We left Punta Arenas and drove deeper into Patagonia. We drove two hours through vast lands, past inland seas, to a sheep station. Along the way we saw wildlife and sheep. The station was a long way from civilization on an inland sea. They used a generator for electricity and satellite for communication. But it was beautiful there. The family was British and had owned the land for many years. During the last upheaval in the government the husband and wife left and went to Argentina. The husband's father stayed and kept most of the land. When things settled down the family came back and have since prospered. We toured the sheep shearing shed. The owner told about the operation.

The wife's brother was visiting for the summer from Canada and he was a sculptor who is world famous. He had carved two pieces that were salmon runs made out of a Patagonian wood. His nephew was a salmon farmer in Punta Arenas and they were for him. He had also made a Patagonian Nome that was in the garden. After our tour we went up by the house for a lamb barbeque in a shed in the back yard.

The lamb was spread out on an iron frame and cooked by an open fire. There was another pit for cooking sausage and heating the bread. We had lamb, sausage and buns, fresh tomato, avocado, lettuce, and onion salad, and other dishes and a wonderful berry dessert. There was a wonderful vegetable garden surrounded by 7-foot high raspberry and gooseberry bushes. Jim decided he could live there mainly because of the garden. We had to say goodbye to this lovely family and their farm and be off to Puerto Natales.

It was long drive, but being full most of us were able to catch a few z's on the way. Arriving in Puerto Natales was amazing as we came around the mountains by another inland sea. The town appeared to be just a few buildings here and there in the vastness. As we drove into town it was more crowded, but still a town instead of a city.

Puerto Natales is the final port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt into the Senoret Channel as well as the primary transit point for travelers to Torres del Paine National Park. It is the capital of both the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Province of Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region. It was founded on 1911 as a port for the sheep industry. Though recently the sheep industry has declined.

Our hotel, Indigo, was ultra modern Scandinavian and art deco in style. Jim and I had a hard time trying to figure out how to cover the window.

It was a big slab of wood on rollers that rolled in front of the window. The hotel is suppose to be world famous and it sat right across the street from the sea and a beautiful view of the mountains.

Puerto Natales is the jumping off city for the Torres del Paine National Park. The town was full of trekkers and shops that catered to them.

Jim and I took off and went shopping. I bought jewelry and other souvenirs. It was the first time we really had to shop. We met R.L. and Pat in town and ate supper at a café with them. The sandwiches were big and had homemade bread as buns. Yum. We talked with a young man who worked at the park and takes people on treks. He was interesting and had on a National Geographic Expedition hat that was given to him by the organization for being a guide.

We walked around some more and ran into Ruth and Jim, did some looking around with them, and went to a chocolate café for dessert. I got some chocolate, but Jim and I were too full to eat anything more. Jim and Jim went back to the hotel and Ruth and I went shopping some more. Back at the hotel we went to bed since there was no TV. There was a storm during the night and the wind howled around the building.

Day 14 Torres del Paine National Park...

Torres del Paine National Park comprises mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The landscape of the park is dominated by the Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes located on the east side of the Grey Glacier. Small valleys separate the spectacular granite spires and mountains of the massif.

We left Puerto Natales about 11:00 am and drove miles and miles through Patagonia. On the way we stopped and visited with three men and their sheep dogs driving a herd of sheep to be dipped. There must have been a thousand sheep. The wind was blowing and it was cold. One of the horsemen got off his horse and talked with Rosa while the rest of us took pictures. Later Rosa said she knew the man's family. We were very fortunate to see this sheep drive, as it seems typical of a sheep ranchers' life in remote, windy, dusty, and cold Patagonia.

Not too much further down the way was the border between Chile and Argentina. Our group ate lunch and bought souvenirs at a restaurant and store at the border. We watched other tour buses come into Chile and stop at the restaurant. After lunch we started on our way to the Hosteria Mirador del Payne where we would spend the next two nights. The road was gravel and somewhat bumpy, but many of us took naps.

As we turned off the main road and on to the road to the Hosteria we started up a long hill and when we topped the hill I saw the "Towers" and said, "There they are!" We could see the towers of Torres del Paine and it was breath taking to see them-something I had waited for a long time. Jim and I were setting in the front of the bus and I could take pictures as we drove. The mountains were beautiful and so big. The road was rough and a long way back to the Hosteria, but we saw all kinds of wildlife along the lake. The mountain views got better, but the towers disappeared behind them.

Hosteria Mirador del Payne is a working sheep station, but in order to continue to prosper the owners have turned it into a place for tourists to stay and have access to the park. One of the trails into the park leaves through the station. Our room was lovely and had a big picture window that overlooked the station, the lake and the mountains. The view was a gift from God.

Jim and several others took a walk down by the lake and I took a nap. After I woke up and Jim was back, we were looking out the window and several sheep decided to forgo the cattle crossing and get out of their paddock. We watched them and all but one got back where they were suppose to be. The little guy stood under our window and bleated for the others, finally he found his way back.

Dinner was salad, fish soup (yuck), steak and a lovely dessert. We had complementary Pisco Sours, but had to buy wine. Most of us bought water instead. As it was cloudy, it got dark early and we left to go to our rooms. The Hosteria runs on a generator and they turn the lights off at midnight and back on at 6 am. Jim and I didn't need the lights as we slept well.

It was a cool, misty, foggy day. Not a day we wanted to visit the most beautiful park in S. America, but it didn't stop us. The Hosteria packed a sack lunch for us and off we went to the park. We saw all sorts of wildlife: flamingos, guanacos, fox, nandus (an ostrich like bird), birds and other animals.

We drove to a waterfall that connected two lakes. We had to walk to the falls and took lots of pictures as we climbed over hills and rocks to get the best view. Even though we could not see the tops of the mountains because of the fog, I felt small in comparison to them and the waterfall. Everything seemed on a grand scale and gave me the feeling that I was so small in comparison to my surroundings.

When we walked back to the bus, we ate lunch on the bus because it was drizzling outside. Our lunch consisted of two huge sandwiches on homemade bread, fruit, granola bar, candy, cookies and water. It was much more than we needed.

Next we drove to Grey Glacier. In order to see the glacier we had to cross a wild river on a swinging bridge and walk about ½ mile to a causeway and then ¼ mile on the gravel and rock causeway to see the glacier. It was cold, windy and drizzly and very hard to walk on the rocks.

Jim and some others walked all the way out and got good pictures of the glacier, but I only walked half way and saw only a fraction of the glacier. There were chunks of the glacier closer by that had calved off and they were a beautiful icy blue. A boat was available for a trip to the glacier but it wasn't on our tour and we didn't get to go up close. After the glacier it was late enough that we had to get back to the Hosteria. Rosa decided we would take a new road so we could see different scenery.

New road, Ha! It was the roughest road so far. It followed Lago Torres, and went through deep cuts in the rocks, but it was by far the roughest road we had been on.

All of us were shook up and glad to get back to the road to the Hosteria. Our bus driver drove pretty fast and made the ride even rougher. We didn't get to see as much of the park as I would have liked to and it was cloudy and misty all day, but it was still a good day and we enjoyed the beauty anyway. That night for dinner we had a good time, as it would be our last night to feast together. We had salad, beef soup, salmon, and a good dessert.

After we had eaten and were stuffed, they bought us a beautiful torta for Jim's and my anniversary, which was the next day. I don't know how they expected us to eat it. I ask them to save it and serve it for breakfast the next day. I had hoped to see the Southern Cross that night, but it was cloudy. That had been another reason for me to go south of the equator. There will be a next time.

Day 15 Punta Arenas, Santiago, Atlanta, Kansas City...

The morning of our anniversary was just beautiful; the sun was shinning, and the view of the mountains and lake were so majestic I could hardly breathe. Unfortunately, we were leaving to come home. The group enjoyed breakfast and our anniversary torta. We left the beauty of the Hosteria about 9:00 am for the long trip home.

We drove about 2 hours to Puerto Natales and had one last fabulous lunch... a 3 wine glass lunch and our last Pisco Sour. The restaurant was up high above the building and we could see the inland sea and the mountains. It was Valentine's Day and each of the ladies got a red rose. Most of us left the rose with Rosa as we knew that we couldn't bring it back in the U.S. After lunch we had a 3½-hour drive back to Punta Arenas to catch our plane. It was a long drive and most of us slept.

We said our good byes to Rosa and Alberto, the bus driver, made it through the check in and up to the gate without any problems. Chile's airline rules are much more lax than in the U.S.

The plane was delayed because a woman was seriously injured and needed to be flown to a Santiago hospital. The airline took seats out in the back to make room for her gurney and an accompanying nurse. Jeff was getting worried and afraid that we wouldn't get to Santiago in time to catch our international flight. That would have meant the travel company would have to put us up in a hotel another night, because of only one flight to Atlanta per day. It was a three and half hour flight to Santiago and Jeff had the airline call ahead and hold the plane for us. We had to get our luggage, tickets, and go through customs, but we all made it. Nine and a half hours later we were in Atlanta. Customs in Atlanta took about an hour and a half, but there were no problems.

We had a 3hour layover in Atlanta and an hour and half flight to KC. We stopped for lunch and got home about 3:00 pm.

It would have been easier traveling had we not had to leave from Torres del Paine, but Punta Arenas. The last day of travel was too long.

EPILOGUE: This was definitely the trip of a lifetime. Chile is a wonderful country to visit. The people are so friendly and enjoyed having us visit. Our tour guides, Jeff Stanislawski, Terry Regan and RosaMaria were wonderful and made our trip even more enjoyable.

Jeff is from WWW Country Tours and took care of all the worry in making sure we had a good time and made it back home.

Ensenada Bay, Tierra Del Fuego

Terry is American, but lives in Chile and knows who to talk to, where to go and what to eat. Her home is on Easter Island when she is not taking agricultural groups on tour. Rosa, a young friend of Terry's from Tierro del Fuego who knows a lot about Patagonia, is just starting to guide tours.

All of the people on the trip were friendly and we all got along well. Jim and I made some good friends that we may find ourselves traveling with again in the future.

I want to go back to Chile, especially to cruise around the islands at the tip, to see the fjords, to see penguins, and the Southern Cross. Someday I will. Mary Wood, 2008

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