2022 Early December - Chile, Antarctica

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Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Our flight arrives in Punta Arenas at 800 AM.  We were able to doze a bit during the flight, but no real sleep.  It is cool, 50’s, and windy as we arrive, coat time.  There is no traffic on our 20-minute taxi ride to the hotel.  Punta Arenas has a population of 127,000, very small in comparison to the multi millions we’ve experienced in the big cities.  We arrive at the hotel at 830, the room is not ready.  We sit for a while searching the internet for a nearby restaurant.  We find a coffee shop/restaurant three blocks away. 
We pass the time, coffee for Nicida, hot chocolate for me, breakfast for both.  Returning to our hotel, we find our room is ready.  We settle in, relaxing a bit, before heading out for groceries.  It is convenient being in a small town, almost everything we need is within a three-block radius of the hotel.  After shopping we stroll down to the water, the Straits of Magellan.  The wind is still blowing, the deep blue water is covered with marching whitecaps.  Tomorrow, we learn about our Antarctic Expedition.

South America adventure Oct/Nov 2018 part 6 - end

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Patagonia

Torres del Paine

It is about a 3 hour drive from Mount Fitz Roy near El Chalten to the Perito Moreno Glacier, outside of El Calafate.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world.  It directly feeds Lago Argentino.  A thirty minute drive from El Calafate, then walking the scaffolding to the glacier is worth the trip.  Getting up close you sense the size of the glacier, but I don't fully realize it until I spot a tour boat cruising alongside.  If I didn’t look close I would not have seen it.