Puerto Natales (part 1) and El Calafate.

After eventually disembarking we made our way to the Erratic Rock 1 Hostel where we had our reservation. This turned out to be a great little place with fantastic staff headed by Bill & Paul. It's a really cosy hostel with a well-equipped kitchen and busy social area. The only dampener was that the double room we had was freezing at night because the heater was broken much to Lynne's dismay!! The hostel also has a hiking shop attached that puts on a free talk every day at 15:00 which covers everything you need to know about hiking around the Torres Del Paine National Park – the reason we are here!!! That night we cooked and enjoyed a casserole (the meat here is almost as good & cheap as in Argentina) whilst chatting with other guests about their stay and more importantly their experiences hiking around the Park. We decided to go to El Calafate first to see the Perito Morreno Glaciar before getting on our rucksacks & hiking boots and entering the park.

Tuesday: After booking our bus for El Calafate on Wednesday, the rest of the day was spent doing some admin tasks – booking buses (for Ushuaia and Punta Arenas) and hiring the necessary gear for the hike in the National Park.

Wednesday: An early morning bus took us back in to Argentine and El Calafate – the base town for visits to the very touristy Perito Morreno Glacier. After a bit of a error in our logistical planning we managed to get a bus to take us to the Glacier that afternoon within half an hour of arriving to ensure we could return to Puerto Natales the next day. Fortunately for us the staff at Hostel Buenos Aires (where we stayed) were absolutely fantastic and sorted out everything for us. (We should also add that the room was great – we were upgraded for no extra cost to an en-suite). The Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is fairly vast with several hikes and boats excursions amongst other activities available. However, the main attraction is Perito Moreno and this is all we had time to see. What makes the Perito Moreno special is, (like the Pio XI glacier,) that it is still advancing, up to 2 metres per day, while most of the world's other glaciers are receding. Having had the opportunity to visit Pio XI on the Navimag ferry we weren't too sure what to expect but the glacier really is a treat to visit, it's enormous and the park really gives you a chance to appreciate the sheer scale of it. Walking round the many walkways opposite we witnessed the constant creaks and groaning of the ice and even saw several large chunks of ice breaking off and crashing into the water below. A fascinating natural event, one that made the whole trip here worthwhile. That evening we strolled round town enjoying a few local empanadas and purchasing some more of the famed beef fillet from the butchers. WOW......we both agree that the steak we cooked that night was probably one of the best we have ever had – if not the best – it melted in the mouth like butter!!! The meat is so good it makes even David think he is a world class chef!! There were two other British couples staying in the hostel that evening – also cooking steak! After dinner we all sat around chatting, discussing travel plans and getting advice on our upcoming hike around Torres Del Paine.

We took the bus back to Puerta Natales the following day, once again facing the arduous customs system to enter back into Chile. We arrived around 10pm so headed straight to bed to get as much sleep as possible before we hit the park!