Have you been to Punta Arenas? How about Puerto Natales to check out the Chilean side of Patagonia? Torre del Paine and the calving glaciers of Balmaceda y Serrano are certainly NOT to be missed. (But that segment of the trip deserves a separate blog.) And right now, I’m just too confused what to write about. Too many highlights! This trip to Chile has had its varied stressful episodes — like delayed visa issuances, many changes in itinerary, postponement from an originally-scheduled trip in 2020, 5 years in planning and all of 8 domestic, regional and international flights (including Peru) on this trip but we are not complaining. 😉

Punta Arenas. Flew from Santiago to this southern tip of the narrowest, longest country in the world.
Hi there. Or as they say here, Hola!

Snow-capped mountains, the bluest waters, glaciers, waterfalls and fields of alfalfa. Plus the wildlife. Andean condors, armadillos, sheep, Patagonian horses, fox and guanacos. And if you’re seriously into wildlife, there are whales, sea lions, penguins, pumas, and flamingoes. Frankly, we’re quite happy seeing the Andean condors. Nature at its best!

Replica of the NAO Victoria , the first ship to circumnavigate the world.

After some days resting our butts in Santiago, Chile we flew south to Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales. The Chilean Patagonia. We had good luck and timed it perfectly in the weather department. While temps hovered between negatives and positive 7 Celsius, the sun was out the 5 days we were here. Every mountain peak showed up! Even the clouds parted into unique patterns, letting the sun beam for better-lighted snapshots. Slight showers, snow flurries, but only for brief moments. And those peaks and valleys showed up in all its clear glory, making photography buffs in our group grow insanely excited and happy. Same goes with the camwhores who have stacked up megabytes in their photo galleries. Our gizmo’s batteries drained and storage full. But that slight setback was ignored completely as we just couldn’t move on from the landscapes, seascapes we saw before us. Nothing can upset my dreamy Patagonia vibes here. The clouds above and the rolling waves from both the South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans cheered us up. The Strait of Magellan was a good reminder of how Magellan discovered this southern Chilean strip before navigating onwards to discover the Philippine Islands in the 1520’s. Hmmm, we share some history here. And it’s interesting how we each “turned out”.

The Barkada in Fundo San Fernando where we had a soupy beef dish that reminded us of pochero.
Hiking is always a happy adventure for this group.
At Fundo San Fernando’s Parque Keuken

For many of our meals, lamb ruled. Ranchos and estancias provided meaty dishes with portions overly generous that carnivores may choose to live here. As for seafood, I enjoyed their ceviches, pulpo, and filete de cormoran. Been searching for the “Chilean sea bass” but it appears this is pure branding since the real fish is simply referred to as corvina just like the dorado or salmon commonly available. For sure, they grow real sweet tomatoes and onions — just these 2 sprinkled with olive oil and salt enough to prep your appetite. Coffee was a disappointment though, at least those served in our hotels. I rather expected strong, quality coffee thinking Colombia is in the same region. Thus, our morning runs included trips to cafés to pick up our morning brew. This in seriously chill mornings where the sun rises at 7:30 am.

Across our lovely hotel in Puerto Natales is this park fronting the sea.

Between Punta Arenas where the airport is located and Puerto Natales where Torre del Paine can be found, is a nearly 3 hour drive. It must be lonely driving these well-paved roads in winter. But on second thought, those towers covered in snow in all its resplendent beauty can’t fail to cheer anyone up. Just lovely.