Today is a travel day. We’ll bus to Puerto Montt, back across the ferry, to the airport. We’ll then fly to Punta Arenas, get on another bus to Puerto Natales where we’ll spend the night before driving into the Torres del Paine National Park.
The trip to the airport provided some excitement during the ferry crossing – we spotted a number of sea lions, porpoises, and penguins in the water of the channel.
On the plane flight, a number of other volcanoes were obvious – solitary, usually symmetrical, snow covered peaks.
Charlie warned us that the approach into the Puntas Arenas airport (PUQ) would be choppy because of the winds. Fortunately it wasn’t too bad and Charlie described it as one of the smoothest he’d experienced. The terminal, like Puerto Montt, was small (3 gates), but relatively new and modern. We boarded the bus and began the trip to Puerto Natales.
The land was flat with a very broad horizon. Fences criss-cross the seemingly featureless plain where sheep graze. As we drove along, we spotted lesser rheas, an ostrich-like bird, and even a fox as it darted into the underbrush. Along the edge of a salt pan, pink flamingos browsed the water for brine shrimp.
As we continued the 300 km/ 180 mile journey, the land began to change into rolling hills and cattle became more plentiful. Other birds spotted included the upland goose. These birds have grey bodies while the male has a white head and neck, the female’s is brown and rust. We usually saw them in pairs. In the trees Jonathan spotted what looks like mistletoe that Ingrid identified as misodendrum.
The transition of the land is reminiscent of the rise of the land from the Great Plains to the Rockies. As we pulled into Puerto Natales and Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound), the Andes rise on the western side of the Sound.
Last night, the restaurant at the hotel was superb. Beforehand we had pisco sours at the bar where the bartender showed us how to make them (in bulk). About 1/2 bottle of pisco, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3 large tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar, one egg white, and about 2 cups ice. Shake vigorously, strain out the precipitated egg white, and serve.
