Going with Serendipity in Chile’s Patagonia

The agency that helped me organize my trip down south to Patagonia created a suggested itinerary based on what I wanted to see.  In their itinerary, they had me staying 3 nights in Puerto Natales and 1 night in a place sort of in the middle of nowhere.  I would stay at that place the second night of the 4 nights.  I wrote to the agency asking for the rationale behind this as I would certainly prefer being in one place so I could unpack once, pack one especially in a year where I think I spent 10% of my time unpacking and packing already…

The answer was sort of OK.  It was that the morning after staying in this place for one night I would save 20 mins in the ride over to see the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina.  Oh, and 20 mins the night before as I would get dropped off before the bus got to Puerto Natales.  In other words, a total of 40 mins savings by staying further north of Puerto Natales since my travels around that night were north as well.  I decided to not argue it as they better knew the lay of the land than myself.

I chose right.  Though I was up there to see the well-known sites and sights, I was not aware that I was about to discover a place that for me would showcase some of the best in the beauty of the Chilean Patagonia as well as just a plain and simple quiet setting – something well needed after the last few weeks…

A Lodging Paradise in Patagonia

The Hotel Posada 3 Pasos (http://www.hotel3pasos.cl/) is located on a site where there has been a hotel or inn for most of the time that part of the country has been colonized.  Of course, the structure has changed a few times since then.  But once one has traveled in the area, one can see that a trail or road likely always existed once the land was colonized and that the location of this place of lodging was well chosen as a place to stop, eat, and sleep.

Looking at this inn’s setting I couldn’t help but feel I was in a special place on this planet – a real paradise of serenity and beauty.

Welcome to Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

A Building with Charm and Good Food!

The employees told me that many visitors stop on the drive from El Calafate to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas simply to dine (the food was great!  anything with the “vazca” sauce is well worth trying!).  The next morning I was pleasantly, no, correction:  VERY pleaseantly surprised at the incredible spread they served me for breakfast.  I was SO engrossed by it that I forgot to take a picture of the table!!  The bakery type of items and the jams were all home made and simply exquisite.  I could not eat half of what was offered!

But, of course, food always distracts me… The inn is not the very original one from early 20th century but it is still of a period and style:  country!  It is charming, with a limited number of rooms, a small bar, a living room with a fireplace (which I am sure is used here year-round in the evenings!), and a dining room area.

Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

Living Room

Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

Bedroom

The inn is in a very remote area so power is not easily available.  At some point late at night, the generator is turned off.  One is given a rather powerful battery-powered lamp in case one needs it (like for that middle-of-the-night bathroom run…) so it is not an issue should one want to read, etc.  All the rooms have a private bathroom and, likely, a beautiful and serene view.

Gardens and Walking Around

The inn is in a great setting and they maximize how you can experience it.  Across the road, there is an area where one can walk to one’s content as far as one wants, even up the hill at the end of the area.  The inn also has a nice garden dedicated to the great Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral where I went to town using the micro settings in my camera on flowers, moss, and acorns!  Certainly a great way to practice my hobby and also relax and unwind, something I badly needed during this trip.

Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's PatagoniaHotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

Hotel Posada 3 Pasos in Chile's Patagonia

Finally, I have to say the staff that day was very friendly and wanting to make sure my stay was comfortable and relaxing.  I thank them for that!

What Did I Re-Learn?

I have realized over time that sometimes it is better to let things happen rather than have them all planned.  This lodging experience drove the point home.  Certainly my research would likely lead me to choices that better match what I am looking for in a trip.  However, it is impossible for research to uncover it all and leaving space for the random discoveries is just as important.  Lesson well learned.  I may even get back to Patagonia just to stay at this place but this time for a few days of R&R!

A Long Trip to Get to a Glacier

The first time I heard about the Perito Moreno glacier was back in 1991 when an Argentinian friend mentioned having gone there and it being “espectacular!” as Argentines are prone to say when they like something enough.  I finally got to visit it but, in doing my research, I was surprised at its location, well inland in Argentina – I had expected it to be near the ocean closer to Tierra del Fuego.

Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina's Patagonia near El Calafate

I had to get to the glacier from Chilean Patagonia which meant a long bus ride from Puerto Natales to El Calafate, the main town right outside the ice fields that give rise to the glacier.  It took about  4 hrs or so to get to El Calafate and that included a stop at Argentinian immigrations/customs; faithful to expectations, a slow process and rather rudimentary baggage check with some luggage opened on the road and a sniffing dog walking ON (not around) the open luggage.  At that border point, we entered the Santa Cruz province which many say is the personal fiefdom of the presidential couple (now just the wife since he passed away).  I am not sure if that is the case or not but the place is certainly vast.

Map of the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina with El Calafate and Perito Moreno

The more one gets away from the border with Chile, the flatter the land becomes.  The scenery is impressive but then you get a few hours of that same landscape and I quickly dozed off to make up for the early pickup time (around 7AM).

The bus was full of passengers.  Most of them were just getting off in El Calafate which seems to serve as a base for backpackers and other travelers but a few of us stayed on to be taken to the glacier, another 1.5 hrs away.  Oh and the bus had its share of people who stank but, mercifully, they were towards the front of the bus and I, being the last one picked up on the road from Puerto Natales, got to sit all the way in the back.  I guess the Northern Hemisphere folks in the front of the bus thought that being on vacation meant skipping on those showers for a couple of days.  Joy.

So, the bus ride was long and tedious.  But what about the main attraction, the glacier?  Well, one quickly realizes one is facing a monumental piece of ice!  The glacier is almost kissing the peninsula directly across from it.  When the “kiss” is “deep”, the glacier splits the water body in front of it in two.  I hear this is the only place in the world where that happens.  After a few years of the deep kiss, the water level rises on one of the sides of the glacier and pressure builds up such that the kiss is broken up.  When I went, there was a very small bridge left between the glacier and the peninsula.

The kiss of Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina's Patagonia near El Calafate

The kiss

The glacier’s front walls are monumentally high.  Nothing helps one get this than seeing large boats come close to the glacier for a close-up.  The glacier is constantly making noises as it moves and shifts and, every 15 minutes or so, a piece of ice (usually small) would break off and fall in the water making a good deal of noise.

Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia near El Calafate, Argentina

The park has been very nicely prepared for the tourists with recently built walkways meandering down the peninsula’s face.  There used to be a concrete path but one clearly sees the difference of being in a nicely built walkway vs. the more rudimentary concrete path that one can still see from the walkway.  There are different paths to follow and one can go as far as one wants or stay as close to the carpark as one wants.  One can see both “faces” of the glacier from most of the walkways so one doesn’t have to risk missing that falling piece of ice!

Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia near El Calafate, Argentina

Great walkways (& lots of stairs!) allow getting close up to the glacier – espectacular, ché!

Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia near El Calafate, Argentina

I feel like something is sneaking up behind me… – portrait of the blogger as a young man

El Calafate was not much of a town but one could do some shopping down the main street.  We hear that in winter there is nothing much to do.  Our guide told us she read a lot and went ice skating on the part of the lake/bay that freezes.  Unfortunately, my time there was limited so I could not discover any hidden gems.  I had not budgeted staying a night there (which was probably a good thing) so I hopped back on the bus to ride all the way back to Puerto Natales.  But I am happy to report that the bus was mostly empty, and most importantly, free of funny smells 🙂

I have no better way of describing how the vastness and general flatness of the land (it wasn’t 100% flat) that in this image I have of the Patagonian sky:  sky in 3-D.  Somehow, one gets a sense of multiple layers of clouds as one stares out and scans the sky.  Perhaps it is the same anywhere else but I have never noticed this until this trip.  I felt validated when later a fellow traveler made the same observation (minus the “3-D” part)…

Patagonia landscape at sunset in Argentina

The long flat road ahead

Patagonia landscape at sunset in Argentina

The vastness of Patagonia

Certainly, the trip from Puerto Natales was way too long for a day trip and, while El Calafate didn’t seem interesting enough for me, spending the night there would have been better for my body.  However, I will say get to see Perito Moreno however you have to as it will be worth your while!

 

A Year On… A Final Trip to Chile

It will almost be a year to the day since I traveled to Chile for the first time in 18 yrs.  I was expecting an infrequent trip there in the year to follow due to work but a couple of months in, the game changed and I got to practically be based in Santiago for most of 2010.  The surprise was pleasant for the most part, except I had not planned to live far from home for so long, even if I did get to come home for long weekends at least twice every month.  Now, I have one more trip down to Chile of a few weeks before this chapter of my life closes…

It is important to note that I had wanted to stay in Chile back then in 1991.  I enjoyed life there SO much.  But without too much on my resume yet, being “too green”, and no easy way to figure things out (no Internet!), I just went back to the U.S. when the assignment ended.

Seeing Santiago after 18 years was a strange experience.  I was able to recognize places from my life those 3 months around 1990-91 (my apt building, work, Brannigan’s on Calle Suecia, the McDs by Parque Arauco where I used to go eat after playing racquetball, and the old parts of town among others).  But, of course, 18 yrs in a good economic climate bring about lots of change.  I recall back then a skyline littered with cranes of high rises being built.  Well, by now, I am happy to report they finished the buildings… and then some!  Sanhattan did not exist when I was there – not in its current form, at least.  The area around Parque Arauco and Parque Arauco itself have been developed beyond recognition.  I got to re-connect with friends from those days there and while their lives of course had changed, the friends were pretty much as I remembered them (physically and personality-wise).

I got to sample numerous excellent restaurants from a list built up by recommendations from a couple of choice people who clearly know food.  I have hit just about every recommendation except for some.  By now, with 3 weeks left in my assignment, I am more interested in eating at my favorite places than discovering new ones.  Tiramisu and Cuero Vaca (http://www.cuerovaca.cl/) rank up there in my book (good eats!).  I will be eating there again for sure!   [Check out this review of Tiramisu at the NYT:  http://tinyurl.com/2fcbum7]

Of course, I got to be in Chile on or around key events in its national history:  the earthquake of February 27, the national elections that made history, the trapped miners, the bicentennial (bicentenario), and the national soccer team making it to the 2nd round in the World Cup.  Wow, what timing, don’t you agree??

I got to sample the Atacama desert, hop over the Andes to Mendoza, and explore more of Valparaíso.  Hopefully, before I return, I will also get to see Patagonia and the key sights down there – Torres del Paine, the Magellan Straits by Punta Arenas, the Perito Moreno glacier, and a few other sights.  Places left to see or see again include Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas and neighboring towns along the area, and the lakes crossing of the Andes to reach Bariloche.  Had work stretched into January, I would have been able to add them to my “itinerary”.  But with work wrapping up mid-December, I only had time for one destination before coming home for Christmas.  So I think I chose well with the trip to Tierra del Fuego.

Now, I need to focus on the hardest week of work in the whole year, then stabilize things before I move on.  I am thankful God granted me the opportunity to return to a land that I love and to have made it for a long stint so that I got to internalize it all.  Now, I am ready to leave Chile behind knowing I can always come “home” but ready to focus on my life in my real home…

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