Thursday, December 18, 2008



















Wow!




Pali Aike was amazing!





We hired a transport to take us out to the national park, returning the next morning. Pali Aike is three hours away from Punta Arenas- we were able to see huge estancias (ranches) and some cool shipwrecks along the way.






The park was unreal, and in the running for windiest place on earth for sure! Thank goodness there were wind shelters to camp in! We had the park all to ourselves...we saw two rangers and one camper van who left that afternoon. It was like having our own private national park! Guanacos, flamingos, bunnies, rhea; there were tons of critters to see, including an hours-old guanaco!






We hit up a laguna, craters, and a cave where the skeleton of the giant sloth and an american horse was found. Local folks call this area ´hell´or the devil´s home´ and we could easily see why.





Now we´re back in Punta Arenas to shower and get ready to head to San Ignacio in the morning.





We´ll be out of contact for the next two days again, but I promise to post before we head to the Torres del Paine when we´ll be out of contact for almost two weeks.





Also, we want everyone to know that we have mastered the art of grocery shopping and have learned just to smile real big when we speak spanish, so at the least people will take pity in thinking we may have mental issues if they can´t understand why we can´t understand a word they´re saying!




We have also discovered the amazing system of collectivos! They are like buses but are small sedans. They have a route they follow and are numbered but there isn´t a schedule and no written information about where the collectivo goes, so you hope you are getting the right car! We took a collectivo the other night back from the boat and ended up WAY out of town, thinking that the collectivo would then turn around and head back to town on it´s route. We were WRONG. The woman said she was going home and that we should get out...




So we were contemplating the thought of a LONG walk home when lo and behold ANOTHER collectivo of the same number came by. We jumped in and it dropped us off right near our hostal! We now believe the collectivos are run by faries or gremlin magic....






Love to you all! We have been continually amazed at how genuine people are and how much they are willing to help us! I haven´t ever traveled outside the country (and this includes Canada) where I felt so at home and welcome. It´s been an amazing journey. So we´re packing up and getting ready to make more memories...






Oh! And we figured out what P. Diddy was talking of when he rapped about Crystal. It´s a very cheap beer that has a slight lemon taste. Don´t know what all the fuss was about Diddy, it´s just a cheap beer!:)




Hope you all are well and happy!


1 comment:

Pam said...

Dear Liz,
I saw your pictures of Patagonia
and I never knew you went to Patagoinia!
My uncle james told me that
Patagonia is in at the bottom of
South America.My favorite picture that you sent to my grandma Pam was the penguin!
I hope I go there somday to!
love,sydney