santiago Archives - ETB Travel Photography

At 3:30 am, the stars twinkled overhead. We dressed in pants and long sleeves and packed our jackets, hats, gloves, and snacks up to Torres del Paine under of the guidance of our headlamps along with a trail of lights from other campers. The ranger suggested we arrive by 4:45am to see the sunrise. I think we got there sooner.

Once again, we climbed up the rocky hillside for a perfect view only we weren’t sure exactly where the sun would rise. We broke a sweat as we ascended and piled on extra layers of clothes. It’s amazing how warm both our sleeping bag and the sun is, as the darkness in Patagonia is cold! I put on all my clothes and had to dance around occasionally to keep my feet and hands from going numb.

the moon

first light

The thin wisps of clouds behind the torres turned pink around 5 am. I think we may have waited an additional 1.5 hours to see the sun light up all the torres on the diagonal. It was breath taking to watch the grey granite torres turn more and more orange with every minute as the color moved down the rocks. As we waited we saw an avalanche. The morning couldn’t have been any better! It was spectacular to end 2015 and begin 2016 at the Torres del Paine…and with perfect weather to boot!

Photos every 15 minutes starting at 5am. Watch the light change!:

pink clouds

light started hitting the torres

light started hitting the torres…not on rock to right or south torre

light moving down the torres…hasn’t hit south torre yet

light moving down the torres

from a different angle, but the light keeps moving down

Other photos from New Year’s morning:

David hiked to the top of the ridge which is off limits when the rangers are around

Zoomed in!

With our legs on the tired side, we strolled down to camp, heated some water for oatmeal and coffee, and packed up our gear. I read it took 3.5 to 4 hours to get down to the hotel for the shuttle ride. We had tickets for the 2:30 Bus Gomez who really has their act together. We had to get the 2 pm shuttle from the hotel to Laguna Amarga for 2,800 pesos and wanted enough time to eat lunch by the hotel that is $500/night and requires a two night minimum stay. As such, we hiked down at a slow pace around 8:45am. I think it only took us 2.5 hours so we chilled out with some other campers while we waited for our transportation. One girl quipped, “This is going to be a stinky bus ride.” No doubt!

The shuttles ran at 9, 2, 4, 7:30, according to the chalk board at the ranch style hotel, but one came early around 1, so we hopped on and paid our fare. Sadly, we both fell asleep on the slow, 20 minute bus ride to the administration office where we waited in the shade of a shelter with several others for our 2 hour bus ride to Puerto Natales. We learned to dress according to the weather for the bus rides as A/C and heat were lacking. In shorts and T-shirts, we were hot!

From the bus station, we meandered through the quiet town as most everything was closed for New Year’s Day to Kau Lodge. This time at least we got twin beds that weren’t bunk beds. With nothing clean to wear, the shower became our washer and later in the evening we celebrated New Year’s dinner at Afrigonia which received spectacular reviews on Trip Advisor. I suppose we should have stuck with the regular menu as the king crab special was expensive, over cooked, and somewhat flavorless, especially with out warm butter. Having said that, with as much crab as I have shelled and eaten in my lifetime, I’ve never had a giant king crab placed in front of me. It was a fun experience, and David liked the curried shrimp and scallops he ordered. Not being a curry fan, I skipped that.

The coffee shop at our hotel has happy hour and makes tangerine sours. Apparently happy hour wasn’t over even though it was 9pm, so we ended the night with a sour and dessert. I think I passed out before 10, but who knows. We were up before 6 getting breakfast and a taxi to the bus station for the 7:15 am Bus Fernandez to Punta Arenas. This may have been the nicest bus with assigned seats, a bathroom, and temperature controlled.

We enjoyed our last view of the countryside…wind blown trees, lamb, guanacos, bus stops in the middle of nowhere, flowers that looked like blue bonnets, estancias and more. Three hours later we arrived at the airport, very early for our flight, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. The airport was small, but nice with two restaurants and three shops or so. The cash machine was out of order, so glad we didn’t need any money! We were trying to get rid of the rest of ours, and I have to say the restaurant upstairs was really good! I got a chicken sandwich that had about two avocados of guacamole…not the thin spread that barely covers the bread that restaurants in the States serve! We had an awesome trip, though I’m looking forward to home. ETB

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photographic note card, lighthouse — LIGHTHOUSE

After enjoying a wonderful Christmas party at my Mom’s Friday night, we set out for our Christmas vacation to Patagonia. Our flight Saturday departed 9:50pm. When we tried checking in at AA, they couldn’t check our bags to our final destination because we were supposedly “unconfirmed” on the LAN portion of our flights. So eventually we just checked our bags to our first stop in Santiago, Chile where we had a long layover.

In the meantime, we made sure we were confirmed on our LAN flights to Buenos Aires and El Calafate. We were. Oh well..worse case we’d wander around Santiago wearing our backpacks and best case we’d find a storage locker. Fortunately, upon arrival, we found a guarded baggage room where we could store two bags for 10,000 pesos or about $14.

After deciphering the Spanish ATM, we grabbed a cab which is metered to Plaza de Armas. Following a combination of a few walking tours from GPSmycity.com, we soaked in the highlights. At the plaza we admired the Christmas tree art made from scraps and stopped in the nearby Santiago Municipal Cathedral. The cathedral, built in the mid to late 1700s, is one of the largest in Chile.

From the church, we passed through a pedestrian shopping area and a variety of markets. Our taxi driver pointed out the fish market, so we meandered through the building. Inside, restaurants offered a plethora of seafood plates. We enjoyed lunch at Galeon.

Moving on at a leisurely pace, we passed by a beautiful arts complex and walked through a fantastic park called Santa Lucia Hill. We got a little practice in for our hiking trip as we took quite a few old stairs up to the tower atop the hill. The tower provided a panoramic view of the city that was surrounded by mountains. We also enjoyed the fountains and relaxed in the shade on a park bench. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Luc%C3%ADa_Hill

From the park, we walked to the municipal theater who’s inaugural show, Ernani, played in 1857. Our final stop was La Mondeda Museum. The cultural center is located under Citizenry Square. It houses a small film center, craft rooms, a photography show as well as a museum displaying Samurai pieces. It was a neat place though relatively quiet and empty.

Citizenry Square

In fact, for a Sunday, we felt the historical downtown area was somewhat quiet, though after a long red-eye flight it was perfect for us. Perhaps everyone was shopping for Christmas in Bella Vista. TripAdvisor recommended visiting this neighborhood, but we didn’t want to rush around. Perhaps we will come back, as the European vibe and friendly people appealed to us. We particularly got a kick out of the traffic signals. When the light was about the change, the walk sign turned into a person running! For now, however, we returned to the airport to make our way to El Chalten via Buenos Aires and El Calafate. ETB