Puerto Natales

I am sitting here on the 2nd floor of our B&B in this modest fishing port on Seno Ùltima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound) which Lonely Planet describes as a "Gore-Tex mecca". As a major gateway to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, it hosts many outdoor shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. Earlier, on arrival, when we walked down to the water from our B&B, we saw Big Foot Adventure Patagonia advertising "real coffee" - and it WAS! (by far the best we've had in South America).

Right now, I am looking out at the closing of the day over the Sound, fringed by tall, snow-capped peaks

We had dinner at the place we stopped for a quick lunch when we came through here on the way to Torres del Paine last Friday: Angelica's. We had the nicest tomato soup for me, mushroom soup for My Friend plus una cerveza; followed by a yummy pizza with king crab, garlic & delicious tomatoes. Just yum. Plus a wonderful Carmenere wine (Doña Dominga Reserva). So much for the promise of an alcohol-free day ... Pikky for you, Kim!

We've had a pretty relaxing day.

Recapping, back at Hotel Las Torres this morning, I woke to a beautiful sunrise & sped outside in my PJs & barefeet with just a quilted jacket for warmth. I padded around the grass with the horses and marvelling at the glorious light on the mountains behind our hotel.

I returned to bed for a sleep-in (yay!) & we had a late, leisurely breakfast followed by a short walk down to the corral to see the workers in action with the horses. We were bemused to see how many had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths (the lads, not the horses) as they either lassooed horses, loaded them with goods that had been brought in by vehicle or saddled them up ready for riding.

A visit to the exhibition room back at the hotel provided some interesting background information on the geology, history of the natives, fauna & flora of the park.

We didn't have to check out until 11:00 a.m. so we enjoyed the luxury of taking our time & after check-out enjoyed the comfortable lounge area to catch up on emails, etc. & to await our transfer out by bus to the park headquarters at Laguna Amarga.

Here we got our last glimpse of the Torres (or at least 2 of them!).

And then another bus to Puerto Natales, 3 hours away (including the obligatory road-side stop ostensibly for passengers to use the bathroom (baño) but is really an extended break for the driver to have 1. A smoke 2. A coffee 3. A chat to his fellow bus drivers all doing the same thing.

Hence we arrived in Puerto Natales which is very laid-back; very scenic down by the Sound; & (we have noticed) very outdoor-oriented if the extended bike path & walkway along the waters edge & the huge skate rink & other leisure facilities are anything to go by.