The 20th was our last full day on Chiloe, and we had an easy, cultural day. Drove to Dalcahue and caught the vehicular ferry to the island of Quinchao, just across the channel. Then drove to the town of Achao, about half way along. We walked along the waterfront, which has a shiny new board-walk, and ate some local oysters. Wandered through the local craft market, and Cath found a throw-rug that she liked, so I had to do battle with a local ATM. After many goes it yielded to a variation in strategy, and all was well. Our lunch stop was a visit to the organic farm that a local woman runs all by herself. The tour was fascinating. Back to Dalcahue and more craft markets resulted in another throw rug purchase.
The 21st was check-out day. We had to leave by 12:00 to transfer to the airport at Puerto Montt for our 17:10 flight. Did the walk around the hotel property beforehand, which was nice. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that my good Parisian pocket knife/bottle-opener was still in my satchel, and it failed to sneak past the airport security, who have it now. Very sad.
The flight to Punta Arenas was uneventful, and the taxi ride to the hotel exciting (our driver seemed to think that 30% over the limit was a good idea), but ultimately also uneventful. Arrived at the hotel in time for dinner, and turned in for a relatively early night, as pick-up for the transfer to the hotel at Torres del Pine was at 8:30. That four hour trip was mostly boring, but we got there in time for a bit of lunch and the afternoon activity.
We grabbed our camera gear and went in search of views of the “horns” across one of the lakes. It started a persistent drizzle that stayed with us for the afternoon, and by the end we were relatively soaked, despite spray jackets. On the way we saw a puma, scouting around a copse of trees near the road to check that it was safe, we assume a place to sleep. Didn’t see puma on the last trip, so that’s a big win straight away! Saw the falls and the view, and the walk was lovely. Half way home, Cath’s camera siezed up and would not turn on. Apart from a brief episode last night, it has not powered up again since, and so we are now trying to figure out how to get a replacement to meet us in Punta Arenas before we depart for Antarctica.
Photos to follow once we have time….
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