Chile Fjords-Patagonia Day 7
Chile Fjords-Patagonia
OAT Day 07 - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - Fly to Punta Arenas - Overland to Puerto Natales
We woke up at 5:30 to a rainy, wet morning. The hotel provided a light breakfast for us before we left for the airport. At 6:30 we left the hotel and drove to Puerto Montt and unloaded our luggage quickly in the rain.
Our flight to Punta Arenas was delayed for one hour, but instead of leaving at 8:20 we left at 9:10, not much of a wait! When the clouds allowed, we saw spectacular views of the Andes and gigantic glaciers. We had a pleasant 2 hour flight, arriving at 11:00 AM.
As Hugo, our driver unloaded our luggage, I checked the weather. It was 56 degrees, 68% humidity, and 5-13 mph wind gusts. We met our local guide Paula who welcomed us to Patagonia and Punta Arenas.
Although we did not get to spend time in Punta Arenas, this seems to be a charming and historic port on the Strait of Magellan the conjunction of the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Punta Arenas was established in the mid-1800s. The town boasts lovely old mansions, two fine Salesian churches, and charming tree-lined streets.
On our bus ride to Puerto Natales, Paula told us of the early pioneers who settled this area. Founded in 1911, Puerto Natales was colonized by Chileans coming from the island of Chiloe, who contributed to the development of sheep and cattle ranching along with the German and English colonists.
Only a few miles out of town, we began to see the wildlife of the area. Our first discovery was Darwin’s rhea, a large ostrich-like bird who roams wild on the flat grasslands. Although it was hunted in the past, it is now a protected species.
We also saw the crested caracara, one of the most beautiful but meanest birds of the area. It is from the falcon family and preys on anything it can, even brave enough to take on the South American Condor.
We passed the Lolita Estuary, a large bird sanctuary and saw yellow billed ducks, upland geese, black necked swan, ashy headed geese, a Magellanic oyster catcher, black necked ibis, black chested buzzard eagles, and the rarest of all, three of the Andean, South American condors!
The condor was worshiped by the Incas, now they are very rare and we were very fortunate to even see one, let alone three! It has a 9 foot wing span and nests in this area’s cliffs. They lay only one egg every two years so life for them is very difficult.
Our next discovery was to see the wild guanaco, a cousin of the camel and llama. It too used to be abundant in this area, but now it is very rare.
We stopped for lunch at the Estancia Rio Verde, the home of Sergio and Josephina. Their 30,000 acre sheep ranch is on the Skyring Sound with a backdrop of the towering Andes Mountains in the background.
We were treated to a typical lamb asado, or barbecue. We also had chicken and sausage along with potatoes and salad. Cheese empanadas were served as appetizers with the ever present pisco sour. The hosts were so very friendly and treated us to information about their ranch.
After we dined, Sergio showed us around the estancia, including a stop at his sheep-shearing shed. We also saw new baby kittens, young lambs and calves. Spring is definitely in the air here in Patagonia!
As we left the estancia we had a brief information period by both María Elena and Paula. Then they put on some soothing music and for the next 1.5 hours most of the bus took a nap as we drove north to Puerto Natales.
The countryside is very barren, with low lying brush that has been twisted by the continuous winds. We saw more birds, some animals, thousands of sheep, cattle and horses.
As we neared Puerto Natales we began to see a greater variety of vegetation. We drove into the city and arrived at our hotel. We were given directions about the departure time tomorrow. Then we took a city walk to become acquainted with the restaurants, post office and markets.
At 8:30 several of us met in the lobby to walk four blocks to eat a pizza. Gennie and I shared one and had the opportunity to talk to an outdoorsman from northern Spain and then a very young couple who we found out each of whom was a doctor in Australia. Both were 27 and had a whole month vacation to trek in Argentina and Chile.
We walked home in the late sunset at 10 PM to work on the journal and pictures. We also packed a small bag for tomorrow night when we will spend the night inside the Torres del Paine National Park.
Latitude: 53° 10' South
Sunrise and Sunset: 5:13 AM - 9:57 PM
Accommodations: Hotel Martin Gusinde - - - Meals: B, L
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Comments
Map of Punta Arenas and Puerto Natal...
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Darwin’s Rhea
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