World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Chile
18° | sunny / rainy | km 370
Penguin island
on 2018-02-01 in Chile
[Basti] On the Chilean border directly in front of the Torres del Paine national park they actually checked my panniers and confiscated my fruits and the salami. Officially they told me fruits and animal products are not allowed. The boiled ham and milk was alright though. But because of that my food supply for night was suddenly a lot smaller. And after it started to rain on the way to the national park and everything was covered behind thick clouds I decided to turn around and go to Puerto Natales instead.
Mia had texted me that she's also in Puerto Natales because of the bad weather and that she had found a nice and cheap hostel. Thanks to iOverlander I knew that there's WIFI at the bus station in the small border town where I texted her to find out about the name and location of that hostel.
One hour later and with much better weather I arrived at Zaltaxar Hostel in Puerto Natales. For dinner Mia suggested a vegetarian Restaurant. The veggie wrap was not bad, but meat would have made it better ;)
Earlier we had to go to a coffee house to pay for Mias check from the morning which she just had forgotten to do then...
Mia started early the next morning towards Tierra del Fuego while I was having an extensive breakfast thanks to my left over supplies. My destination for today was Punta Arenas, only 250 km away.
I went to Punta Arenas to meet up once more with Rodrigo, my friend from Puerto Montt and to visit Isla Magdalena. This small island is being used every year by thousands of Magellanic penguins to breed.
The ferry ride with only one hour stay on the island is not exactly cheap (50.000 Pesos = 80 USD), but therefor you can watch the cheerful animals really up close. The round trip goes straight through the penguin colony and it has been unbelievable fascinating to watch how the penguins react to all the humans. After all they had to pass through humans to reach their children.
They toddled self confident towards the human crowds until they stopped a few meters away depending on their confidence. Then they started to look left and right as if they were thinking "what the fuck is going on here?!". Normally only about five meters distance between two persons was enough for them to dare the crossing. Some of them even stayed on the path and ignored the people completely. You could have touched them!
Magellanic penguins build underground nests for their offspring unlike the larger and better known king penguins.
On Saturday I had plans to meet Rodrigo. He wrote me his hostel / campground and I was on my way. Because the hostel was not recognizable as such from the outside I walked by several times.
We were incredibly happy that we could see each other once more! Together with his friend José we enjoyed a couple of beers in the sun. More and more guests joined us and at one point the owner of the hostel told us that they were having a barbecue in the evening and everybody would be welcome! That way we became a pretty big and very funny group. A guitar was moving around and everybody who could played their best songs. After midnight all of us even went to a club. And when I finally arrived back at my hostel at 4 o'clock in the morning I had to ring my hostel owner out of bed to open the door for me :)
Mia had texted me that she's also in Puerto Natales because of the bad weather and that she had found a nice and cheap hostel. Thanks to iOverlander I knew that there's WIFI at the bus station in the small border town where I texted her to find out about the name and location of that hostel.
One hour later and with much better weather I arrived at Zaltaxar Hostel in Puerto Natales. For dinner Mia suggested a vegetarian Restaurant. The veggie wrap was not bad, but meat would have made it better ;)
Earlier we had to go to a coffee house to pay for Mias check from the morning which she just had forgotten to do then...
Mia started early the next morning towards Tierra del Fuego while I was having an extensive breakfast thanks to my left over supplies. My destination for today was Punta Arenas, only 250 km away.
I went to Punta Arenas to meet up once more with Rodrigo, my friend from Puerto Montt and to visit Isla Magdalena. This small island is being used every year by thousands of Magellanic penguins to breed.
The ferry ride with only one hour stay on the island is not exactly cheap (50.000 Pesos = 80 USD), but therefor you can watch the cheerful animals really up close. The round trip goes straight through the penguin colony and it has been unbelievable fascinating to watch how the penguins react to all the humans. After all they had to pass through humans to reach their children.
They toddled self confident towards the human crowds until they stopped a few meters away depending on their confidence. Then they started to look left and right as if they were thinking "what the fuck is going on here?!". Normally only about five meters distance between two persons was enough for them to dare the crossing. Some of them even stayed on the path and ignored the people completely. You could have touched them!
Magellanic penguins build underground nests for their offspring unlike the larger and better known king penguins.
On Saturday I had plans to meet Rodrigo. He wrote me his hostel / campground and I was on my way. Because the hostel was not recognizable as such from the outside I walked by several times.
We were incredibly happy that we could see each other once more! Together with his friend José we enjoyed a couple of beers in the sun. More and more guests joined us and at one point the owner of the hostel told us that they were having a barbecue in the evening and everybody would be welcome! That way we became a pretty big and very funny group. A guitar was moving around and everybody who could played their best songs. After midnight all of us even went to a club. And when I finally arrived back at my hostel at 4 o'clock in the morning I had to ring my hostel owner out of bed to open the door for me :)
16° | sunny / cloudy | km 434
Tierra del Fuego
on 2018-02-05 in Chile
[Basti] After a relaxed day with great lamb steak while watching the Superbowl I decided spontaneously to visit the replica of Victoria, one of Magellans expedition ships.
Sadly the vessel was a lot more impressive from the outside than from the inside. But nonetheless it was quite interesting to see how small and primitive the ships of the former discoverers of the world have been.
After that I went to the end of the South American continent. That is to say that Tierre del Fuego is in fact an island which makes this point the real end. The road was stunning, especially close to the end. But the following walk to a lighthouse was not so spectacular, instead surprisingly exhausting because you have to walk most of it on sandy beaches.
On my way back I met Sever, a Romanian who lived in the states for many years and now he wants to enjoy his life more. His was riding on a small 250 all the way from the states to here! We talked about all kinds of stuff which made the way back feel a lot shorter.
When I told him that I have a ferry ticket to cross the Strait of Magellan to Porvenir the next morning he wanted to try to catch the same ferry. This is why we met each other again at the port the next morning to an unearthly hour. Sever also got a ticket and made ourselfes comfortable. Both of us were pretty tired but at one point we made it out on deck. As it happens only five minutes later I spotted fountains on the water in front of us. Whales! And the ferry was going straight towards them. They came closer and closer so that even the captain recognized them and announced the sight through the speakers. Perfect timing on our side!
A little bit later back inside the cabin we could also watch a dolphin jumping by. Unbelievable!
In Porvenir Sever and I separated again because he wanted to reach Ushuaia the same day and I had plans to see other penguins. But before that I went to a tiny restaurant. It was packed with locals but I was able to order at one point. I got a big piece of salmon with cheese on top and smashed potatoes. It was fantastic and together with the coke I payed only about 5 dollars.
Well-fed I went to Parque Pinguino Rey where I was able to watch the bigger and more beautiful king penguins. The second biggest penguin species after the emperor penguin who lives only in Antarctica. Sadly here you can watch the animals only from 50 meters distance because Chilean law states this viewing distance for private parks in contrast to public parks. It's beautiful to watch the penguins but the interaction between humans and penguins made the experience on Isla Magdalena more special.
For the night I headed to a camping spot Mia had told me about a few days earlier. It indeed was a dreamy 100% wind protected spot in the middle of enchanted trees. A curiosity in Tierra del Fuego. After having set everything up I sat down on the present bench to have dinner. Suddenly I heard a bike rattle by. Then it slowed down, turned around and came back.
When I got up I saw Mia waving. She was already on her way back from Ushuaia and wanted to spend one more night at her unique spot. We were happy to exchange our stories once more since we expected it to be our last encounter.
She told me about a worthwhile d-tour before crossing the border and I told her the ferry schedule to Punta Arenas.
After our goodbyes the next morning I headed to the Argentinean border. On my way I visited an old machine back from the gold digging times in Tierra del Fuego and tried to find some skeletons Mia had seen a couple of days earlier an a lake - without success.
Sadly the vessel was a lot more impressive from the outside than from the inside. But nonetheless it was quite interesting to see how small and primitive the ships of the former discoverers of the world have been.
After that I went to the end of the South American continent. That is to say that Tierre del Fuego is in fact an island which makes this point the real end. The road was stunning, especially close to the end. But the following walk to a lighthouse was not so spectacular, instead surprisingly exhausting because you have to walk most of it on sandy beaches.
On my way back I met Sever, a Romanian who lived in the states for many years and now he wants to enjoy his life more. His was riding on a small 250 all the way from the states to here! We talked about all kinds of stuff which made the way back feel a lot shorter.
When I told him that I have a ferry ticket to cross the Strait of Magellan to Porvenir the next morning he wanted to try to catch the same ferry. This is why we met each other again at the port the next morning to an unearthly hour. Sever also got a ticket and made ourselfes comfortable. Both of us were pretty tired but at one point we made it out on deck. As it happens only five minutes later I spotted fountains on the water in front of us. Whales! And the ferry was going straight towards them. They came closer and closer so that even the captain recognized them and announced the sight through the speakers. Perfect timing on our side!
A little bit later back inside the cabin we could also watch a dolphin jumping by. Unbelievable!
In Porvenir Sever and I separated again because he wanted to reach Ushuaia the same day and I had plans to see other penguins. But before that I went to a tiny restaurant. It was packed with locals but I was able to order at one point. I got a big piece of salmon with cheese on top and smashed potatoes. It was fantastic and together with the coke I payed only about 5 dollars.
Well-fed I went to Parque Pinguino Rey where I was able to watch the bigger and more beautiful king penguins. The second biggest penguin species after the emperor penguin who lives only in Antarctica. Sadly here you can watch the animals only from 50 meters distance because Chilean law states this viewing distance for private parks in contrast to public parks. It's beautiful to watch the penguins but the interaction between humans and penguins made the experience on Isla Magdalena more special.
For the night I headed to a camping spot Mia had told me about a few days earlier. It indeed was a dreamy 100% wind protected spot in the middle of enchanted trees. A curiosity in Tierra del Fuego. After having set everything up I sat down on the present bench to have dinner. Suddenly I heard a bike rattle by. Then it slowed down, turned around and came back.
When I got up I saw Mia waving. She was already on her way back from Ushuaia and wanted to spend one more night at her unique spot. We were happy to exchange our stories once more since we expected it to be our last encounter.
She told me about a worthwhile d-tour before crossing the border and I told her the ferry schedule to Punta Arenas.
After our goodbyes the next morning I headed to the Argentinean border. On my way I visited an old machine back from the gold digging times in Tierra del Fuego and tried to find some skeletons Mia had seen a couple of days earlier an a lake - without success.