Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I made it! what a journey. The flight from Santiago was around 3 1/2  
hours - we flew along the west side of the Andes, mountains and  
mountains and mountains. About an hour from the aiport at Punta  
Arenas the Torres del Paine were suddenly visible from the plane.  
Only the very highest torres - towers - peaks were above the clouds.  
As the clouds shifted, some of the lesser snow-covered peaks popped  
in and out of the clouds. it was spectacular, and blinding from the  
sun reflecting off of the top of the clouds.

We landed in Punta Arenas, the southern most  airport of the  
continent, after doing a complete circle around the airport so that  
the wind was at the tail. The wind... it made the plane dance and  
skitter on its way down. And from what I hear, it wasn't even really  
windy...

It's actually warmer than I expected, though I think it's supposed to  
change a little. We were gathered at the airport (me, Ketty and her  
husband, and Alicia) and taken to a van, where three others had  
already loaded. A quick briefing on what we'd be doing, what to  
expect - we'd drive 2 hours north, and stop at Estancia xxxx, for  
'tea' and a tour of their sheep operation. A century old farm, which  
over time was able to purchase land from the government (sort of like  
homesteading in N. America)  - it now runs 4000 head of sheep on 8000  
acres of grassland, in addition to 2000 acres of forest and peat.  
They've converted the spacious house and worker cabins in to a hotel  
for tourists and guests. One of the grand daughters of the original  
'homesteaders', Lilian, gave us a tour and joined us for tea.

Our tour of the barn was interesting. Shearing season had just ended,  
there were bales and bales and bales of freshly shorn wool, ready to  
be trucked to the port, and then shipped to destination - much of it  
bound for England.  Lilian and the farm hand also explained the  
breeding program they had going -  introducing breedings (shipped  
semen and embryo transfer) of merino sheep from Australia - the goal  
being to produce a sheep which produced both superior fleece for wool  
(the merino blood) and also superior cuts for consumption - for meat.  
This estancia (farm) and a few others in Chile and Argentina were  
taking part in the breeding program.

We loaded back up in the van and kept up our advance north to Torres  
del Paine National Park. 250 miles from Punta Arenas to the park,  
that's a lot of miles, and after our last stop at C...?, the final 80  
miles was over gravel roads. which got worse and worse, and finally  
very very primitive once we entered the park and headed towards our  
destination - a 5* hotel!  - info on the chains of hotels here -

my room is close to the reception, and close to the WiFi, and also  
close to the music! tonight there is a trio of musicians playing  
traditional chile - gaucho - music to great cheering and clapping.  
The music, and the wind (which has really kicked in!) will be my  
lullabye tonight :)

later-

Steph



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