Our Patagonian Adventure Begins

The day we returned from Antarctica we met with the group for the Wild Patagonia tour. Two people had to withdraw at the last minute, leaving 14 of us - 8 Aussies (all from Melbourne), 1 German, 3 Canadians, and 2 from the USA. All aged around 60-70.  There is also Mel, our tour leader, and her partner Franco, our driver.  They have been doing this trip for many years now. They go back and forth between Santiago and Ushuaia several times over the summer. We are all getting on well.  The vehicle is very comfortable.  Passengers sit above the driver cabin. We have lots of leg room, reclining seats, an on-board toilet, fridge, USB charge point and great views from the large windows. The 4 seats at the front are at right angles and share a table.

Before leaving Ushuaia we had a day visiting the Tierra Del Fuego National Park, and doing a Beagle Channel cruise. The main trees in the park are high deciduous beech.

 

Beavers were introduced to establish a beaver fur industry, but that failed and the beavers have caused huge destruction of the trees:

The cruise to the Beagle Channel was pleasant. We passed islands full of cormorants, and went for a short walk past interesting mosses and plants.

Today we headed off from Ushuaia.  It was one of our longest days - 9 hours of travel.  But it did not seem that long as we had breaks, and the bus is so comfortable.  First stop was Garibaldi Pass. Near Ushuaia the Andes turn to run east-west rather than north-south, and we had great views for a while.

However it did not take long to say goodbye to the Andes and reach the Pampas - nothing but flatness as far as the eye can see. And with that flatness comes huge estancias (cattle ranches), guanacos, and let's not forget what Patagonia is famous for - the ever-present wind.

Before reaching our destination of Cerro Sombrero, a small Chilean town in the middle of nowhere, we crossed into Chile and stopped at the only King Penguin colony in Tierra del Fuego. It's home to about 80 breeding pairs. They are giants compared to the Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins we saw in Antarctica.  Also they don't hop, they walk, with not even much of a penguin waddle.  They are about 80 cm high, a bit smaller that the Emperor penguins, and with very similar colouring. There were some 10-day old chicks sitting on their parent's feet and being kept warm by folds of skin. 

Tomorrow we reach Punta Arenas by lunchtime.  Next day we enter Torres del Paine National Park and the serious hiking begins.