Patagonia!

After a week of goodbye parties and the end of classes, we had one week to travel and decided to spend it in Patagonia. We spent a good 24 hours on a bus, waiting, and on a plane before reaching Punta Arenas. When we finally arrived there, we found out that the bus we had planned to take to Puerto Natales was full, so we had to scramble and find a hostel for the night. Luckily, the man who had driven our transfer from the airport to the bus terminal was also a hostel owner trying to convince us to stay with him, so we decided we could go there (convenient for him, huh?). We were also really sad about missing our bus tour of the park, which was supposed to leave from Puerto Natales at 7:30 the next morning, but this man also found us a tour that left at 6:30 from Punta Arenas (somewhat more expensive). What seemed like a lost day turned into a lost 10 mil (about$16). This used about half of the money we had allowed for incidentals, so we were pretty broke the rest of the trip.

Anyway, taking the bus tour was definitely worth it. We saw parts of the park that we couldn't cover on foot in the time we had. Basically, we saw a lot of guanacas (wild llamas), lakes, Glacier Grey, and Cueva del Milodon (archeology site where they discovered remains of prehistoric animals and people). We then got dropped off in Puerto Natales.

The next day we went on a hike to the base of the Torres del Paine. It was an amazing experience, but I think it's fair to say that no one warned us of how grueling the hike would be. It was basically like being on a stairmaster for four hours straight. The other problem was that you are only allowed eight hours to make it there and back based on the bus schedule (a lot of people camp out, but we weren't prepared for that). The first third of the hike is basically open grass hills, the second third is up and down in a forest near a river, and the final third is straight up a bunch of rocks (we were some of the few people not using poles). It was definitely a difficult hike, but very pretty along the way and sooo worth it for what we saw at the top! We were literally right upon the Torres! The other thing that amazed me was that there were many older people who made it all the way to the top. Wow!

So at the top, there is a lake just below the Torres, and Evan had the bright idea that he would try to swim in it (which I advised against). So, he was running toward the water (it was pretty darn cold!), and stubbed his toe on a rock, resulting in his losing the better part of his pinky toenail. Let's just say it was a very painful trip down the mountain for him. That night we went to the emergency room to make sure it wasn't infected, which it wasn't. They put on a nice bandage, and told him to change it every couple of days, take ibuprofen, and watch to make sure it didn't get pussy or inflamed. It has continued to hurt, as expected, but thankfully has not gotten infected or out of control. A lesson for macho men everywhere!

The next day we went on a luxurious trip aboard a boat to see the Glaciares Balmaceda and Serrano. It was a gorgeous boat ride, and we saw lots of waterfalls and animals along the way. We saw the Balmaceda Glacier from the boat. This glacier was really living proof of global warming. It used to reach the water, and has now receded considerably. We hiked to the base of the second glacier, which was even more impressive. Afterwards, we had a wonderful asado (BBQ), the only large meal of our trip. The other really nice part of our trip were the people we met, most notably Chilean-Americans from Minnesota. The husband is a part-time professor in Minnesota, and a part-time professor in Concepcion. They were very interesting to talk to! We also met an Argentinian couple from Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), three younger people from Santiago, and a Chinese-Canadian couple from Vancouver. All were exceptionally nice and interesting!

The next morning we made our way back to Punta Arenas, and found another hostel to stay at (the former one was full). We met up with four other friends from the program (up to this point it had only been four of us), and went on a tour to Isla Magdalena, where thousands of Magallanes penguins live. It was really amazing to see so many in the wild, and so up close. Sea World will seem like nothing now!

The next morning, we went to the feria (flea market) to buy some gifts, and then made our way home in the afternoon and evening (arriving in the early morning). I leave to go back to the US tomorrow evening (arriving Saturday morning). So, I will see you all very soon! Thanks to all of you who have kept up with this blog, and I forgot to mention earlier that I am sorry that I took SOOO many pictures in Patagonia (upwards of 300). Hopefully your computer can flip through them quickly.

As for any last lessons from the trip, I think I will wait a bit for that to sink in, and maybe discuss it more in person. In general, I would say that I have learned to have more confidence in my own ability to problem-solve, adapt, and live outside of the world I have known. I have also learned that the world is a lot more complex than I had ever really realized, and that living in a place for a while is the only way to really learn anything about that complexity. And, well, I hope I've learned a bit more Spanish too (and that I don't lose too much of it when I come back)! Chao! Nos vemos!