All the Way Home

April 7, Thursday

Air Canada gave us a nice hot meal about an hour into the flight. I, unfortunately, got a little bit of salad and dressing stuck on top of my "windpipe" and had a terrific coughing fit. I think I alarmed the stewardess, because she later gave me not only a glass of orange juice but a whole can of Sprite, and that was a great help in getting over the cough.

I slept surprisingly well for about 5 or 6 hours overnight, in spite of being in the middle of three seats. Breakfast was served on the plane about an hour before we landed.

We landed about 25 minutes early, and that was fortunate because we both had just two hours between flights and needed to go through customs, pick up our luggage, and find our connecting flights. Getting through customs was fine, no problems, and when we found the carousel with our flight's bags, mine came through promptly, but D.S.'s nice new duffle wasn't there.

He asked an airport employee about it and was told he was in the wrong area. On the way to the baggage pickup we had seen two confusing signs. One directed people with International connections to go to the left, and the other directed those connecting in Canada and US to go to the right. He was told rather abruptly that he had made a mistake and should have followed the International connections route and he should be in area 3G.

So our time together came to an abrupt end as we had to head in different directions. We said a quick goodbye and went our separate ways. It was a quick, strange ending to our two and a half weeks together, but in some ways I was glad it came up so suddenly. The last few days I had been feeling sad that this wonderful adventure together was going to end pretty soon and this quick cutoff meant I didn't have time to cry over it!

I made my flight easily, and was even able to change my seat assignment from a 24A (window) to 13D, an aisle seat much nearer the front, always my preferred choice.

This flight landed late but Dear One was not at the luggage carousel when I got there. About five minutes later he came down the stairs and I ran to greet him. So happy to see each other again! He said I looked better than he had expected, based on my email. (I had taken time to wash my face, comb my hair and apply some makeup after I left the place. I wished I had my toothbrush, but

that was in my backpack.)

All the way home I chattered about the wonderful time I'd had. I fixed some dinner, had a shower and then a good, long nap. When I woke up there was a welcome home present for me: This beautiful bouquet of deep red roses (darker than in this picture). They were outstanding and lasted for well over a week.

Now it's back to the ordinary routine as the garden centre is becoming busy. In the four weeks since I came home there have been several string rehearsals, two concerts (since I skipped the Mozart Requiem rehearsals and performances) and Dear Sis came for a week-long visit from Arizona. Life is full and life is good!

Travel Days

April 5, Tuesday

I was feeling pretty miserable from that cold last evening, so I took some aspirin when I went to bed and slept fairly well until 4 a.m. We were both awake early, but didn't dare go back to sleep for fear of sleeping past our breakfast/taxi time. We finally got up about 6:45.

Breakfast was served to us about 7:40 and was excellent, beginning with crepes and including scrambled eggs. The taxi arrived promptly at 8 a.m. and we were treated to the sight of the sun rising over the water as we drove to the airport.

We had read in yesterday's newspaper that our flight would leave at 9:55, not at 10:55 according to the information we had. But when we entered the airport the counter was closed and there was no activity at all. Then we saw on the Departures board that our flight was scheduled to leave at 12:35. Not much to do except sit down, buy a cup of coffee and read a novel for a couple of hours. It was amusing to watch other travelers arrive, show surprise and worry that the counter was closed and empty, and then settle down to wait, much as we had. We think the earlier scheduled flights didn't have enough passengers, so they were just held off until a later time. There should have been at least three flights by 12:35. It made us grateful that we hadn't planned to fly out of Santiago that same day, or we would have been very worried about making the connection.

We were finally able to board around 12:45, and were back in Santiago around 5 p.m. We picked up our backpacks and D.S. bought us passage on Transvip, a small van that took us directly to our hotel.

I tried to use the internet while D.S. went out to buy some supper. My cold was pretty bad, and I was scheduled to wait around the airport tomorrow until evening and then go to a rehearsal. I needed to cancel that and get Jim to pick me up from the airport in the morning. I will try again to send emails in the morning, to make these new arrangements.

April 6, Wednesday

We were awakened around 1 a.m. and again around 6 a.m. by someone tromping around the room above us. Never thought of that when they gave us a second floor room!

I felt pretty feverish from that miserable cold, and will have to do my best over the next 36 hours as we pass some time here and then travel on home. D.S. had bought some more lozenges last night and I was grateful for them.

After breakfast--same menu as usual--we packed our bags, keeping out a few things to use for today, left them at the hotel and went out for a walk about. It was a summery day, and we spent time in a lovely green park.

I've mentioned how many stray dogs there are running around these cities. Well, today we finally saw a few cats and it was quite amusing. This was a tall monument in that park with this unique feature: it was surrounded by a wrought iron fence. These cats are enjoying a peaceful spot, since the dogs are not able to get through the fence.

We enjoyed some relaxation also, sitting on a park bench for quite some time, having a bite to eat, thinking back over the last two weeks. It was exactly two weeks ago that we landed in Santiago and began our adventure. In a few hours we'll take a taxi back to the airport and begin the long flight home.

I've mentioned the police presence among the crowds and today we saw, for the first time, police patrolling on horseback. They looked very fine, and strolled slowly along among the crowds. The police are always in pairs, and their presence made me feel quite safe.

By 3 p.m. we were back at the hotel and the taxi drew up. The driver claimed to be the best taxi driver in the world and asked, Did we want to go the airport in the usual 20 minutes, or would we like the super fast ride of only 5 minutes? We chose the safer alternative, although as we were zipping along in traffic with him chatting a mile a minute, waving both arms in the air, turning around now and then to look at us, we said a few prayers. But we did make it safely there.

We went through a long line to drop off our bags. D.S.'s bag was routed in such a way that he had to pick it up in Toronto, go through Canadian customs, and then find his flight to San Francisco. Didn't seem to make much sense, but the woman at the counter wasn't persuaded to route it straight to San Francisco.

Boarded our plane for home, a much smaller plane than the flight down here, and unhappily overbooked. We had been asked if we would take an alternate flight, but we both said no. The overbooking means every seat is filled and there will be no stretching out for a good sleep on this flight. We'll just have to do our best.

Winding Down

April 4, Monday

Yesterday I felt the beginning of a sore throat. Dear Son had had some problems along that line, bothering him for the last three nights, but feeling o.k. during the day. We had visited a pharmacy to pick up some lozenges and look for some antihistamines. So he gave me some of the lozenges and that helped a lot overnight.

In the morning we had our "hostel breakfast." I took a picture because this particular bun was so egregiously dry and hard, but on the picture the breakfast looks great. D.S. had three buns, since the other two people staying overnight were in a rush this morning to catch the bus to the park and took only their yogurt containers.

We stayed the morning in the hostel, packing and doing some reading. Our bus to Punta Arenas left at 1 p.m. We had the front seat with a marvelous view out the front window. But after a bit it started to rain and the good view was wasted. The defroster was going full blast and the warm air flowed straight to us. That became quite uncomfortable, as my throat was pretty scratchy.

By 4 p.m. we were in Punta Arenas and checked into the hostel we had reserved right around the corner from the bus station. We have a nice room with its own bathroom, warm and with lots of hot water for a good shower.

For supper we went back to The Pines café where we had been introduced to the "monster" burger, and ordered the same. D. S. had to finish mine for me.

Then we took a walk up to the cemetery because Carla had said there's a very fine cemetery here. And sure enough, it was large, very well kept with many interesting mausoleums. One of the most interesting features was what looked from a distance like an apartment building, but was actually a kind of "grave apartment." Each of these cubicles is a grave compartment. Pretty much all of the burials here are above ground.

Some of the mausoleums had beautiful stained glass windows. The colours here were very much richer than the camera could capture.

There were avenues of these "popsicle" trees.

Some of the mausoleums near the entrance were

extremely elaborate.

By the time we had finished touring the cemetery, I was finished for the day. The sore throat was escalating into a flu-like fever and chills. I was ready for that nice bed in the warm room at the Hostel Avenida.

Our flight to Santiago tomorrow morning is supposed to leave at 10:55, but D.S. saw a chart in the newspaper that listed that flight as 9:55, so we thought we should get to the airport no later than 8:30. Our hostess at the hostel was very gracious when we asked for an early breakfast, and also agreed to make sure a taxi was at the door at 8 a.m. to take us to the airport.

Sunday in Puerto Natales

After a cold night, Sunday morning dawned

dark and windy. We had the usual breakfast of a bun and yogurt, and made some of our own "real" coffee, rather than the ubiquitous Nescafé. Here is Dear Son reading in the "dining room" dressed as warmly as possible to suit the "indoor" weather.

We ate a bit of couscous with some jam, and then went out for a long walk. First we visited the bus station to buy tickets to Punta Arenas for tomorrow. D.S. managed that

whole transaction in Spanish. Kudos!

We had seen a high green wall up the hill and went to see what that was all about. It surrounded a cemetery that was just like a small, crowded village complete with streets, alleys and houses. All very neatly kept, well painted, many sporting bouquets of plastic flowers. These "homes" for the dead were in better repair than the majority of houses in this city.

We found the city spookily empty on this quiet Sunday. Any other time we walked around in any of the three cities we visited, the sidewalks were crowded with people of all ages. Sunday afternoon it was "dead," no people walking, hardly any cars on the streets. It all seemed kind of eerie.

Because there are so terribly many stray dogs around, garbage needs to be protected and these metal "baskets" up on a pole provide that protection. This basket was

unusually ornate, but then so was the little garden in which it stood.

We came upon an avenue with a large parklike boulevard in the middle. Up on the top of the hill was this remarkable figure of a man.

This sculpture is in a small park celebrating the

origins of the peoples here. The plaque named it

"The Four Tribes" and told of the four possible

origins of the local people.

Turning around at the foot of the statue we looked down the broad avenue toward the harbour.

First we walked around a school with a large block for playing areas, including a nearby small stadium.

Then we headed down this avenue toward

harbor area. You can see on all these pictures that the streets are deserted.

In the harbor area we saw these boats, many

of them hauled out of the water, possibly for

the season. This is getting to be late in the season and felt very much like a late fall day, heading into winter. Their winter is pretty mild with the average low temperature a

"balmy" -2ºC.

It was while we were down by the water that

a group of stray dogs took an interest in us. It was the only time that happened and was probably just because there were so few people around. At no other time did I feel at all threatened by the large numbers of dogs wandering around, apparently unowned.

We did a little more shopping on the way back to the hostel. There was one shop in particular that sold lovely handknit and handwoven items that I was interested in. But there was nothing that came home with me.

Most of the houses here are very small, close together and in need of repair. Many are painted bright lime green, deep aqua blue, rosy pink. There are a few new houses scattered among them that would be at home in any major city. This interesting old house seemed to us as if it would be at home in some small Russian village.

The most interesting thing happened as we crossed the street to this house. The curtain was pulled aside and a short young woman peered out at us, waving and smiling at us with the total friendliness of a simple minded soul. Such a striking vignette that made!

So we were back at the hostel after our tour of Puerto Natales. We both like this smaller (20,000) city very much and have enjoyed the time we spent here, coming and going.

Return to Ordinary

April 2, Saturday

This morning we slept until 8 and then enjoyed the excellent buffet breakfast that came along with the price of the room. In preparation for leaving we sorted through our hastily packed stuff and repacked much more carefully. My hiking shoes were still totally wet, so I wore my black leather loafers today.

After checking out at the front desk, we had a few hours to wait for the shuttle to take us back to the park entrance where we would be picked up by bus and taken back to Puerto Natales. We spent that time partly in the hotel lounge where the view is fantastic.

We also mingled with the other hikers who were waiting for transport out of the park. I gained a modicum of fame for being one of the few who actually made it to the top of the trail, certainly the only "old geezer" to do so. There were young fellows there (from Arizona) who gave up when confronted with

all that snow.

We chatted quite a while with Carly, the Australian fellow who took our picture at the mirador. He's a base jumper and has jumped in Yosemite where D.S. lives and works.

There were two vans to transport the large group of hikers. The drivers loaded all the backpacks and started crowding passengers into the vans--more than they were supposed to carry. I took one look at how crowded it was in the back and said, "Oh, I can't sit back there! I'm way too claustrophobic." Someone pointed me to the front passenger seat which, fortunately, was empty, and I gratefully climbed in there. That was a great seat with lots of elbow room and "breathing space" and a good view of the road out of the park.

The road was more pothole than road, and progress was slow. The van lurched from side to side, trying to avoid the worst and deepest potholes. The funniest part came at the very end where we had to cross a narrow bridge to get to where the busses were waiting for us. Our driver rolled down his window to peer out his side, steering carefully and slowly across the bridge since there was only about 6" clearance on either side of the van. After we got out of the van we realized that neither van had side view mirrors! There wasn't room for them on that bridge.

We sorted ourselves into the various busses for the 2 1/2 hour return trip to Puerto Natales. Our bus had mudsplashed windows, so there was no picture taking on the way back.

We were a little concerned about finding a place to stay in Puerto Natales, since we had told Carla we would come back on Sunday and we were a day early, but when the bus left us off at the small park by Erratic Rock, there was Carla, smiling and waving at us. She gave us a key to the hostel and we went over to drop off our stuff.

Then, because we do like to walk, we went for a long walk around town. First stop was a shop where D.S. had seen a heavy duty duffle bag he wanted to buy. It was on sale, well made, and he's very happy with it. He was able to pack all of his things, including the tent and his backpack, into the new duffle for the trip home. Plus, it's bright red, so very easy to spot on the luggage carousel.

We stopped to buy some groceries for meals and then did a little shopping. I bought myself a pair of enamel earrings, with deep blue, forest green and white, symbolic of the forest, snow and sky of our hike. Also found some really neat carved wooden salad fork and spoon sets for presents.

Back at the hostel we cooked up some soup and had a bun with sliced chicken and cheese for supper. D.S. took a shower but I'm waiting for a warmer bathroom. And so to bed. Almost seems funny to be back in a city. I really loved hoisting on my backpack and getting on the trail each day, and that part of our trip is finished.

Coming Back Down

April 1, Friday, continued

We stayed a while at the Mirador Los Torres, hoping that the mist would clear and we'd get a clear shot of all the towers, but that was not to be. Mountains seem to make their own weather. I once read a description of a "cloud looking for a mountain to cling to" and that might be accurate.

As we went down the trail we met a few groups coming up. The first was three young Dutchmen, asking "How much further?" Dear Son said, only 15 minutes, and I added, "If I could do it, you can!" Each small group of hikers asked the same question, "How much further?"

Well, that was just what we had wondered. On our way up D.S. had said a few times, "Just over the ridge," and finally, "I hate to say it again, but it's just over there."

Not very far down the trail we saw a beautiful red fox. I snapped a few photos of him running among the trees.

Later we stopped beside the trail to make some lunch: couscous with a little parmesan sprinkled over it. It's remarkable how good everything tastes outdoors, especially when you've worked up an appetite.

As we were eating the young Dutchies came down the trail and said, "Thanks for encouraging us!"

On the downhill trek both D.S. and I said, quite emphatically, that we didn't want to sleep another night in that cold, cold campground. We decided to pack up and go back to the comfort of the hotel Las Torres.

We reached the campground at 5 p.m. and in 15 minutes had taken down the tent and packed it and our sleeping bags and all our gear into our backpacks. We set off again, and enjoyed the lovely Ascensio Valley on

our way down.

This is the view of the broad valley we are heading for. I had a short video clip that I tried to upload, but no dice, so we'll settle for this still.

It took us a full two hours to descend from El Chileno campground to the hotel Torres. I could feel my middle toe on my right foot complaining about how much downhill we were doing that day, but at that point I was too tired to even answer it. (That toenail is still purple. I think I'll lose it.)

At 7:15 we checked back into the hotel, had a hot shower and went down to the lounge for some supper, not choosing the expensive (but nice) buffet meal. We both ordered a "Patagon Burger" which turned out to be one of those humungous burgers I showed earlier, but even better: this one had everything on it, including avocado. It was super good and thoroughly appreciated.

So our BIG DAY ended in comfort and pleasure. We figured we had hiked about 14 kilometers in all that day. It was a fantastic experience and neither of us will ever forget it. Thanks to D.S. for making it possible for me to have this wonderful experience! I couldn't have done it without him!

THE BIG DAY!!!

April 1, Friday

I have a lot of pictures to post for this, the most important and exciting day of our trek so I plan to take us only through the noon hour in this post, and then finish telling the story of the day tomorrow.

We got up around 7 a.m., hiked up the hill to nature's biffy. I discovered that clean snow makes a good substitute for toilet paper, and is not as uncomfortable as you'd imagine.

We left about 7:30, skipping breakfast for now. More dire: skipping that first cup of
coffee!!

Soon the sun came up and was shining brilliantly on the hills above us.

An hour and half of uphill hiking brought us to the Torres Campground where we found a three sided shelter, just right for cooking some breakfast.

When I asked that the first boiling water be used to make coffee, D.S. chided me, "That's
really being addicted." But he did make the coffee first. Thanks!

The second batch of boiling water was used to make a warming pot of oatmeal, which we dug into with our little plastic spoons.

Tasted great! A quick clean up and we were on the trail again.

You can see from this picture that the weather was quite nice. We had a lot of sunshine on the way up, so much so that I've taken off my Goretext shell and tied the arms around my waist. Since we left our tent, sleeping bags and backpacks at the campground, I'm carrying only a small black bag with my camera and a water bottle.

The orange post beside the trail marks the trail for times when it's snow covered. There were areas like this one where the drop off was quite steep. If I had stepped off the trail I would have gone all the way down the hill.

For most of the way the trail wound through treed

areas, and that provided some protection from

the greatest amounts of snowfall. It's not too deep around the trail here.

The farther up the trail we went, the deeper the snow got. At one point a young couple passed us on their way down. They had turned around before reaching the top. From that point on D.S. was breaking trail through the snow cover.

Then we came to this area. Leaving the forest we came to a large, snow covered

boulder field. Because there was no protection from the weather, the snow here was waist deep. We couldn't see where the trail was as the orange posts were quite far apart, but we sensed the the end of the trail and the lookout for the Torres was just over the crest of that hill.

This was where the going got really hard. D.S. went ahead of me, gouging deep holes in the snow with every step. I followed as best I could. At one point I got stuck, with my left leg bent up behind from the knee, and the right leg down in a deep hole. D.S. later said that I kind of "wallowed" out of that.

At one point I told him just to go ahead with the camera, and I'd wait there for him. But he encouraged me to keep going. He got so excited when we neared the top that he went running ahead (well, as much as running in waist deep snow is possible) like a little kid who's going to the beach and has to run the last 100 yards. I so enjoyed his excitement!

He reached the top, and them came back and pulled me forward in his excitement. I struggled up the last few yards, and THERE WE WERE!!! at the end of the trail. The sign reads: Mirador Las Torres Fin de Sendero/End of Trail. A mirador is a lookout or viewpoint. The famous Torres (towers) the park is named for are behind us. Nearest us is the North Torre, in the mist behind the two is us is the Central Torre, and behind the sign, in even more mist is the South Torre.

We did it! Broke trail all the way to the top. A quiet young man had been following us, and reached the top a few minutes later. And soon a fellow in his mid-forties from Australia arrived. He was kind enough to take a picture with our camera of this high point (in all senses) for us.

It was noon when we got there, so we had a few bites to eat of some snack food. Although the scene behind us is very misty, the sky was clear in the other direction, and the sun was warm and bright. Altogether, a great day for our big adventure!