Christi and I continue the dance between Argentina and Chile today, which begins with a beautiful ride alongside the gorgeous Lago Argentino. It’s a 5-hour bus ride from El Calafate south along route 40 before dipping across the border near Puerto Natales. Border formalities remain tedious and confusing. Exiting Argentina – exiting most countries (Israel being a notable exception) – is relatively simple, but before we can re-enter Chile customs and immigration insist, yet again, upon scanning every item of luggage on the bus. This is such a slow, laborious and tedious process. Chilean immigration just love to mess with the backpackers.
Puerto Natales is a much smaller town than I’d envisaged and due to a local annual car race in the vicinity completely deserted when we arrive. We quickly find a room at the Erratic Rock II hostel, which is charming, although as we travel further and further south accommodation costs are skyrocketing. Our room does, however, come with cable TV (and English language programming) and an en-suite bathroom with luxury of luxuries a bathtub. It’s the tiniest bathtub I’ve ever seen – perhaps only 3 feet long – but Christi is elated. The owners of this hostel do seem to have a frill fetish, though. Chair covers, beds, curtains – everything has a lacy trim. It’s like a manic Martha Stewart.
Later we attend an info session at Erratic Rock hosted by the delightful Coke (who hails from Washington State) gives us the latest information on hiking and weather conditions and accommodation options in Torres del Paine National Park. This park is the Chilean equivalent of Parque Nacional de los Glaciares – undoubtedly two of the preeminent national parks in the world. And anyway, you can never have enough glaciers, can you?
Blog Post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale
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