Puerto Natales
Backpacking Eight Months On the Road
By Bus Through South America
By David Rice
Backpacking Eight Months On the Road
By Bus Through South America
By David Rice
Puerto Natales
Page Twenty Six
Page Twenty Six
Booking
Puerto Natales was our ultimate port and we were on the boat for three
nights while the crew made it a pleasant trip. They served good meals
three times a day and at night the activities director put on parties where
the Chilean wines, both reds and whites, flowed freely and we were
shown movies of how one should go about camping, hiking, and staying
alive in the parks of Patagonia.
We arrive in Puerto Natales, the Chilean part of Patagonia located on the
edge of what they call the Pampa. Tall peaks surrounded us as we pulled
into the small port. This area has few roads, the boats become the link to
civilization to the north.
Once tied up we had our choice of getting off or staying aboard until the
next morning. Most left the boat in the morning as did I, and we headed
into town as the sun rose. In the small town I found Hospedaje
Magdalena, a hostel with a great big pot bellied stove as the only heat.
nights would be cold at that time of the year in Puerto Natales.
The air was fresh and crisp, blowing from the mountains, and the land
glowed in the brittle sunlight. We were at the bottom of the world now and
we had frost on the grass each morning making golden prismatic pearls
of light that gleamed in the mountain sunrise.
By now I had hooked up with a man from South Africa and a woman from
Sao Paulo Brazil and we walked through the town of single story
buildings to make our arrangements for camping in the park. The town
had a glorious fresh feeling to it as we found a restaurant and had
breakfast. We went to a tourist office to book a camp in Torres del Paine
National Park.
The Park authorities carefully regulate camping to the extent that they
limit the number of people using the park. You therefore must make
reservations for your campsite or cabin, reserving both food and lodging;
in the high season these places fill up.
We paid for our meals and tent site or cabin in advance and that let them
know how much food to cook and how full their cabins would be. In high
season of December, January, and February they at times limit the
number of visitors.
We booked our lodging in the mountains and the next day a van came
and picked us up at our hotels. We headed towards the park going
through customs with minimal formality at the border of Argentina and
then continued the three-hour drive to the park entrance were we paid the
equivalent of $70 USD each to enter the park.
The driver then took us into the park for twenty miles to the staging point
and dropped us off.
From there we were on our own for five days in Torre del Paines National
Park, no guides, no counselors and not many rules; we were free to hike
safely or free to hike foolishly and die, our choice.
Puerto Natales was our ultimate port and we were on the boat for three
nights while the crew made it a pleasant trip. They served good meals
three times a day and at night the activities director put on parties where
the Chilean wines, both reds and whites, flowed freely and we were
shown movies of how one should go about camping, hiking, and staying
alive in the parks of Patagonia.
We arrive in Puerto Natales, the Chilean part of Patagonia located on the
edge of what they call the Pampa. Tall peaks surrounded us as we pulled
into the small port. This area has few roads, the boats become the link to
civilization to the north.
Once tied up we had our choice of getting off or staying aboard until the
next morning. Most left the boat in the morning as did I, and we headed
into town as the sun rose. In the small town I found Hospedaje
Magdalena, a hostel with a great big pot bellied stove as the only heat.
nights would be cold at that time of the year in Puerto Natales.
The air was fresh and crisp, blowing from the mountains, and the land
glowed in the brittle sunlight. We were at the bottom of the world now and
we had frost on the grass each morning making golden prismatic pearls
of light that gleamed in the mountain sunrise.
By now I had hooked up with a man from South Africa and a woman from
Sao Paulo Brazil and we walked through the town of single story
buildings to make our arrangements for camping in the park. The town
had a glorious fresh feeling to it as we found a restaurant and had
breakfast. We went to a tourist office to book a camp in Torres del Paine
National Park.
The Park authorities carefully regulate camping to the extent that they
limit the number of people using the park. You therefore must make
reservations for your campsite or cabin, reserving both food and lodging;
in the high season these places fill up.
We paid for our meals and tent site or cabin in advance and that let them
know how much food to cook and how full their cabins would be. In high
season of December, January, and February they at times limit the
number of visitors.
We booked our lodging in the mountains and the next day a van came
and picked us up at our hotels. We headed towards the park going
through customs with minimal formality at the border of Argentina and
then continued the three-hour drive to the park entrance were we paid the
equivalent of $70 USD each to enter the park.
The driver then took us into the park for twenty miles to the staging point
and dropped us off.
From there we were on our own for five days in Torre del Paines National
Park, no guides, no counselors and not many rules; we were free to hike
safely or free to hike foolishly and die, our choice.
Puerto Natales
Backpacking Eight Months On the Road
South America by Bus
By David Rice
Backpacking Eight Months On the Road
South America by Bus
By David Rice
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