Birthday Bash

Today is Steve´s Birthday! And how do we celebrate? Sleep in a cozy little hotel with snow blowing outside in Puerto Natales. Then luxuriate in a hot tub at a local spa; aroma therapy, fresh cold water to drink, and plinky-plunky tunes in a funky little tent. We follow that with a stop at an amazing bakery for fresh breads and treats. We finish with a meal at Afrigonia. This is a lovely restaurant owned by a Zambian and a Patagonian with an African theme. It has been highly recommended. This fun day was perfectly punctuated by a birthday card from Gary and Linda which was waiting for us in our hotel when we arrived!

Our continuing journey south has been good. We enjoyed our bus trip which was fast and comfortable from the wine country to Puerto Montt. From there we rented a car and went to Puerto Varas, a small tourist town on the lake similar to Santa Barbara where we bet 1000 pesos and won 5000 pesos in the casino! We also took our rental car on a ferry which took us to Chiloe Island, where we drove way too far on a dirt road to check out penguins. There were few penguins and you had to get in a boat to see them so we skipped it. But we hiked to the top of a hill, the sun came out, and we had a great view. We also went to a restaurant there and enjoyed ¨Loco Empenadas¨ and beer.

We then left Puerto Montt and made voyage on a ferry traveling 3 days south. Our room consisted of 4 bunks, 4 small lockers, and a pleasant german couple. The scenery was breath-taking as we traveled south on an inside passage down the coast of Chile. We experienced sun, snow, wind, and high seas, and very few Americans on board. It was quite an adventure.

Now we are going to Torres del Paine National Park. We are renting a car again and heading out tomorrow. The weather is brutally cold so we are desperately wishing for global warming to advance quickly. With that goal in mind, we are buying hair spray by the case and spraying as fast as we can. Do join us! We are wearing everything we brought and are often still cold! Hasta luego!