12. Wednesday 10 February 2010 About Horses & Penguins

NOTE from the translator: Sorry for those of you who might enjoy the English version. I've been unable to post again until today.

12. After the extreme physical conditions during our walk in Torres del Paine (camping with a maximum temperature during the day of 10 C was very cold, even with fleece clothes and thermal underwear, and not to mention the huge amount of nutritious "ready to eat" food that we had with us), we decided to stay a few days in picturesque Puerto Natales to get our strength back. :)

Also we treated ourselves to a horseriding excursion in the area. The horses were saddled in Western style and that takes a bit of getting used to. You guide them very differently than yo do with horses saddle in the English style. I had, when I booked, asked for a fast excursion and that request was met----one galloping followed immediately by another and we could indulge ourselves on teh sprawling pampas. Kapu was immediately renamed Gaucho Gerardo (a Gaucho is a South American cowboy) because he galloped enthusiastically after a few cows, loudly calling out "la cena, la cena" (my dinner, my dinner).....

From Puerto Natales we took the bus to the city of PUnta Arenas. That is the most southern city of Chili, and at the same time of the American mainland. (Ushuaia in Argentina is a bit farther south, but is on the island of Vuurland adn therefore that does not count, according to the Chilian people...)

The wind is strong here, and then immediately it's good again, but with wind gusts to 120 km/hour if you are not lucky. It is sadi that on some of the street corners they hang ropes on which the people can catch hold to, but we did not see any of those. We made a walk through the city, to a beautiful viewpoint, which was very handy because there we could find immediately the coordinates for the next part of our trip:

Also we visited the cemetery. It reminded us of the Recoleta, the cemetery that we visited in Buenos Aires, with huge tombs where the entire family lays happily together. But as we walked more to the back, we came upon what looked like flats or apartments in a sort of neighborhood for people in not so good economic circumstances. First we thought urns were in those but it turned out that the coffins were cemented into the walls, each neatly above the other. On the one hand, smart because it avoids use of a large amount of space and on the bottom row they stick the coffins 3 deep.

In the hostel where we stayed there occurs some rather strange scenes.

We would like to tell you that this hostel is a cover for illegal cocaine transportation from Punta Arenas to the rest of South America........................But that is not so. :o)

Our hotel was in fact the departure point for the Brazilian and Spanish athletes who were taking part in the "Wenger Patogonian Expedition Race"----a race through the unexplored southern part of South America that will test the team. During one week they complete a course with use of a kayak, a mountain bike and on foot. Also they must do some climbin over one part. The sacks of white powder that you see are a protein mix, a sort of "power food". Further, they take with them, among other things, the following delicacies: plastic sacks filled iwth a mix of cream potato powder, milk powder and parmesean cheese, which during the completing of the course they mix with cold water and drink. That is something we should have thought about for our hike!!!!! Geert's back pack would have been a bit less heavy. :)

The host at the hostel is also a happy Frenchman. After we arrived, we were immediately provided a glass of the local beer. Our towels, on the other hand, we had to go ourselves to look for in a cabinet later that evening. It is a chaotic pile and so is the included breakfast; you must go yourself in the storage area adn the refrigerator to look for everything. Sometimes new guests called, but then the host was at the supermarket or he was a few blocks away talking with someone and then we showed the new guests around and told them how much a room costs......On one evening we stood in front of a locked door (it was 12:30 a.m. in the night) and then we had to throw stones against a window until someone finally let us inside.

And what was more to experience in Punta Arenas? It appeared that there were penguins in the area. Therefore we wanted to go and see them. We bought a ticket for the ferry boat that would take us there. During the time we waited for the ferry, we took a few photos: (see Dutch Blof for the photos).

Once the boat sailed, we were sent, by a young Chilian girl in a direct but friendly manner, from the deck to the inside area. There she told us the following: (first in Spanish and then in a sort of "language" that at some point could have been English): "Hello, my name is Jessica and I am your guide for today. We will sail for two hours to the island, then you can walk around there and after that we will sail back. We will go very close to the penguins, but you are not allowed to touch them because they bite". Further she told us still more details over what sort of penguins and more, but what for you blog readers would be of little interest. We wnjoyed the two hour boat ride going out on the deck and having a beautiful view.

Once we reached the island, Jessica began to scream at everyone like a crazy person and waved her arms as if she was in panic. She wanted everyone to stay close by the boat. The wind was blowing rather fierce................and that's putting it mildly. We were blown out of our socks, so to speak, and the blowing sand got into places in large amoutns where you really don't want to have sand (ears, nose, between our teeth....) Because there seemed to be a threat that the boat could float away, we were only allowed to remain there for about 10 minutes. Enjoying the waddling Penguins could not really happen because we had to do our beset to just stand up straight. Kapu nevertheless was able to make a few photos.

Now it is enough for us with the cold and windy climate. We fly to Puerto Montt, which is a bit further north. To be continued..........

Written by Irma 10 February 2010.