wanderingbishops.com

Because of the projected rain for today Wladimir switched our schedule and we are going to spend the day mostly on a sheltered boat, exploring some glaciers in the area.

Mother Nature always seems to average out and we are paying for the good weather we had in Puerto Varas. It is rainy today and even more windy! But it is the peak summer time here. No matter, says Wlad. It can be this way any time of the year. We were told to wear layers so off I went with my merino wool undershirt I bought last year in New Zealand, my wind breaker, neck/face scarf, wool hat, gloves, my puffy vest and my rain coat. Added to that were my rain pants, woolen socks and luckily the gore Tex covered shoes I added at the last-minute. Oh, and by the time we went on our hike to see the glacier I added the rain poncho on top of all the rest!

We were on a large new catamaran with other groups but had reserved section of the boat so we could all be together. It was a planned all day excursion to see the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers and stop at an estancia along the way for lunch. During the next three some hours we sailed along the shores of the sound, making photo stops to see a cormorant breeding area, a sea-lion colony, a condor cliff( they were not flying because of the rain), and several very nice waterfalls.

We docked at Bernardo O’Higgins National Park to “hike” to viewing points of the Serrano glacier. There were two options: a short 10 minute walk to a viewing platform or a 1.2 km hike (1 hour estimate) to get much closer to the glacier. It was raining but I was prepared and joined the hearty bunch who opted for the longer hike. One of our local guides led us, although it would have hard to get lost. It was a lovely hike along the shoreline and through some great pine treed forests. It would be a fabulous trip on a sunny day!  Today, not so much. We prevailed and were rewarded with a great view of the terminus of the glacier. There were even some small icebergs floating in the water nearby. Unfortunately because of the almost constant rain and wind some (all?) of my photographs are likely to have water spots on the lens- all part of the experience I guess. We lingered a short time at the viewpoint, took the mandatory “we were here pictures” and headed back to the warmth and dryness of the boat. Surprisingly my clothing choices kept me warm and mostly dry. The shoes were a god send as there were areas of the trail that had water on it and those people who wore tennis shoes came back with wet feet.

Once I returned to the boat landing I decided to also take the short 10 minute walk to the other viewpoint. I did not come all this way to miss something!! Actually I thought you got a better view of the glacier from this point, even though you were further away.

Once everyone returned to the boat we were offered a “warm up” cocktail of whiskey with real glacial ice in it-nice touch. We sailed past a couple of more waterfalls before sailing past the Balmaceda glacier, where we could see the effects of global warming as the glacier has receded from the shoreline which it touched in 1981.

It was lunch time and we docked at one of the estancias on the shore where we had another Chilean BBQ which started with a steaming bowl of vegetable soup (greatly appreciated) before having a table-side grill of barbecued lamb, chicken and potatoes placed on the table for family style eating. There was also bread and a salad and the always present glass of wine or beer. No pisco sour today, however!

We were back at the home dock by 3:30 and some of us were dropped off in the nearby town of Puerto Natales to see what it was like and to possibly do some shopping. Not much there, mostly small stores advertising trekking excursions, hostels, coffee shops, mountain clothing stores, and only a few souvenir stores. There were several restaurants offering lamb barbecued like we had yesterday- splayed on a rack over a wood burning fire. They were on display in the window of the restaurant.

It was a $6 cab ride back to the hotel where a hot shower was in order, followed a quick nap, work on the blog and cocktail(s) before dinner with the group. They have a local version of a pisco sour here called the “calafate” sour. Calafate is a blueberry like berry grown in the area. They make a syrup of the berry which is used in the drink. It was good and many of the group ended up having one before dinner.

Because of the big lunch, dinner was again on the light side. I enjoyed the tomato soup so much that night before I had it again, followed by pasta with seafood. We all groaned when the staff told us they were out of ice cream today, but it was an excuse to tray some of the other creative desserts on the menu.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to head into Torres Del Paine National Park for sightseeing/hiking. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative.

---

Sunny this morning. Yesterday was breezy, today it is blustery! It may be summer here but most people are wearing puffy coats. 

I forgot to mention the many “ homeless” dogs that are wandering around the streets of Punta Arenas. They have often been left behind when their owners left the area. The good news is they are well-behaved and do not bother you. 

We left at a leisurely 10AM and were joined by two local guides, Sebastian and Martin, who will obviously be with us as we explore Torres del Paine National Park. Very quickly we found ourselves traveling through the Patagonian “steppes” or “pampas”, an area of flat prairie land as far as you can see, no trees and minimal vegetation. The flatlands eventually turned into rolling hills, but still with no vegetation. Only occasionally did we see a small grove of trees. It reminded me of what we saw in parts of Iceland.

It is about a 3 hour drive to Puerto Natales where we are staying but there will be a stop along the way at a local estancia (ranch) for a Chilean BBQ of, yes you can guess what-lamb!

What a wonderful country! Every place we go and every meal seems to start with a pisco sour! And they are getting better! Our visit to the Rio Penitente Estancia for a tour and lunch indeed began with a great pisco sour (best so far), followed by a short tour of the 1891 built home led by the grandson (Christopher)of the original Scottish immigrant who settled in the area. The estancia is 12,000 hectares (about 30,000 acres) with 5000 sheep, some llamas and 6 sheep dogs. We then ventured to the sheep shearing barn where a demonstration of the shearing process was given. A team of shearers come every spring to oversee the process. A top-notch shearer can shear 200 sheep a day(every 90 seconds)! The wool is bundled and sold on the open market. 

They have recently added llamas (pronounced Yama) to their herds. Another emerging and profitable business for them is tourism and they offer stays on their ranch for hiking,fishing, and horseback riding. 

After the sheep shearing demonstration we were treated to a marvelous lamb/beef  BBQ (cooked over a wood fire) with multiple salads and wine. It was spectacular!

 

Back on the bus for about 1.5 hours to our final destination for the night, the Remota hotel in Puerto Natales. This is probably the “funkiest” Hotel I have ever stayed in. Built around environmental considerations it tries hard to blend into the local terrain. There are multiple two-story wings with grass roofs. The interior is built with a heavy emphasis on use of raw slabs of timber. There are no TVs in the rooms, only a central TV room in the main lodge. There are multiple seating areas in the main wing to sit and read, nap or simply ponder the environment. It is truly unique. We learned that except for top shelf liquor/wine and massages everything was inclusive. Order what you want; it is in the price.

 

Dinner was fun as we could order anything off the menu, but most of us ate such a big lunch that we limited what we chose for dinner. I simply opted for a marvelous tomato soup followed by a chicken salad as an entrée. Many of us did leave room for the ice cream offered as one of the dessert options as we have not had it on any of our menus so far.

Unfortunately it appears the weather is not going to cooperate the next few days. Considerable amounts of rain and wind is expected. Wladimir suggested to take the boat trip to view the glacier tomorrow, rather than two days hence, as we will be inside for much of the time. With luck the weather forecasters will be wrong (as they have been on many of the days so far) and we will have decent weather during the time we are here.

---

 

Today was the day to explore Punta Arenas and how it came to be.  We had a two hour city walking tour in the morning where we learned a lot about the background and history of the area.

History lesson for the day: Patagonia means “people with big feet”. The name Patagonia comes from the word patagon which was used by Magellan in 1520 to describe the native tribes of the region, whom his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed that the people he called the Patagons were Tehuelches, who tended to be taller than Europeans of the time. The big feet part comes from fact that they wore animal skins on their feet, making their feet seem larger than normal.

The Magallanes region, where Puerto Arenas is located,  is considered part of Chilean Patagonia. Magallanes is Spanish for Magellan, and was named for Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain. While circumnavigating the earth for Spain, he passed close to the present site of Punta Arenas in 1520. Early English navigational documents referred to this site as “Sandy Point”.

In 1843 the Chilean government sent a ship (Ancud) to claim the area and established a penal colony here. In the late 1800s immigrants from (especially) Croatia, Germany and other European countries settled here looking for gold, fishing and farming.

The fact that there were so many Croatians here really surprised me. Having Croatian ancestry myself, I wonder what my life might have been like had my grandfather come to Chile rather than Gary, Indiana!

Between 1890 and 1940 this area became one of the largest producers of sheep in the world. Also, because of the coal deposits in the country, Puerto Arenas was a booming port in the early 1900s as ships stopped to refuel with coal and wood. That came to a sad end when the Panama Canal opened.

Sheep farming is still a big part of the economy; there are 3.5 million sheep being raised here and export to China is a huge market for them.

In the 1960s the government encouraged Chileans to migrate here by offering 120% salary bonuses and it virtually doubled the population over the last 50 years.

You cannot get to Puerto Arenas except by air, boat or driving from Argentina. There are no roads heading north in Chile because of the ice fields and mountains.

It was quite “breezy” this morning and our guide, Marcella, said it was always windy here. Other times she said it gets windy and you must lean into it to walk. As we had to climb a series of stairs to get to a viewpoint she taught us a new way to climb stairs that minimizes the effect on your knees. She called it “side walking”. Basically you climb one (or several) steps walking sideways to the left, then pivot 180 degrees  to do the next series of steps going to the right. Trekkers use this technique in the mountains.

Marcella pointed out famous landmarks and history  as we walked the city streets near the downtown area. We ended the tour in a jewelry store that featured the country gemstone, lapis. Chile is only one of two countries in the world that has it (Afghanistan is the other). A round of pisco sours were available for those who wanted one-no purchase necessary!

The rest of the day was free unless you signed up for the optional tour of the local, somewhat cemetery and an outdoor museum that held full size replicas of the Victoria, the ship captained by Ferdinand Magellan, the Beagle, captained by Charles Darwin and the Ancud, the ship sailed here in 1848 to establish a penal colony. We were alive to climb aboard and see what life was life on ships of that era. As I can say is that those people were crazy to sail the world’s oceans on ships that small and rudimentary.

The visit to the cemetery was enlightening as it reminded me of the cemetery in Buenos Aries, but not as elegant. I did see the many grave sites with Croatian names.

A group dinner was held at the hotel but not until 8PM as that is when the restaurant opens for dinner. A bit late for most of us but we prevailed.

Tomorrow we held north into the wilderness that characterizes Patagonia. We have been warned that internet may be non-existent so this may be the last communication for a while.

Blue skies once again. Our tour director says this is unusual for this part of the country, even in the summer. We insisted we brought him good luck. It is a VERY leisurely morning. We do not need to have baggage out until 11AM; we leave for Puerto Montt airport at noon with stops at the market and a seafood stew lunch before flying to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is 1350 miles further south.

Geography lesson for the day: Chile is very long and very skinny. From North to South it is 2653 miles, yet on average it is only about 110 miles wide, hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean on the West and the Andes mountains is on the East. End of lesson.

I walked into town for one final look, stopping at a local coffee shop for an Americano and another piece of apple strudel!

We left the hotel early at noon headed to the fish market in Puerto Montt for sightseeing and lunch before flying to Punta Arenas late this afternoon.

Puerto Montt is a larger industrial city with a population of about 240,000 people. The main Industry is salmon farming and timber. Eucalyptus trees grow rapidly in this climate and it is a major export to the Far East for paper. It is also in great demand as firewood for local homes that rely on wood as their heat source.

The Angelmo fish market is not very large but has an amazing selection of fresh and smoked fish and shellfish. Many stands over cocktail cup serving of ceviche made with caring seafood. Smoked salmon is huge and is a bargain. A big slab might cost around $8. Produce is also readily available in the market.

There was a Chilean band playing music out on the waterfront and we listened to a few tunes before heading to the small restaurant located on the second floor of the market.As you expect the specialty of the restaurant is seafood. We had a choice of a seafood stew, fresh hake with sides or chicken for those who did not like fish. As has become the custom we started the meal with a small pisco sour. The meal came with a glass of wine. Even though Chile makes some world class wines Chileans prefer beer. If you order wine in a restaurant you are offered either “tinto”(red) or “blanco”(White). Grape varietals are generally not recognized by most restaurants!  Surprisingly the wines offered have been quite good.

We were given a short while to shop in the local markets. It seems as though every shop sells the same products, focusing on wool sweaters, ponchos, hats, etc. I did not find any treasure that I needed to have, for which Yvonne will be grateful!

On the way to the airport Wladimir gave us a written detailed itinerary for the next few days( nice touch) as well as the weather forecast. We are headed south to the 53 degree latitude where the weather will be cooler, windier and likely more rain. The days will be longer also. Wladimir strongly suggested we dress in layers as you never know what to expect.

We bade our driver and local guide farewell at the airport and only had about a 1.5 hour wait until our flight departed. It is certainly nice having a local guide to help maneuver our way through the airport process and deal with any issues that might arise. Our plane was full with locals and others like us who are touring the area.

We arrived in Punta Arenas at 7:30. Punta Arenas means “Sandy Point”, the name given to it by early explorers. Magellan sailed near here in 1520 and the Strait of Magellan got its name because of his explorations.  In 2012 the population was 128,000. Now it is closer to 170,000.  It was originally established as a penal colony in 1848 but immigrants from Croatia and Germany changed its character in the late 1800s because of the gold rush, farming and fishing.  Sheep farming is the major industry today.

By the time we got to the hotel and our rooms it was 8:30 PM and most of us simply grabbed a quick sandwich in the bar area before retiring.

Tomorrow we will have a morning tour of the city and an optional tour  of their colorful museum and replica boats used by early settlers.

Our main destination for the day was to visit the largest island in Chile, Chiloé Island, and visit the penguin colony there which hosts both Humboldt  and Magellanic penguins. Because there is a several hour drive and ferry ride involved we needed to leave at 7:30AM. The weather had turned and rain showers were expected so we were advised to bring our rain gear. It was not raining when we left but as we drove north to catch the ferry at Pargua it began. However by the time we boarded the ferry it had already stopped and surprisingly the rest of the day was sunny and pleasant.

It is a quick 30 minute ferry ride from the mainland to Chiloé Island on small capacity ferries that run every 10-15 minutes. Chiloé Island is about 180 km long, 50 km wide and the home to about 180,000 people. Peoples living in the northern part of the island then to be farmers while the southern population focuses on fishing. The Spaniards first settled there in the 16th century; the city of Castro was established in 1567. The Jesuits showed up at the beginning of the 17th century and started building wooden churches throughout the island. There were expelled in 1767 but the Franciscans who then came continued the practice. As a result there are over 150 such wooden churches with the traditional shingle facade there;  they are ranked as UNESCO heritage sites.

We drove to the west coast of the island to Punihuil Cove where the breeding grounds for the two types of penguins exist. Since the 1990s the government has established a strict protocol for viewing the breeding site, limiting the number of boats that can carry passengers near the grounds. Thirty five passenger zodiacs and a unique boarding procedure makes it an easy “tour” for the visitors. It does need a staff of strong, able-bodied men to load and launch the boats. The actual ride is limited to 30-35 minutes and boats leave every 15 minutes to ensure only a limited number of boats near the penguins at any given time to minimize stressing the birds. I was impressed with the whole process. There was a naturalist on board who pointed out the different species of penguins, birds and ducks that were in the area. I am stil not sure I can tell the difference between the two species of penguins. As you cannot really get too close to the animals and with a moving, rocking boat the photos are not the greatest, but the experience was top-notch!

With all that salt air our appetites were primed for what happened next. Vantage arranged for us to experience a traditional, home-hosted feast called a “curanto”- a shellfish, sausage meat, potato medley cooked underground in a stone lined pit. I likened it to the Chilean version of a luau. We drove to a local home on the island where the luncheon was served. A round of pisco sours and some homemade potato bread with honey wetted our appetites until the meal was ceremonially uncovered and served with wine. Needless to say it was delicious, especially the mussels! The bus was pretty quiet as we drove back to catch the ferry home- naps were the norm.

We were back to the hotel by 5:30 and free for the evening. I certainly was not hungry for more food but I did walk the few blocks into town in search of the apple strudel one of the couples raved about. I found it and it was a good as grandma used to make. It was a sunny Friday night and the locals were out in force, walking the waterfront, listening to music from street performers, and shopping in the artisan markets in town.

We leave tomorrow for Punta Arenas, a two-hour flight south of here. This is sure one big, long skinny country!

 

Blue skies and sun again this morning. Temp is 45 degrees with a projected high of 68. Can’t complain about tha!

We left at 8:30 and drove to the Antonio Felmer private museum dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Germans who settled the area in the mid 19th century. We were given a private tour by the daughter of the gentlemen who collected and preserved the artifacts he received from families who lived in the area. The artifacts cover all aspects of farm life back then, from farming tools to kitchen implements, antique furniture, musical instruments, clothing, household goods, etc. It is a marvelous display made even more informative because our guide explained many of the items and demonstrated their use. It was really fascinating to many of us as we all could identify items that our grandparents had and used. Some things are the same all over the world!

We then drove along the south shore of Lake Llanquihue to visit the oldest national park in Chile, Vicent Peres Rosales, where we stopped to take a walk to the Petrohué Rapids, a popular visiting spot for Chileans. We made a photo stop along the way to “up close and personal” photos of the Osorno volcano(2652 meter high), the iconic vista associated with Puerto Varas.

By this time it was time for lunch which was held in a marvelous fishing lodge on the shores of the lake where we had drop dead views of both the lake and the Osorno volcano. To top it off we were served a pisco sour as we entered the restaurant, followed by a marvelous salmon luncheon with wine.  By the way, Chile is the 2nd largest growers of farm raised salmon in the world (Norway is #1), and theirs area of Chile is where much of it happens. We also learned this region of Chile is a large producer of apples, raspberries and blueberries, but not much other produce. It is also a big dairy-farming region.

We were free for the remainder of the afternoon except for those of us who chose to take the optional tour involving a visit to a local craft brewer and enjoy a traditional Chilean BBQ while there. 13 of the 20 tour group chose that option, including me. On the way to the brewery we stopped at the little lakeshore community of Frutillar where we walked the shore and visited the new performing arts concert hall, built in 2010 and considered to be the best in Chile.   It was quite cool by the time we were there and I was shocked at how many people were lying/playing on the beach, including many who were swimming. The water is cold but to the locals it was acceptable.  We could not go into the concert hall but did get to see it’s rather unique exterior, made of multicolored slabs of colored wood which appeared to be laminated.

Leaving there we drove deep into the countryside and turned into a site that appeared to be a rather rundown farmstead. This was the home of Chester Brewing! We were all pretty apprehensive as we worked our way through a workshop area that included in old VW bus that was used as an office. We emerged in the “backyard” that looked out over pastures and the lake with the 2015 meter high Calbuco volcano in the distance. This is the volcano that last erupted in 2015, depositing up to 18 inches of ash in the local area and caused mud slides. It was quite a location for a “brewery”. We were introduced to the owner, Chester, who is an American originally from Pennsylvania and his partner, Russ, who hails from Canada. Along side the mini bar area that had 4 different beers on tap was a grill loaded with a variety of meats. Obviously language was not an issue when talking to Chester and Russ who explained their craft brewing operation, asked questions regarding beer making and how the heck they ended up in Chile making beer.

They also explained the concept of a traditional Chilean BBQ. What happens is a grill is set up, people come over with various cuts of meat which are grilled. You do not sit down for a formal meal. You simply sample the various cuts of meat as you stand around talking and consuming your favorite beverage. On his grill was chorizo sausage, steak, chicken, pork chops, bell peppers with egg in it, and zucchini. As the meat was cooked it was chopped up and passed around for people to taste. Chester offered tasting glasses of the 4 different types of beer, which many of us used to try all of them before selecting a large mug of the one(s) you liked. There were also sliced tomatoes and some lettuce for those who wanted them, plus some of the sweetest watermelon most of said we have ever had. We spent a great several hours talking, eating and drinking while soaking up the calm county atmosphere. It was truly a pretty unique experience that seemed to please everyone, even those of us who are not big beer drinkers.

We were back at the hotel by 8:30 and since we leave at 7:30 in the morning for our next adventure most admitted it was an early to bed evening.

 

…

Read More Read More

I arrived late (10 PM) last night in Miami and went to pick up my car at Budget “Fastbreak” where you simply go to the car area and pick up your papers and car, thereby skipping the normal long lines at the customer service area. The kiosk was dark but there were rental packets ready for customers. Indeed I found mine and proceeded to slot “D34” to claim my Dodge SUV. The slot was empty….hmmmm. Perhaps they printed the wrong slot so I walked around looking for a vehicle with the proper license plates. No luck, so I had to retrace my steps back up two floors to the customer service booth, which luckily was still manned at 11PM. No excuse was given as to why there was no car; he simply pulled up another and created new paperwork. Soon I was back in the car area and found that my newly assigned Nissan Tracker was not a car or SUV.  It was a darn 4 door pickup truck! Rather than trudging back upstairs I simply went on my way with my first time ever rental of a pickup!

I slept in and had made arrangements to meet a cousin (David Bishop, youngest son of one of my dad’s brothers) who lives in the area for lunch and to review our lives from the days when we were kids in Gary, Indiana. It has been 40 plus years since seeing each other so there was a whole lot of catching up to do. Stories and more stories were told. Dave was an avid fisherman when he was younger and held the world record for catching a 400+ lb marlin on a 15 pound test line. He fought the fish for over 5 hours. I asked if he still held the record and he said someone else broke it only a few weeks later, proving once again fame can be fleeting. We shared stories and pictures of our lives, our respective kids and grandkids over lunch. It was nice reconnecting.

I was somewhat concerned about the effects of the government shutdown on airport security lines but it has not been a problem. It only took 15 minutes to clear security. People in line readily thanked the TSA personnel on duty for continuing to work during the “mess”.

I am now resting in the business class lounge (one of the better ones I have seen) of LATAM, my carrier to Santiago, Chile and Puerto Montt. My flight to Santiago leaves at 9:35 PM. Rather than eating a heavy meal they will be serving around midnight, I plan to pass and simply try to get some sleep during the 9 hour flight to Santiago. Instead l am snacking on the many nice offerings here in the lounge.

Tomorrow I will be in Puerto Varas, Chile where our tour begins.

 

I normally book my own flights rather than relying on the option offered by a tour company as I find because of contracts they have with certain airlines, they often select flights that involve lousy connections and/or poorly planned itineraries. For example on this trip they wanted to route me to JFK in New York with a long layover before a flight to Santiago, Chile. Also the price they wanted to charge for a business class upgrade was no bargain. I chose to find flights on my own and given the big storm that is presently impacting the East Coast I am lucky to have avoided what would have certainly been a real mess!  I found significantly cheaper flights out of Miami so I chose to go that route. It does require me to spend a night in Miami but I am using it as an opportunity to get together with a 1st cousin I have not seen in 40 plus years.

My United flights to Miami has me routed through Houston where I got to “experience” the lastest in airport hospitality. The United terminal no longer has those long rows of seats at their departure gates. Rather there are tables seating 2-6 people with comfortable chairs, charging stations and an iPad at each seat that allows you to order food and drink from nearby restaurants that is delivered to your seat. You pay using a credit card or with United frequent flyer miles-pretty slick!

 

In 2008 we visited Chile for the first time and got a glimpse of the most northern part of an area known as “Patagonia”, an area dominated by mountains, glaciers and spectacular scenery. Since then it has been on my bucket list to explore the area in more depth. In 2015 I thought we would get to see more of it while on a cruise around South America that was supposed to stop in Punta Arenas,  which is in the heart of Patagonia, but a medical emergency of a passenger prevented us from visiting the port so my quest to see more of the area remained on my bucket list.

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) lies 2300 miles off the coast of Chile, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is noted for its famous stone statues(some 1000) called “moai” that continue to puzzle scientists of their origin. It has grabbed my interest as I really have come to enjoy ancient civilizations.

 

Then suddenly I got a brochure from Vantage Adventures that offered a trip that not only focused on Patagonia but offered an extension to Easter Island. It was fate and I decided I needed to go. My trusty travel companion, Yvonne, decided this trip was not on her bucket list. She is looking forward to three other upcoming trips in 2019 to France, Svalbard (Norway) and Germany so I am venturing off on my own, but I will be a part of a tour group of about 20 people.  I leave on January 21, 2019 and return on February 8. So if this region of the world interests you follow me as I explore it. Hopefully the internet will be good enough to allow me to publish updates in a timely fashion.