Albatros Time

Hey Dear,

We've just departed from Cape Horn where we spent the morning. We are told the weather was great for our trip ashore: moderate seas and winds. It was still quite a thrill on the zodiacs and the misting rain was pretty constant. Mom and I are members of the Crab Eating Seal boat and we wear our patches proudly. We are meeting folks on the boat - there is quite a contingent of Canadians (our table-mate at dinner is a lovely retiree from Dawson Creek) and a whole whack of Germans. Only a few folks under 50 and one or two under 30.














This is a sculpture dedicated to all the men and women who lost their lives at sea. Pretty cool, eh?

Here is the light house itself. I'm not sure why, but the light wasn't on while were were there. I would think it should be on 24/7, but I didn't get to ask. I'm not sure about the etiquette of asking a Chilean Light House Keeper why his light wasn't lit.

Now we are headed to the Seventh Continent in the company of more than a few Albatros. We've seen three species so far: the Sooty Albatros, the fairly common (relatively speaking) Black Browed Albatross, and one Wandering Albatross. As our first day in open ocean, we are also enjoying a nice rock and roll in the ship. Judging  by the number of folks with patches behind their ears, I'm guessing we are in the minority in this enjoyment. I think tonight will be especially fun!

Well, this is quality knitting time so I'm going to provide just one (no - two!) more bonus photo of yesterday's Condor. Since we haven't grabbed a shot of an Albatros yet, this will have to tide you over. Tomorrow if we are all lucky, we will get to see a photo of a whale disguised a a grey blob in the water.

Until then,

Dad

Beagle Channel and the Super Bowl

Hey Kendra,

Today you fly home after celebrating Uncle Lloyd's 99th and we drive southward through the Tierra Del Fuego, et al. We had our first shakedown expedition landing in small boats to Garibaldi Glacier also getting up close and personal with a colony of sea lions, a turkey vulture couple, a kelp geese couple, and the local condor.  I've decided I would rather be a sea lion cow than a bull. These two really tore each other up. Their pups (also seen below) are quite cute.

Our dinner companion pointed out I could have a harem as a bull, but one wife is already (nearly) too much.







The glacier is quite active and we found ourselves surrounded by growlers & berg bits. The face of the glacier is 100 meters tall and is a part of a 2500 square kilometer ice field.  We are immersed in sea life and stunning mountains & glacial moraines.

The ship's Electrician has tapped into the Superbowl feed so we get to watch something we don't care about while catching up with you & Mom's 200 photos. Here is the last view until tomorrow when we plan a visit to Cape Horn.

It is 21 to 3 at the half but Ms. Gaga was such a yawn and the game is essentially the same. I'd rather get up at 5 for an exciting sunrise and quality knitting than endure the teley. 

Love,

Dad.




What is great about watching the Super Bowl in Chilean waters is that we enjoy the play-by-play in Spanish. That means without looking we could be enjoying the World's version of football that America calls soccer. . The only bummer is the commercials are local, so we don't enjoy the $500M per 30 second spots from Budweiser, et. al. 

Considerations About Independent Travel 2 - RISK REDUCTION

Hey Kendra Girl,

This is a topic that you and I both resonate with as we are a part of the Nervous Nellie line in the Hartwell Clan. Holidays are supposed to be fun and not fraught with what-if worries. So we turn what-if's into action items.

Working several years at a high hazard facility, it was drummed into our heads to proactively identify risks & reduce them using a graded approach (the more serious risks received more attention and investment). With that in mind your mom and I purchased travel interruption & cancellation coverage for the first time in our lives. This insurance isn't cheap, especially to cover a month of travel. But with earthquakes, capricious airlines, and bad luck (the only kind of luck I have), buying some peace of mind for this very expensive trip made it an easy decision. Similarly, when we picked up the car rental, we were offered extended coverage on the auto. I knew my auto coverage at home in Canada plus the BCAA coverage provided through our membership provided adequate insurance, so additional coverage wasn't planned and was initially declined at the counter. However, while standing there when the agent began to ring up a $5000 deposit on the car, I began to think differently. The additional coverage was going to cost ~$10 per day and I had already obtained an excellent rate for the car from EuroCar rentals. In addition, I knew I was traveling to a very rugged Chilean national park comprised exclusively of gravel roads. So, in short I decided to spend an extra hundred bucks. 

There is one risk reduction strategy that I shouldn't have to mention. That no-brainer is to keep passports, cash, and cards close to the chest in a bag around the neck. For me they serve as a touch stone, that I am reminded I is right there and not in my backpack or on the dresser at the last hotel. 

A couple of other risk reduction strategies included developing a comprehensive spreadsheet itinerary and a folder of key documents and copies of other documents. This included copying our passports and health insurance details; printing maps from Google regarding the detailed location of hotels (rather than relying on Google Maps from an iPhone in a foreign country); and purchasing maps of the region and a detailed map of the national park (when getting the rental car, we asked for a map & the fellow smiled & said we didn't need a map - just turn left when leaving the airport - we couldn't miss our destination as it was 250 km ahead!). 

I remember you were pretty insistent we provide you our detailed itinerary. Of course you and our house sitter have all that info and can reach us with a phone call if needed.

Of course if you are going to wear belts and suspenders, you might as well add a wrap or two of duct tape around your waist. Having PDF files on the computer and using gmail that includes all the back and forth with the hotels related to payments, dates, contacts etc. was the final bit of redundancy I felt we needed.

Lastly, arriving with cash in the local currency we had the peace of mind knowing we didn't need to find a cash machine that would take our card (I had a bad time of that in Poland 18 months ago and couldn't hire a cab to get me from the airport to the bus station). It is perhaps a bit over the top, but having both a Visa and Mastercard (whom we pre-alerted of our travel plans) has already helped us as the MC was rejected the first five times we attempted to use it.

I know everybody else probably thinks this stuff is boring, but for an independant traveler they are critical. In fact, the dependent traveler presumably enjoys the freedom from worry as they delegate risk reduction to their tour guide. Hopefully, that guide is as competent and thorough as you or I would be. If they aren't, by the time you discover that fact, you are hooped as we say.

OK - next time more fun photos.

Love and Calmness,

Dad.

Ps. We returned the rental with no dings or nicks, so extra insurance wasn't necessary. Of course all the gravel road driving we did certainly provided lots of opportunity for it.

Life in the Magellan Strait

Hey Sweetie,

How is Austin? I hope you are filling up on TexMex and Girl Scout Cookies.  Yesterday we went to the furthest-most point south on the South American continent to the site of Fort Bulnes erected in 18something-or-other to stake Chile's claim on the Straight.  The re-created fort was kind of a yawn, but the birding and other sealife was quite a thrill. In our walk along the coast by the fort we identified an additional five species of birds, bringing to 17 the number we've seen since the start of the trip. Yesterday we saw these beautiful Blue Eyed Cormorants.

We also saw:

South American Terns,
Dolphin Gulls,
Southern Rufous Collared Sparrows (below),
and a male Grey Hooded Sierra Finch.

Pretty keen, eh. As you can see we've begun to work at identifying smaller birds which is much more difficult, given their flitty nature.

While on the walk we also enjoyed watching a large sea lion catch and eat quite a fish and saw two pods of dolphins working schools of fish with great ferocity.  We would see them dive below to drive them near the surface, then use their tails and bodies to stun them for easy eatings. It was quite the display, although, as you can see, it didn't photograph well. 

When driving back to Punta Arenas we were surprised to see so many derelict ships in the water and even "parked" permanently on land. These two were a couple of the more interesting ones.

I know you will be happy to read that we've altered our eating habits in the last few days, realizing that three squares was one too many. Rather than a lunch at 1 and dinner at 8, we've gone to have one meal at 3pm and then a small snack in the evening. Yesterday I had a pobre (poor) man's steak with eggs and frites for lunch and couldn't finish it. Not wanting to waste food, we got it to go and then put it in an abandoned house that we'd seen a few of the dozens of feral dogs use as a base. Please note in Punta Arenas, when you ask for your steak rare - they take the request quite literally. Mine jumped off the plate twice.

Today I had hare stew (they still didn't have their house specialty of Guanaco fillet). I can't say I am a big fan of hare, though the hot paprika they served it with really jumped out at me (get it? hare stew jumping out at me). Which is why the lid is on tight.

Since we have speedy internet, you are getting to see lots of pics today. As we've tapped out most of the other sites, we dropped the car off and then had a monster walk to the Cemetario and along the shore line.  Here are some cool scenes from the Cemetario. I would tell you the first one is (if you look closely) where Santa was buried. But I know that would just make you cry. So we'll just call it interesting.

We saw another, similar internment which had two Hello Kitty figurines and a salt shaker. I flashed on the idea that I would like to be buried with one of my salt shakers. And then I flashed on an even better idea! I could/should have my ashes interred into one of my shakers. You would just have to be sure to keep it off the table.  YUCK!!!!

Well that is enough excitement for one day. Tomorrow we board the boat ~3pm. I'm going to post tomorrow's blog today to be pro-active. It is on a favorite topic - risk mitigation for independent travelers.

Cheers,

Dad

Considerations About Independent Travel - Planning Update

Hey Kendra,

I wanted to update you regarding additional planning considerations for you or others pursuing independent travel in Patagonia.

First,  how much time should you allot for Torres del Paine. We spent six nights near the park and I think three or four would have been plenty. The park only sells three day passes. We were fortunate that your mom went into the off on our third day to ask if we could buy an extended fourth day, and they graciously added a fourth day for free. Bottom line is we explored every corner of the park and weren't terribly organized (a fair bit of back tracking). And with the extra time we did birding and biking and exploring the forests near the hotel. We could have gone horseback riding & fishing as well if we were so inclined.

Second: Cash is King. If you are traveling independently, have or get plenty of cash. We left cash tips to the great team at Cabanas del Paine which sucked down our supply. When we finally got back to Puerto Natales and the nearest gas station with the near empty car, we learned their credit card process was down. Having plenty of cash (~$80) for the gas, kept us moving. Similarly, here in Punta Arenas many of the restaurants only take cash. Interestingly, they appeared to take USD, but we didn't want to give up the greenbacks so easily. Today we find a cooperative ATM for the debit card (don't forget debit and credit cards).

Third, when you book hotels in the Paine, do it well in advance of the trip. They have a limited tourist season and you will get the best rates if you make your reservations many months ahead. We saved a lot by booking just outside the park. While we paid $300USD per night (including full board), the hotels inside the park were ~$500+ per day. I think we were smart to book full board as there are nearly no food service besides what is found in the hotels. When we were taking road trips, the Cabanas packed lovely (and generous) lunches to take along.

Well today is in front of us - so we will catch you on the flip side.

Dad.

Punta Arenas - About as Far South as You Can Go in the Americas

Hello You,

Today we travelled from Patagonia to the southern tip of Chile.

Yesterday we wanted to find out if one really never forget how to ride a bike, and despite the extreme winds, we reached the outer edge of the neighboring forest.








 Last night we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset from the lodge to make us yearn for more time in this amazing place.

And this morning we got caught in a delightful traffic jam as we wound our way out of the mountains. Of course the cattle did all but bump and hump our little Nissan Sentra and the road was a

 bit smeared with their feelings at the moment.














This is as close to getting a high five as you get with these fellows as we waited for 20 minutes while the gouchos convinced the cattle that we weren't aliens or butchers.








And then what? A flock (meaning five) condors graced us with their presence.

And now here, just a few measly kilometers (under 1500) from the antarctic circle, I'm walking around in a tee shirt, jeans, and flip flops. Not very photogenic, so you have to use your imagination. You probably figured out that we are short a bit on laundry and when we dropped it off, we were advised we would be $50 poorer when we picked it up tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow we visit Fort Bulnes which the Chilean Republic established in 1843  to declare its ownership of the Strait of Magellan. Look for a photo of my toe inside the Strait.

Cheers,

Dad

Another Fine Day in Patagonia

Good Morning Sunshine,

I know its just 3am Pacific so I don't expect you to read and respond immediately - but I wanted to take advantage of the semi-speedy internet in the early hours of Patagonia to post photos and update you on a few things. First, you didn't fire back a response to my query regarding the etymology of this bird.

Well, we did some digging in another bird book and found it clearly to be the red gartered coot. So please rest easy on that front. 

Also, Mom sent me a few more photos to post - here is that hollow iceberg we saw on Lago Grey. I tried to get the ship's captain to take us through the middle, but he declined, saying something about "loco", though I've seen no trains here. 

This view of the Paine is my favorite so far. Amazing that such a rock wall could be formed, much less stand for all these millennia. Can you imagine showing up the base of this, wondering what is on the other side?

We've really enjoyed our stay here at the Cabanas del Paine. We toured the greenhouse & garden with the chef, Sebastian, and gotten to know the serving staff pretty well. Interesting they all learned their English in Canada and perhaps sadly none wanted to visit the USA. "Too dangerous" was the phrase that Alvaro used (he studied a year in Toronto). Most guests don't stay as long as we have and, in retrospect, we could have knocked a couple days from this part of the trip. My favorite part of the Cabanas, though, is the lawn service. Here are a couple pictures showing them hard at work. I'm amazed how they can multi-task - mowing and fertilizing at the same time.

And now it is back to the birds. On our walk yesterday we saw this lovely american kestrel, which is the smallest of the hawks. I didn't see that I posted any pictures of the flock of chilean flamingos, so here is one of those.

Well, we are going to launch ourselves into another gusty day - this time on bikes to further explore the forest near our cabin. We had thought we would go fishing but the tour folks didn't have their act together and kept adding on costs, so we'll keep that $400 in our pocket for now. Our other major task today is to pack up for the return trip to Punta Arenas in the morning. That will be a chore.

Until later, dear.

Daddio.