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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Dec 12, 2016 09:00 PM Ha, ha... Chile - we are still in Puerto Natales!
I do not know - should I cry or should I laugh... In the evening Navimag shipping company wanted the passenges to come not to the port but tothe distant bus terminal. OK. They said that at 9 pm they will provide a bus to take us to the pier located in the center of the town. At 9.10 a driver appeared there just to say us that the transfer will not be now, but at 11 pm. OKAY. We boarded the ship just before midnight. Then in the dining room we had "orientation" meeting they said that due the low tide we will depart only in the afternoon... They do not know in advance the schedule of the tides?
At 1 am I went to the bunk bed in my 4-pax cabin. It was terribly cold there and nobody knows why the heating system does not work.
In the morning we got a standard breakfast in the huge dining room reminding rather the factory canteen. Porridge, fruit salad, rolls with cheese and ham.
I went ashore just to send this message because there is no internet onboard. So we have already 9 hours dalay on departure.
But the sun is shining over the snowy peaks surrounding the Fiord of Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope). Good name, isn't it?
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Dec 11, 2016 09:00 PM Ahoy! My ship arrived!
Sunny day but we still experience mucho viento - strong wind.
The main attraction in the neighborhood of Puerto Natales is Cueva de Miladon - The Cave of Miladon. 20 kms out of the town. No public transport, taxi drivers ask 20000 pesos for round trip with 1 hour waiting... Miladon was a prehistoric bear living in Patagonia some 12 000 years B.C. they found here its bones and he is now like a mascot of the town.
I tried to hitchhike, and it was not difficult. At the entrance they charge 5000 CLP from the foreigners and only 1500 from the seniors from Chile. Do you think I look like Chileno? You are right! I paid lower rate!
In fact there are 3 caves, the biggest where is thd entrance is really huge, but not high. To get to other two there is a path 20 min + 20 min easy walk. From the last one you can go directly to the rock formation Devil's Chair -another 20 min.
When I returned I saw my ship EVANGELISTAS fighting with the strong wind at the end of the bay. It arrived on time! I will be boarding in the evening. Do you know 4 evangelistas - the four evangelists of the bible? Let's hope it will be safe 4 days voyage on this epic route to Puerto Montt. Just for fun you can follow position of the ship on www.marinetraffic.com
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Dec 10, 2016 09:00 PM Domingo en Patagonia
Do you like Placido Domingo? He is my favorite opera singer!
But he did not come to Patagonia. Domingo in Spanish means Sunday. It is domingo today, in the morning streets were still empty when I walked to distant Plaza de Armas. The church was still closed. Why? Somebody told me that the Sunday service starts only at 11 am. I came again at 10.50. The church was open, but almost empty... More pople came in the last minute, but they filled only like 25% of capactity of the small church... They were sitting mostly in the back of the church... In Natales live around 18000 people...
The service was conducted by padre Bernardo (do you remember my easter on Easter Island? There was also other padre Bernardo!) I met him after the service (see the picture), he speaks some English. He was surprised that I came from Poland. I told him about my trip...
Coming back to the hostel I discovered in Puerto Natales Polish theme. One of the streets is named Domeyco street after Polish scientist, engineer and explorer working in Chile in 19th century - Ignacy Domeyko. It was nice that they remember him...
It is raining in the afternoon, but the forecast for tomorrow is much better. I believe that the ship will come tomorrow to pick me up...
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Dec 09, 2016 09:00 PM Puerto Natales - frontier town
For the first time I have been here some 30 years ago. I do not see many changes. They built new city hall, many old houses were restored and converted to the pensions - hostales. They also have now new Rodoviaria - bus terminal. Main destination is Punta Arenas with departures every 2 hours - the cost is 7000 pesos one way. But only 12000 if you buy Round trip. There is one company - Pacheco for 5000, but they have few departures.
I stay in the Paine Hostel - in fact regular private house without any sign outside, paying 20 $ per night for room with shared bath and breakfast. It is located rather far from the centre, near the Padre Rosas cemetery :). Just let you know that you can find much nicer places for the same price in the centre for the same price. Sample: Hospedaje Mary - just one block from Tourist information office phone +56 61 2412498. The problem is that they are bookable only by phone... In Spanish.
My hostel is not very clean, included breakfast is weak (rolls, palta or jam) but is was booked easy via booking.com. Temperature in the night is only 5 deg Celsius -even now - in the summer. They have gas heater in the room, but I am switching it off for the night - afraid that I will not wake up...
To keep yourself warm you can buy in the supermarket near the same cemetery a bootle of Chilean vino tinto (red) 1,5 l bottle costs only equivalent of 3 USD. Do not drink whole bootle in one evening! Good night!
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Dec 08, 2016 09:00 PM Angostura White
Big ships cannot sail to Puerto Natales bacause there are narrows (angosturas) on the route. Small ones has to make the choice of Angostura Kirke or Angostura White. Sailing back to Puerto Natales we went through the picturesque Ang, White, After passing the chain of little islands blocking the passage they put us to the explorers boats and we were sailing more then an hour in the strong wind along the coast - with dolphins, taking pictures of the seals and birds.
It is evening and I am back in windy Puerto Natales - sneezing a little bit, but happy to have such unique experience, few people saw this remote fjords and its fantastic scenery! Lucky me!
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Dec 07, 2016 09:00 PM In the Montanas Fjord...
Rough sea in the night. My water bottles felt down from the table in the middle of the night. Strong wind, also the rain from time to time. We are going through Montanas Fjord with 5 glaciers. After breakfast we are sailing in explorers to Alsina Glacier, hidden in the little bay below the huge, vertical mountain. Thanks God from time to time the sun appears giving us a chance for better pictures. After an hour we are again on the ship - wet & cold, but happy. Few hours later there is the landing at Bernal Glacier - narrow path is heading to the turquoise lagoon below the ice. This glacier is not so wide, but the scenery is still great. Seals and cormorants, small Patagonian dolphins very often appear near the boat, but it is very difficult to photograph them... Another great day in the area rarely visited by humans, I did not see any single house since two days!
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Dec 06, 2016 09:00 PM Glacier Amalia - Fjord Calvo
Captain Louis invited me to the captain's table. It is a honour, but telling the true I would like to sit with other fellows speaking English... But it is not important - I am here to enjoy the beauty of Chilean Patagonia. The ship was sailing all night and in the morning we found ourselves opposite huge Amalia Glacier. They took us ashore aboard big capacity zodiacs - they call them "explorers" . We landed on the moraine beach and took a walk to the little hills covered by colorful lichens - opposite the 1700m wide and 80m high face of the glacier. Great view, but against the sun... The glacier was calving every few minutes.
In the afternoon the ship was sailing through the labirynth of channels to Calvo Fjord with some 15 different glaciers - can you imagine that during 2 days I did not see any other ship? At the end of Calvo they put us on theit little "icebreaker" and we sailed beetween the icebergs to the picturesque waterfall, enjoying great scenery - just see the pictures...
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Dec 05, 2016 09:00 PM Bingo! I am sailing to the glaciers!
Can you imagine the captain who doesn't speak ANY English? This was a case... But he was very nice to me. When I explained that I - the journalist - want to sail with him just today he contacted the head office of the shipping company in Santiago and I got a substantial discount. It is worth to write for the press even if they do not pay much...
It is the expedition ship for less then 100 passengers. I do not kwow why but they will have only 40 pax on this sailing - perhaps because they are unknown outside Chile. We are going for 4 days to the Chilean fiords and glaciers, landings are also expected... No internet onboard, so the next message will be on Friday evening. I am boarding the ship today in the afternoon, expecting the big adventure. Just keep the fingers crossed for the clear weather - Patagonia is unpredictable!
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Dec 04, 2016 09:00 PM Bye-bye Torres!
It was yesterday evening when at 7.30 pm I said bye to my Polish fellows (few of them were still on the fighting with the trail) and went by public bus to Puerto Natales. There is a hefty priced (3000 CLP) shuttle bus from Torres Hotel to Laguna Amarga park gate. It is walking distance but they know, that people coming down from the trail are very tired so why don't make a money? From the Amarga gate there are public buses to Puerto Natales via Cerro Castillo (1,5 h - 8000 CLP).
Days are long here and I enjoyed wonderful Patagonian sunset going to my hostal Vaiora. It is cozy place with tiny doors so it is worth to bring earplugs for the night. They charge 20 USD for the room with shared bath and good breakfast. After sweaty treks I make a big laundry today. Important decisions will be taken tomorrow...
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Dec 03, 2016 09:00 PM Hard hike to the base of Torres
They were checking again our tickets when we wera passing national Park gate. We were lycky to have sunny day for the most demanding trek to the base of Torres. They write it is 4,5 hours from the Torres hotel to Torres Lake at the bottom of the Torres. We parked the car at official "estacionamento" which is additional 1 km from the hotel. I tried to start the hike early - at 10 am. At the beginning there was steep access. Short caravans of the horses with a supply for the hut were passing along. Trail goes up into the long valley well above mountain river, and descend to the hut Refugio Chileno. It is worth to use the toilets here since up from this place you will find nothing... Path is crossing the river several times. But on this part no views - it goes through dense forest. The final 1-hour climb is a nightmare - very steep, going through the big stones, badly maintained. I reached the end of the trail at 1.30 pm. View from the mirador de base de las Torres is breathtaking. On the other side of the lake you will see vertical wall with there towers on the top. It is one of the icons of Patagonia. When I reached the lookout there were already some clouds, but I managed to take good photos. 40 min later thd towers were covered. I come here early, if you can... The return part of the trail was like a knee-breaker. I was at the hotel at 5.15 after sweaty 7 hours on the trail. But is was worth!
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