Sitting in the bus at 8:20am, waiting to start our trip to Puerto Natales, Chile...
Buses, taxis, boats: A race against the clock (win some, lose some). (also titled: Over the border and through the Steppe to Puert-"Oh no!" Natales.)
8:25am, on bus, seat #40, El Calafate bus station
Got ~3hrs sleep last night. My brain had been wired figuring out itinerary logistics. I realized there was no way we could come back from the glacier tour at 5pm, shop for more food/supplies, get our bags from hostel, pack, and make a 6pm bus to El Chalten. It makes sense to take a bus the following day, giving us the evening to prep, relax, and rest.
When Christine sounded the alarm at 7am, it was still dark outside (sunrise isn't until 8:15 here). We readied and left at 7:55 for the 15 minute walk to the bus station to catch our 8:30 bus, wearing our full backpacks down the streets. Hard to tell if people on streets were up early, or still up from the previous night.
The bus is full, and it looks like we got the last seats. We're in the last row, and the seats don't recline! Bummer. We should arrive at P. Natales at 12:30, and catch the 2:30pm bus to Torres del Paine. We'll see how the border crossing goes. I wonder how strict Chile will be about bringing food across the border. They don't allow dairy, fruit, veggies, buts, and meat, fresh or dried. Wendy and I were bummed not to be able to pack those items. We did pack a bunch of sealed dehydrated dinners, but they are mostly outside of that domain. We have lots of oatmeal, some chocolate, sealed tuna, and energy bars. I packed a jar of peanut butter, but that's not a fresh nut. Still, hope we don't run into any surprises...
Sitting in the bus at 8:20am, waiting to start our trip to Puerto Natales, Chile...
Clankety Clank! The sound of something falling off the buss and getting run over. The bus stops shortly afterwards, and backs up. People are wondering if it's an animal we ran over. I see two sheep walking on the dry brown dirt along the side of the road, which increases the likely hood in my mind. We see a tire tread out the window along the road edge.. The bus driver goes outside and starts changing the tire. Everyone takes the opportunity to get off the bus, take a pic of the vast arid Patagonian steppe, stretch, smoke, or urinate. Other buses passing by slow down as they pass and admire our situation.
I guess I'll head outside now too...
We see some sheep in the barren vast steppe during our bus ride to Chile (one of the few green areas of the trip here). I capture a pic of Christine taking a stylistic shot of our bus's broken tire tread...
The bus driver changed the tire in 45 minutes, not bad considering it was the inner tire of a double pair. We just competed the exit of Argentina. It took about 30 minutes for all of us to wait in line and get our passport stamped. We still have Chilean customs, and are short on time. We need to catch a bus in 1.5 hours and we still haven't reached Chile yet...
We missed the 2:30 buses! We arrived late, which perplexes me, since we recovered our flat tire time (caught up to the bus ahead of us), and were limited by time waiting at the Argentinian border to exit the country, and the Chile border for passing customs. Very poor scheduling as we were supposed to arrive at 12:30. Don't take Cootra buses, and try to get the 7:30 or 8:00 bus if you're traveling from El Calafate to Puerto Natales.
Puerto Natales wasn't on our original itinerary, and our Plan B that brought us here left us in a pickle. However, the town is very scenic. We saw some flamingos in the lake, with snow covered mountains behind...
After the bus dropped us off in P. Natalas on a "random" street, as we hadn't researched this town, we frantically walked around nearby blocks looking for any buses or a bus station. Each travel agency or hostel we found said the buses left ~15 minutes ago. It looked like we were doomed to stay in P. Natalas for the night and catch a morning bus. Our only option was a taxi, which would no doubt be super pricy for a 2 hour trip to TDP.
Christine, under heavy motivation to reach her and Victor's room and meal reservations in TDP that night, pursued the taxi options. Turned out that hiring a van would cost ~$20 more than the bus we missed per person, after we teamed up with a similarly displaced German couple, but was a good deal as our last chance option for today. The PUMA van service guarenteed that we could make the 6pm ferry to Pehoe at TDP, and the 6 of us could pay in US cash.
So around 3pm we had our plan set, and could relax for a few minutes while waiting for the van to arrive, though we still had no Chilean currency, and Wendy and I needed to buy bread for our trip. Wendy and I discovered a mini-mart next door, and with the few chilean pesos we received as change from our US cash payment for the van, we were able to buy 20 plain white buns for 600 pesos (~$1.33). This was a big relief, as we had little time before the van arrived. It's SO good that we decided to buy our fuel last night in El Calafate instead of in P. Natalas.
The van picked us up and dropped us off at an ATM which was mobbed with people. We ran down the block to another location which was packed too. It looked like we'd have a big delay getting the Chilean pesos needed for our park entrance fee, ferry boat ride, and shuttle bus. I waited anyway, and in a minute, the entire huge group ahead (which was apparently all in the same party) turned around and left, muttering about how the ATM was giving them trouble and that they gave up. "It won't work," they told me. Wendy tried it, and it worked. We took out just enough pesos to cover the TDP expenses for the four of us.
Finally we were stocked and ready to go, an hour after the 2:30pm buses had left. The bus was supposed to reach the Pudeto dock at 5:30 for the 6pm boat. We'd have to make up some time, but our driver assured us we'd make it. So we're all in the van and set to FINALLY get moving to TDP, and the van turns into a gas station after one block, and waits in line for deisel. We were all thinking "No! We need to get moving!".
After the 10 minute stop for gas, we're moving now, and making good time. The van has a device that beeps whenever it goes above 100km/hr, but no one is complaining about the noise...
The road flew by at over 100km/hr as we left town, but after ~45 minutes, the road turned to gravel, and we dropped to 50-60km/hr. We catch our first glimpse of TDP around a bend. Clouds rest on the peaks of the big mountains.
Torres Del Paine from a distance, our first look from the van. The overcast clouds made me feel better about missing out on the TDP bus tour from El Calafate that was full. A closer look at the Torres spires, whose tips are covered in cloud (looking like teeth?)...
Our driver performed excellently, going 80km/hr on a 40km/hr road. We see a sign for 96km to go, with 90 minutes before our boat leaves. As we neared the park, the TDP peaks arose in their glory. We saw lots of guanaco, a llama like animal, on the roadside. Stopped at the park entrance, paid our 15000 pesos (~$32), were given maps, and then sped to Pudeto boat dock. With plenty of awesome views along the way, we arrive at Pudeto at 5:40pm, and thank our driver, who will now deliver the two Germans elsewhere in the park. Turns out the German couple was from the same town where Victor had lived in Germany in his past.
We see loads of guanaco off the road as we enter the park. Supposedly the water in the park is drinkable, which means these animals must stay out somehow...
Pics from the van. We were all taking photos through the dirty windows of the van...
We wouldn't get these vantage points again, as our trek would be up front along the base of all these mountains...
The sun was really trying to break through the clouds for us...
There was a 1/5th mile walk through the brush and woods to reach the dock, our first bit of hike with the heavy packs. We paid the 11000 pesos one-way fare, hopped on the boat, and FINALLY relaxed after a hectic day of traveling. We had done it! Reached Torres del Paine starting over 2 days ago in Denver! What a long travel experience to get to this place, but for now we could finally relax, smile, and get excited at the realization of our impending adventure. The boat served up some free hot cocoa, tea, or coffee, which we happily treated ourselves to, and walked up to the main deck to check out the scenery. Overcast skies were giving way to some sun.
The short hike to the dock where our boat to Pehoe awaits. A look at the mountains shortly after we depart and round the bend...
Smiling faces enroute to Pehoe. After 2 days of traveling, this is the final leg of our journey before the next 6 days of foot travel...
Prime views of the Cuernos from the boat, a vantage point we won't be able to see on foot. Glad it wasn't clouded over today. In fact, the sky started to clear a bit as the boat progressed across the lake, bringing out the green in the lake...
More smiling faces in anticipation of a 6 day adventure in this wild landscape...
A stitched pic from the boat. Our "W" trek would take us up to the left of this pic to Glacier Grey, up the Frances Valley (low point in the middle of this mountain range), and up the Torres valley (the narrow slit to the right of the Cuernos)...
A close up stitched shot of the Cuernos. The high peak here is ~8,500 feet, and the lake is just ~200'...
A close-up of the Frances Valley glacier. The sun was definitely breaking out for ouru land arrival...
The 30 minute boat ride offered great views of the Cuernos peaks, and the entire front range of TDP. When we arrived at Pehoe, a large hotel-like "refugio", there was a long line of people waiting to take the boat back to Pudeto. Once off the boat, Wendy and I went straight to the camp registration, paid our $16 to camp, and browsed the campgrounds for a good spot. We found a location on the outskirts of camp, far from the main refugio, which should be quiet and sheltered.
Wendy found a great tent spot for us near the boundary of the campground. Pehoe lodge can be seen in the other direction. Pehoe is like a mini-hotel with luxuries amenities for a "hut". Tends to be crowded here...
Once the tent was set up, we checked out the group kitchen (complete with sinks and gas stoves), the restrooms (complete with sinks, flush toilets, and showers), and the general store (tons of food and supplies, and bread cost 2.5x more than we paid in town). Wendy decided to take a shower right away before the lines grew long, while Victor and Christine readied their rented tent. I hiked up a short trail to a look out over the lake, Pehoe, and the mountains, and decided this would be a good place to come to for tomorrow's sunrise.
Christine stands next to her rented tent, with Victor taking a pic nearby. Wendy poses inside the Pehoe store. This only shows about 1/4th of the goods available...
A look from the hill I climbed to scout a good sunrise spot. The Pehoe complex is on the left. The campground extends behind it...
For dinner Wendy and I cooked a dehydrated Beef Stew dinner in the busy camping kitchen, using Pehoe's gas stove, and talked to a solo trekker who had just hiked our planned route for tomorrow. Poor guy couldn't find a fuel canister that fit his stove, so had to stick to refugios with gas stoves, and had a monster trek tomorrow to reach a place he could rent a tent. Other people in the kitchen have big pots, and are cooking pasta, potatoes, sausage, eggs... Victor and Christine ate their dinner inside at the cafeteria.
Not a bad view from camp, outside the kitchen area. The sun highlights some sharp knives along the ridge...
Tent is cozy, sleeping bag is comfortable. It's much warmer here than I anticipated. Need to lay on top of my bag, just using my silk liner. Excited for tomorrow. Bed time...