Greetings from Punta Arenas, near the very southern tip of South America (look it up on Google maps - it's very far away from New Hampshire!).
Today our trip took a turn from the wilderness to focusing on Chilean culture. We had our usual breakfast at the hotel, then gathered to load our trusty purple bus and head out on the road by 9AM. Our hearts were all a bit heavy as we slowly rumbled out of Torres del Paine National Park, the beautiful heartland of Patagonia. We stopped along the way to take in the views one final time:
This was our last chance to be kissed by the persistent and tenacious Patagonian wind, which left its marks on all our faces:
With somewhat heavy hearts, we boarded the bus for our journey southward, away from the natural beauty of the park, but toward anticipated encounters with Chilean culture.
Everyone settled in for a total of about 6 hours on the bus today:
Along the way, we stopped to view a wide variety of wildlife:
Did you know that there are flamingos in Patagonia? I didn't!
We also stopped to watch, with considerable interest, Patagonian gauchos and their dogs (about a dozen in total) driving cattle across the plains:
After about 3 hours, we stopped in the town of Puerto Natales (where we stayed during our journey northward). Our purpose was clear: to take a break, and to stimulate the local Chilean economy! We split into groups and walked through town, visiting souvenir shops:
This area specializes in wool textiles, copper, and the mineral lapis lazuli. Some of us stopped to sample the famous Chilean sandwiches, known for their plentiful and high-quality roasted meats:
Speaking of plentiful meat, lunch was at a traditional Chilean BBQ, where meats (most often lamb) are cooked over coals and then coarsely chopped:
In an unexpected twist, they served us salmon! It's been a bit of a running joke during this trip how often we are served salmon. Farmed salmon is very common in Chile and is the most frequent protein offered during meals; interestingly, fowl (chicken, etc.) is very rare.
After enjoying our lunch, we walked across town to a homemade gelato shop so that Prof. Simon could once again treat the class:
The gelato was great, and featured some interesting flavors (such as rose, shown above).
We climbed back into our bus for a 3 hour drive south to Punta Areas, the city where we started our adventure (and where we will be flying out tomorrow). Along the way, we learned that our hotel reservation had a problem, so our tour company rebooked us into an upgraded hotel. This turned out to be a real bonus, as we were booked into Punta Arena's swankiest hotel, called Dreams:
The students were assigned into doubles and triples (we mix up roommates at every hotel). Several of us gathered at the pool, which featured amazing views of the Strait of Magellan:
We also enjoyed the top floor lounge which featured nice views of the city:
We all met for 8:30PM dinner. Given the quality of the hotel, we were all quite excited for the meal!
The appetizer featured seared tuna, smoked salmon, and prosciutto, all in a most lovely presentation. When the entree arrived, we all had to laugh:
Apparently, when in Chile, there is no escaping the salmon! It was very well made and we all enjoyed it, despite the frequency with which we've had this fish during this trip.
Dinner was over by about 10:30PM. This far south, it is still light at this time:
This was a fun day, despite all the time in the bus. We have all come to know each other quite well and everyone gets along wonderfully. Our guides have commented upon how friendly and welcoming our group is, and I couldn't agree more.
The students have been hard at work on their travel essays, which serve as the final exam in this course. They each certainly have plenty of source material.
Everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying our trip. We look forward to our last full day in Chile tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
Prof. Eric Simon
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