We are in the cold, deep south of the World. As far
south as one can get without running in to Michael Palin!
A lone tanker passes through Magellan Straits. It took
Magellan himself 36 days in a sailing ship.
His joy
and excitement at discovering the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans was short-lived. He died in a conflict on an island some weeks later.
Jorje (George, as his name was in English), was our
very able local guide to all that we saw on the next leg of our journey north to
Puerto Natales.
Rheas, for instance are a relative of the
ostrich family. Seen here with babies.
We think this is a Cara cara or maybe an eagle.
A pair of upland geese.
A bevy of bird watchers.
The sun just kept on shining. George admitted that we
were very lucky. Sometimes people come for weeks and see only cloud and
rain.
Bit like Wales, then!
(The map at the end shows our route highlighted from Punta
Arenas to Puerto Natales.)
Our stopover was to be in the delightful
port of Puerto Natales.
Our hotel was right on the waterfront.
During the meal I kept nipping out to take more sunset pictures as the light
was constantly changing.
Tomorrow, we would be heading for the
hills: these hills; big hills: the Torres del Paine. The Patagonia national
park.
The colour of the sky as dusk faded gently
into darkness was pretty special. Tomorrow, we go into the heart of
Patagonia.
