Christmas at the end of the world.

We parted ways with Cory in Puerto Natales as she headed north to El Calafate, then Buenos Aires and eventually North Bay for Christmas. It was great to have some company for a while, and Cyd really enjoyed catching up with her friend after many years. We headed south to... the end of the world. When you travel in Patagonia, you see the phrase "El Fin Del Mundo" everywhere, and it often feels like it. Patagonia's position as the southernmost land on the planet (excluding Antarctica) is a big part of the marketing for the area.

Ushuaia, Argentina calls itself the southernmost city in the world. Puerto Williams, Chile is south of Ushuaia across the Beagle Channel on Navarino Island and disputes Ushuaia's claim.  Although it would be hard pressed to call itself a city, Puerto Williams is a registered municipality, so perhaps the southernmost town in the world would be a fairer statement. Then on the east coast of Navarino Island and slightly south of Puerto Williams is the fishing village of Puerto Toro. They settle on the "southernmost permanently inhabited community in the world." With the competing claims of Ushuaia, Puerto Williams and Puerto Toro we visited all three just to be safe.

First we hopped on a bus to Punta Arenas, Chile for a few days. Punta Arenas is the largest city in Patagonia with a population well over 100,000. It is a flourishing port and tourist hub with old downtown mansions leftover from the Patagonian wool boom.

December 23rd was my birthday. While we spent Cyd's birthday in September dealing with snowstorms and floods in Utah, I got to spend my birthday on the high seas. We boarded a ferry at 6:30 pm for a two hour ride across the Strait of Magellan to Isla Magdalena where we spent an hour in the wind and rain hanging out with 120,000 Magellanic penguins. The island is pretty much completely bare, and completely covered with penguins as far as we could see. They hung out in their burrows with their babies, conducted important looking debates in small groups, and purposefully strutted around the island as only penguins can. They were smaller than we expected - one of 17 species of penguin, Magellanic penguins max out at about 30" tall - but just as cute as we'd imagined.

Penguins everywhere you looked.

Patagonia - Torres del Paine

When we first started making plans for an extended visit to South America, Torres del Paine was the first place on our itinerary. It's also on most "best hikes in the world" lists. There are numerous trails to hike at Torres del Paine, but most people do one of several options that include a trip up to the Mirador (lookout) de Las Torres. Many people do it as a long day hike, while many do it as part of the popular "W" trail (named for its shape) over 4 - 6 days. We weren't travelling all this way to take any shortcuts, so we planned 10 days to do the full Paine Circuit, about 130 kms of mountains, lakes and glaciers.

Torres del Paine is just north of Puerto Natales, so we had to cross back into Chile. At our request, Cory had brought down some dehydrated backpacking meals for the trek as this type of food is almost impossible to find in South America. Chilean customs are notoriously picky about allowing food into the country, so we let Cory be the mule and carry the meals in her backpack. We all sighed with relief when she managed to convince the authorities that dehydrated camping food was no threat to the integrity of the Chilean agricultural system.

Puerto Natales has all the same amenities as El Calafate - lots of accommodations, restaurants, outdoor stores and tour companies. It is more affordable and somehow manages to escape the touristy feel of El Calafate. It felt like a real town that just happened to be the gateway to some of the best hiking in the world. We quickly completed our food shopping when we arrived in town, enjoyed some great beer and burgers at Baguales brewpub, then headed to the park the next day.

Looking back at Refugio Las Torres on Day One.

Patagonia - Perito Moreno Glacier

To give ourselves a bit of a rest between the Fitz Roy hiking and our longer Torres del Paine trek, we decided to hang out for a couple of nights in El Calafate and visit the Perito Moreno glacier. The glacier trip had all the things we dislike about over popular tourist attractions - busloads of visitors and expensive entry fees, transportation, food and gift concessions. Of course there are very good reasons the Perito Moreno glacier is so popular. It is one on the most active and accessible glaciers on the planet and was definitely worth putting up with the crowds and high costs.

The view of the glacier from the parking lot.

Patagonia - Fitz Roy

I couldn't say exactly when I first decided that I wanted to visit Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, but I was in my teens and enthralled by a National Geographic article on the area. The photos were stunning. This was years before I knew anything about the Yukon, and I had no idea there were places on the planet that were so powerful, raw and beautiful. It took me over thirty years, but I finally made it down for a visit in late November.