| Puerto Natales Backpacking Eight Months On the Road By Bus Through South America By David Rice |
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Puerto Natales
Page Twenty Six
Page Twenty Six
www.softseattravel.com
Page 10
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 |