Our flight to Punta Arenas was at 11:20, so we left the hotel with Bob and Katherine in a pre-arranged van at 9AM. The airport experience was pretty easy, and security moved quickly. It was a 3 1/2 hour flight over some of the most amazing landscapes — almost not looking real. Snow-capped mountains and glacier-fed lakes and bays the of gorgeous blues and greens. There were fluffy clouds at times, and some of the mountains showed snow trails, where summer melt flowed down to the base and to the sea. There were also several glaciers cascading down mountains, pale icy blue. I didn’t have a window seat, but as soon as I noticed the view I found an empty spot next to a window, riveted by the the scenery taking photos with my iPhone.
Once in Punta Arenas we luckily found a couple of taxi drivers, and with little debate on the 10,000 peso price we were off to the hotel, about a half an hour away. Enroute to town were fields of purple and blue and pink flowers — lupus I think. The Hotel Rey de Don Philippe was sorta chalet looking, and pretty basic, but close enough to the town center to allow us to easily walk to a spot for lunch. It’s a small city of about 20,000, and is the southernmost town in the Americas. It is a center for natural gas production, sheep farming and the fishing industry, and is the home of Polar Austral, one of the most southerly breweries in the world. It is very Northern European in feel, and it was quiet and tranquil on a Sunday.
Founded as a penal colony in 1848, it opened to foreign settlers and was given free port status in 1867. With it’s location on the Magellan Strait, it became a prosperous provisioning center for steam ships and whaling vessels until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.
We met the group in the lobby of the hotel at 6PM, and were given a brief rundown of the first several days of the adventure. It helped to see the route and the plan on a large map on the wall, since the area is mostly mountains and water and involves significant navigation to get to and around. There are 12 of us, and once again it is a group of well-traveled people who have many adventures to share.
Other than Bob and Katherine, the only other couple is John and Carol, from north of Sydney, Australia. They seem to be adventure seekers, and have been places I hadn’t even considered yet — a base camp Everest trek, Kilimanjaro, kayaking in the Coral Sea, Machu Picchu and they are heading to Antarctica after this expedition. Two female friends from Idaho, Jackie and Chris also seem to have been many places; Jackie mentioned having traveled with Active Adventures to the Himalayas last year, and Chris is an avid cyclist as well as hiker. Two single and separate male travelers are rooming together — Adam from San Diego and Harry from Boise. Adam is 36 and a graphic designer working in a small family marketing firm; Harry is 70 and so far seems to be the “character” of the group. Lastly, Chris and his adult son Christopher (or CJ, since there are a few too many Chrises in the group), are from north of Denver. Chris is retired, having sold his restaurant business to his son (3 Italian/pizza places in Colorado), and CJ manages those places and keeps his day job as an aerospace engineer. They try to do a dad/son trip every 12-18 months, and have also been to Kilimanjaro. I’m beginning to think that needs to be on my list. Lastly, our guide is Jay, who comes from Turkey originally, but has been in Chile for 20 years. In his early days he was a kayaker, and paddled on the national team in early days.
Dinner was in the hotel restaurant, and the food wasn’t great, and the service didn’t make up for it. We had had a late (although light) lunch, so no one went to bed hungry, but it was a little disappointing. We had quite a bit of organizing to do, packing and re-sorting our gear, and an early call for Monday, so we broke up before 9PM, and Liz and I tried to sort out our stuff before taking a quick walk up the hill from the hotel where there was a scenic viewpoint. A cross at the top, and an overlook spot provided a view of the city and the Strait. The sun doesn’t set here until 10PM, but the clouds were lit up with the pre-sunset sky, so it was a pretty sight.
I’m having a difficult time getting to sleep each night — perhaps some jet lag, maybe excitement, maybe the late but bright sky — it takes some drugs and it’s still midnight before I drift off.
So much for Sunday.
