DAY-16: Punta Arenas, Chile

DAY-16: Punta Arenas, Chile

Day – 16: Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Starting Location: At Sea Aboard the M.S. Marina
Interim Location: Punta Arenas, CH
Ending Location: At Sea Aboard the M.S. Marina





We had an early arrival into Punta Arenas this morning and for us that meant a 6 AM wake-up call. Isn't this supposed to be vacation? After a very quick breakfast we headed over to the pier to begin our day-long tour of Torres Del Paine National Park. By 7:30 we were on the tour bus headed for the Punta Arenas airport. The cool and wet weather for the morning was sub-optimal for our 12-hour trip into the mountains.


As we've noted Sheila was well prepared for inclement weather.

At the local airport we passed through security with only a minor glitch, seems that the scanner noted an aerosol container in Sheila's bag. After a hand search of the bag and a rescan no aerosol was found. Actually the container that had been seen on the scan was in my bag placed next to hers on the conveyer; it was a can of bug spray I had brought along. My bag was never searched. South American security at its best.

There were about 12 of us on this trip and we had our private aircraft for the flight to Puerto Natales. Oh the luxuries of a 1980 vintage de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter.






Upon departure from Punta Arenas we headed north toward Puerto Natales.




Upon arrival in Puerto Natales we met our park guide and boarded another bus for Torres Del Paine National Park a region of picturesque lakes and mountains in the Patagonia region of Chile. 

 Sheila's eye was obviously drawn to the work "Wicked".

Some of the "Wicked" vans use a dual braking system.

Seems that we left the rainy weather in Punta Arenas as the park region was sunny with scattered clouds and relatively warm for the high elevation.







My co-photographer for our South America travels.







The most frequently seen wildlife species was the guanaco, looks like a llama to me but I'm sure there's some biological difference.


 Flamingos and rheas were spotted along the ride today.




Then there were the sheep, maybe not as many per capita as in New Zealand but a lot of wool.



After driving the circle route through the park with several stops for photo ops we arrived at a local restaurant, clearly tourist oriented as the region doesn't have enough residents to fill all of the seats.

 We were served drinks, Pisco, wine, beer and soft drinks and large servings of a great lettuce and tomato salad with an even larger serving of roasted lamb with mashed potatoes and vegetables, all followed by dessert.
Strange Decoration in the Restaurant
Sheep gave up a lot for this restaurant, not only was lamb the main course, the lamb hides covered every chair, some might say it's a bit "creepy".









(L to R): Beer, Pisco & Wine
 















By late afternoon we were back at the Puerto Natales airport for the return flight to Punta Arenas.
Captain, the water is getting shallow!
The Marina departed around 7 PM from Punta Arenas. We'll be at sea for the next two days traveling through Chilean Fjords.

 Just after Sunset we headed to the Red Ginger Restaurant for dinner.

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