Travel day today, over 6 hours on bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales. The terrian on Argentine side is treeless and wind swept, mostly pasture and again not a lot of cattle to be seen.
We spent about 2 hours exiting Argentina and entering Chile. The bus stopped on the Argentine side, all exited the bus so we could have our documents scrutinized, stamped and written on. The bus driver even passed 10 pesos to an officer, presumably repaying a prior debt.... We then proceeded to the Chilean border post about a kilometer away and again emptied the bus, this time with all our baggage. The process was a bit more organized, but again documents were carefully reviewed, baggage was run through a scanner and we were asked only if we had fruit(which we did not) and then were admitted to Chile..... Other than the time it takes to review 2 bus loads of folks documents, the process was efficient I suppose....
The bus dropped us in town and we are now free to roam Chile.... We are staying at the Keoken b&b a very nice place with helpful folks running it.
Had a quick lunch and beer at El Living, a cafe with an interesting vegetarian menu and delicious chile and sandwich.... and the beer was also delightful after the long bus ride.
Then spent the evening organizing gear and packing for our visit to Torres del Paine that starts first thing tomorrow with a 2 hour bus ride to the park.
Portions of the Park are still closed, although the exact closure is not entirely clear.... but we will find out for sure when we are there on the ground. It appears tbat the west side of the trekking circuit is still closed from the recent fire. However, I am sure there will be enough areas to visit. We plan on being in park for 10 or 11 days. As no cell or internet there will try and catch this story up in early February....
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