, a world biosphere reserve. All visitors stop at this viewpoint that's outside the park itself, to admire the striking granite columns. (The Torres can't be seen from inside the park.)

PN Torres del Paine is 113 km/70 miles) north from Puerto Natales, about a 2-hour drive, and open all year. About 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Puerto Natales, you can visit the Milodon Caves National Monument. (I looked around the info room instead.) The park entry fee is about $18 US. Have your hotel provide box lunches (almuerzos rapidos) if lunch isn't included with your tour.

Torres del Paine peaks in close up

While I was lucky enough to see the tops of the towers (2800 metres or 9200 feet) today's dark clouds threatened rain. How I envy those lucky enough to tour the park on a cloudless day!

However, I never once experienced the fierce winds that plague this region. Look for forests of lenga and nire in the park. [Nire is a deciduous false beech (Nothofagus antarctica) that's native to Chile and Argentina, as are lengas, a southern beech that can reach 120 feet in height.] Keep an eye out for Andean condors, too, and flamingos.

Herd of Guanacos ~ Patagonia Wildlife

Alpacas, vicunas and llamas can be found elsewhere in Chile, but guanacos are found only in Patagonia. One hilly area with few trees appeared to be the regular haunt of this herd, as we saw them in the same area when we were outbound. The driver cautioned us to be quiet, as they are wild animals. All too soon, however, someone spooked them, and they trotted away over the hills.

In PN Torres Del Paine National Park Chile

Lakes and rivers range from azure to cobalt, emerald and white. 'Stunning' does not begin to describe the vistas. A two-lane gravel road leads through the park, in places narrow enough that vehicles have to wait to let others pass.

At one narrow spot, we came across a truck with utility trailer that had slipped sideways from the road into the down-sloping embankment. While the rest of us waited apprehensively, the driver and a passenger crawled down the bank to check if anyone was still inside the truck. Luckily, no one was around, so help must have already arrived.

Salto Grande ~ Great Waterfall in Torres Del Paine Park

The Salto Grande waterfall viewing point is an easy 15 minute walk from the road. Paths lead down to the edge of the chasm (you can just see two people near the falls) where Lago Nordenskjold drains into Lago Pehoe. Other paths lead through alpine flowers up the mountain side for glacier views. A short distance from here, a catamaran takes passengers across Lago Pehoe to one of the park's refugios (cabins).

Rio Paine Reflections of Patagonia

Traffic stops for a minute or two in the middle of a long wooden bridge that crosses the Rio Paine. You can see why. The views can be stunning, though later in the day, different light or winds remove the reflection.

From Salto Grande, a road runs off the main road down to lake level and the Explora Hotel. Posted rates start around $900 US / night per person (check link for current rates). This includes virtually everything (no tax for foreign residents paying in US$) between guests' arrival and departure in Punta Arenas, though. When my ship comes in, I will be back, and this is where I will stay!

Glacial Ice Floes ~ Patagonia attraction

At the south end of Lago Grey, there's an extensive 'beach' formed from glacial deposits that's accessed by a long trail through woodlands from the large parking area (where there's coffee and a washroom).

Nearby, a catamaram takes passengers to Glaciar Grey. A few kilometres away is the tour lunch stop restaurant and gift shop. I took my box lunch outside to a picnic table, and afterwards walked around the main building, where I discovered an extensive patio area with views of these floes.

Glacial Floes Close Up

Allow about 40 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the water's edge for a closer look at the incredible ice. From time to time, when the ice cracked, it made a sound like a gunshot. I took this photo with a 300 mm lens to show the detail and colours, but 'lost' the mountain in the background.

The vivid blue of the ice is just as I remember it.

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