The End of the World (My Patagonia Blog Post)

 I had the best time ever in Patagonia. So brace yourself because this blog post is about to be intense. 

The last time you heard from me, I had just turned 19 and was about to get on a flight to the Chilean city of Punta Arenas to begin my adventure in the southern region of Chile. I'm going to break down the trip day by day in hopes to summarize everything as best as possible and then at the end I will present my overall feelings, findings, and impressions. Make sure to scroll back a little bit also to check out all of the photos I posted. When I tell you I took almost 500 photos, I'm not kidding. 

The first day of the trip was long. Almost a full 24 hours of traveling. I arrived at the Santiago airport at 2am and met up with the other foreign exchange students who had also arrived early from the other cities in our district. The official plan was to meet up with the Rotary chaperones and our guides for the week at 3:30am so they could help us with boarding passes, give us a bagged breakfast, and hop on the plane by 6:30am. 

The plane ride to Punta Arenas took about 5 hours because we made a pitstop in Puerto Mont. It was honestly one of the weirdest plane rides I have ever experienced because we technically had a layover, but instead of getting off the plane and getting on another one, we all stayed on board while all the other passengers got off and new ones got on. I'm assuming this system is common when flying to the southern part of Chile because there are only a few large cities and it probably makes the most sense to do pit stops instead of sending three different planes to each individual city. In all honesty, I have no idea though so take that information with a grain of salt. 

Once we arrived in Punta Arenas we stopped to visit a very famous cemetery (apologies, I do not remember the name) that is home to the tombs of many of the founding families of the Magallanes Region (named after Ferdinand Magellan). We only stayed about an hour, but it was fun to learn a little bit about the history of such a unique place. 

From there, we went right to lunch in a very cool restaurant that was filled with maps, ticket stubs, and all sorts of little pieces of paper left behind by tourists in memory of their adventures and expeditions. I left behind an old Washington County Fair pass that I had in my wallet with my name and date written on the front. Who knows, maybe one day it will find its way back to me or be seen by someone who has been to our little corner of the world before. 

After lunch we hopped on our tour bus again to go visit Fuerte Bulnes, a park that is on the edge of the Strait of Magellan. It was historically a fort that was strategically placed to help maintain control of the important body of water. It is one of the closest places a tourist can get to Antarctica and the farthest south we went in our entire trip. 

We walked around the park for a few hours, and visited the little museum inside of their visitor center before heading back to Punta Arenas to eat dinner and stay the night in our hotel. 

The next morning, we started our day by stopping by a museum that housed life size replicas of some of the historically significant ships that passed through the Strait of Magellan, including one modeled after Ferdinand Magellan's fleet. 

It was a little chilly this morning and a gentle misting of rain, but at the end of the visit our guides had arranged for us to have a hot chocolate pitstop which was so delicious. We took lots of funny photos on the ships and with the various large lettered signs that were scattered across the museum lawn. 

Around 11am we got back on the tour bus to make the trek to Puerto Natales. Upon arrival we ate lunch in a local restaurant and then hopped back on the bus to head to a park called home to the caves of the Mylodon aka Las Cuevas del Milodon. 

For those of you wondering what the heck is a Milodon, let me enlighten you.

Essentially, a Mylodon is a very large ground sloth believed to have roamed the Patagonia region between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. In this specific spot that we visited, well preserved remains of the Mylodon were found in the caves, causing a bunch of excitement in the early 20th century. Lots of people went on expeditions hoping to find this mysterious creature that unfortunately has long been extinct. Fun fact provided to us by our guide, Maria Jose, the Mylodon was actually loosely the inspiration for the Ice Age character Sid the Sloth. So that's cool. 

We also did a little hike in this park to the top of a small mountain that allowed us to have a beautiful view of the whole valley we were passing through. It made me think of upstate New York, with the rolling hills, green landscape, and lack of traffic. 

On the hike back down we saw a fox. Apparently they are very common in the southern region of Chile and although I don't recall the specific name, I do remember that it struck me as a big larger than a normal fox we would think of from New York. Think more of a small and slim coyote and that would be an accurate description of this animal. 

From there, we headed to our hotel for the evening and what would turn out to be our home base for the rest of the week. It was about 30 minutes outside of Puerto Natales, so we had some more bus time. Once we arrived, we ate a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant and then headed up to our hotel rooms. 

I would like to just add in here that this hotel was truly a work of art. Old wooden floors, beautiful stone walls, and it had a huge property surrounding it filled with little ponds and gazebos, a horse barn, and even small cabins that a family could rent out instead of staying in the main lodge. It was definitely a little fancy for a group of exchange students, but my guess is that it made the most sense because they had the restaurant attached whereas most of the hotels I saw in Puerto Natales were smaller and wouldn't have offered that option. Again, what do I know, but it seems like a logical inference. 

The third day of our trip was also our first day entering the Torres de Paine National Park. We ate a buffet breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road to visit Los Cuernos de Paine. The drive was spectacular and I remember being able to tell almost immediately when we entered the park because there were more lakes and they were each filled with the bluest, clearest, water I have ever seen in my life. 

I jokingly said to a friend when explaining the trip that I think I finally discovered where my eye color comes from, but it really is the truth. The water was so blue it almost hurt to look at. 

When we arrived at the entrance, our guides stepped out to pay for our bus to enter and we got parked. 

The hike to the lookout for Los Cuernos was a maximum of 4 miles round trip, but we took more than 3 hours to go out and back because there were simply so many beautiful landscapes to admire and take pictures of. 

This hike in my opinion was where we were hit the hardest by the notorious Patagonian wind. There was also a little sprinkling of rain, but I think it was just spray from the lakes because the wind was blowing so strong. And other than the fact that sometimes I had to hold onto my hat, it was one of the most marvelous experiences of my lifetime. 

When we finally arrived at the Cuernos de Paine lookout spot, we took a gazillion photos. Photos of the mountains, photos of the whole exchange student crew with their flags, then without their flags, then solo photos, then with a small group of friends, and oh my goodness we just couldn't stop taking photos. 

I will say, I intentionally took a moment to breathe and look around at the beautiful place I was in with all the wonderful people and it made my heart fill right up to the brim. What a fortunate young lady I am to have these experiences. How lucky am I that Chile and Spanish get to be a part of who I am for the rest of my life. And although it's been so hard to be away from home for so long, it all felt so so worth it in those moments staring down this ancient and beautiful rock formation. 

After spending a good while at Los Cuernos de Paine we hiked back down to the main entrance and sat down by one of the smaller lakes to eat our bag lunches. They are very very strict about littering and carrying your garbage in the national park and I freaking loved it. Yes, let's take care of nature. Let's not ruin this beautiful earth that we live on please and thank you. I was super careful with all my garbage, especially with the wind, don't worry. 

After that, we started the 2 hour bus ride back to the hotel but we did make a little pitstop in Puerto Natales this afternoon. Our guides, Maria Jose and Jared, said we had an extra hour and we could have some free time to buy some gifts or a little coffee because it was kind of freezing at this point in the day. 

I walked around with my friends Anna and Sara, both from Switzerland, and we made a few purchases before heading back to the meeting spot. And from there it was back to the hotel. Before dinner,  Maria Jose and Jared explained the following day to us because it was finally time to go see the infamous Torres de Paine. 

We would have about a 10 hour hike, 22 kilometers in total (about 13.5 miles), broken up into 3 parts. A smoother, flatter stretch that would gradually start to incline until we reached a small resting area that had a bathroom and a small restaurant. From there we would start a stretch that weaved through the woods and creeks. We would reach a small clearing where we could rest, and there were also some outhouses available, before conquering the final and most difficult part of the whole trail. Approximately 1 kilometer of rocky terrain that basically ascends directly upward, but it would give way to one of the most miraculous natural formations to exist. 

Upon hearing that cheery pep talk and being told that we had to be in the lobby of the hotel the following day at 5:45am, we ate dinner and loped off to bed. 

The following morning, by some grace of god, we all made it on the bus according to schedule. Once we arrived at the park, we were met by four other guides who were more or less Torres de Paine professionals and would be helping ensure that we had a successful day, free of any kind of incident. 

I actually ended up chatting with one of the young ladies named Cristi about how she ended up working in this particular profession. 

She told me that she grew up in Puerto Natales and originally went to college in Santiago to study psychology, but ended up dropping out because she really didn't like it. She said that around the same time she dropped out, her cousin finished college and still wasn't sure what she wanted to do, so they both enrolled in an ecotourism program and that led her to becoming an official guide for the National Park.

Although it was a brief interaction, I love hearing the stories of other people's lives and how they came to be where they are now. It's so fascinating and just goes to show that there really isn't one right way of doing anything. 

Anyway, the hike itself was quite an experience. 

The flat part was very manageable until it started to incline, and then I really wanted to just flop on the ground and stay there, but we pushed through until we made it to the pitstop. I bought myself a ridiculously expensive Snickers bar which helped to ease the pain a bit. 

From there we entered the wooded portion and it reminded me a lot of New York. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see, but with taller trees and little creeks winding their way through our path, I couldn't help but think of the Adirondacks. Thankfully, this part did not make me want to flop over. 

The final stretch though? It was like climbing the stairway to heaven, I swear to you. It's a good thing the views at the top were amazing because otherwise I might have thrown a fit. 

Overall takeaway, it was hard. But we did it. And if there is one thing I've taken away from this whole exchange it's that all of life is pretty much summed up in those two sentences. 

We took lots of photos of the towers before grouping back together to eat our lunches. Once I stopped moving my body so much, the cold really started to set in and I had trouble feeling my fingers, but we were so lucky in that there wasn't any rain and the wind was very tame. A win is a win. 

On the way back down, I chatted a decent amount with a boy named Mattis who is from Denmark and really wants to come visit the U.S. sometime, specifically to do a road trip. I told him let me know when he wants to come and we will make it happen. He's a really sweet kid and I hope he follows through with his plans to travel because I would love to see him again.

Other than that, the thing I remember most is just being thoroughly exhausted and my legs hurting. On the last stretch of the descent I was walking with some of my closer exchange student friends, Anna (Switzerland), Matthias (Germany), and Eli (U.S.). We were all tired and just messing around and I just remember smiling and looking at the three of them and feeling so content. The three of them are all living in the same city in Chile, Salamanca, so they are a tight knit crew. I just felt so happy to be part of their jokes and to be doing such a wonderful thing alongside them, but doing it with such a lighthearted attitude.

There's something to be said about the way that teenagers are able to take crazy, profound experiences, and add a lighthearted humor and goofiness to them. I think that's probably why there are so many coming of age movies with vibes along those lines. 

When we arrived back at the spot where our bus was parked, Maria Jose and Jared surprised us with a bunch of treats. There were alfajores, hot cocoa, little sandwiches, lemon bread, brownies, juice, and essentially a whole bunch of yummy snacks to celebrate what we accomplished. It was a really nice surprise and I ate more alfajores than I'd like to admit. 

That night, after dropping off our 4 extra guides in Puerto Natales, we ate a super late dinner and crashed into our beds, sleeping as soon as our heads hit the pillows. 

The following day we got to sleep in a little bit which was nice. This would be our last day visiting the park and we were heading to do a short hike to Lago Grey (Lake Grey) which also is home to Glacier Grey. It was pretty windy, but the hike wasn't difficult after our adventure from the day prior, and the view was stunning. Once again, we took lots of photos. Then we just hung out on the beach of the lake for a little while, trying to soak in our last minutes of this wonderful place. 

We ate a bagged lunch on the bus ride back to the hotel and ended up having a free afternoon to explore. 

I walked around the property with Anna, Sara, (both from Switzerland) and Hette (Germany). We just chatted and took cute photos on Sara's camera and got a little lost on some of the trails before we headed back to the lodge for dinner. 

It all felt bittersweet, the trip went by so quickly and I wasn't ready to bid my exchange student friends or Patagonia farewell quite yet, but I suppose that is the curse of any good trip. You always have to leave before you want to. 

After dinner, Maria Jose and Jared had a little surprise activity for us. 

An infamous indigenous group that used to live in this particular region of Chile called the Selk'nam had a tradition of using body paint to tell stories. They were a nomadic culture, living in small groups and moving from place to place to gather food. Unfortunately, upon the arrival of various European explorers, the Selk'nam people were exterminated by disease and by conquistadors who wished to bring them back to Europe as an exhibit because of their unusually large size and thick skin that had evolved over centuries of living in one of the harshest climates on planet earth. 

To celebrate their culture and feel a bit more connected to the place we had just visited, Maria Jose and Jared had us split up into groups and come up with our own story and how to express it with body paint. 

It was really fun closing to our trip, filled with lots of laughter and all kinds of wild face paint.

Later that night, Anna (Switzerland) and I decided that we would be a little more social and hang out in the billiard room with some of the other exchange students because it was the last night. We chilled, listening to music and chatting until about 2am before we called it a night. 

One of the boys from Germany, Fredi, was playing super good music and he got so excited when I complimented him on it. Not a super important detail, but one that I know I will want to remember when I come back to this blog to reminisce. 

The next morning we got to sleep in a little bit again, because our stops of the day were Puerto Natales and then the airport. We loaded all of our stuff onto the bus and about 30 minutes later arrived at a local museum that had lots of cool artifacts and information about local culture and the arrival of Europeans.

After the museum, we had free time in Puerto Natales again to make our last souvenir purchases. I walked around with Anna and Sara again (are you sensing a theme as to who my closest exchange student friends are) and we got a few snacks to share at a cute little bakery. 

Once our time ran out and we met up at our designated spot, we headed to eat lunch one last time in Puerto Natales before we started our travel home. I learned that a big huge burger doesn't sit super well with my stomach when I'm flying, but oh well. You've gotta live to learn these kinds of things. 

Before we got back on the bus to go to the airport, Maria Jose and Jared gifted each of us with a pin to commemorate our trip. It was a very sweet gesture and I put it right on my blazer when I got back to my host family's house. 

From there it was just a long, tired, and melancholy flight back to Santiago where my host parents picked me up to bring me back to Quillota. And that was the end of my adventure to the end of the world and back again. 

Now I know that was a lot, but I have a few final thoughts I would like to share before I officially sign off of this post. 

The first is that I am so, so incredibly grateful that I was able to go on this trip. Not only was it a much needed nature intermission, but it was also one of the most majestic places I have ever visited and has only cemented my belief that I need to return to Chile. 

The second is that I want to put a little thank you in here to my friend Anna from Switzerland even though she will probably never see this. 

Have you ever met one of those people who you can just tell right from the start that the two of you are meant to be close friends? 

Anna is one of those people for me. She brings out the best parts of my personality, the parts of me that laugh loud and love louder. I never have to take myself too seriously around her, but she also knows some of the craziest stories and secrets. I loved spending this week in Patagonia with her and I hope that somehow, somewhere, after this exchange, we find a way to spend time together again. 

Maybe part of it can be attributed to the fact that we are both living out this crazy exchange experience, but I truly think that the universe put us in different countries because if we even lived on the same continent we would be too powerful. So Anna, if you're reading this tocaya (Spanish word for name twin), thank you for making my trip to southern Chile just that much more magical. 

And my final thought of this blog post (I know I'm sorry, I swear I'm almost done), I'm not even sure how to put into words. 

The impact that this trip had on me is unexplainable. There is a wildness that lives in the air in this region of Chile that I have never encountered before. 

It is almost like my body knew and could feel the pulsing heartbeat of the ancient mountains and harsh terrain and wanted to respond. My breathing felt fuller, and colors were brighter. I could smell the trees and the snow in the air. My footsteps echoed and any worry or stress I had carried on my shoulders melted away because how could it matter when these mountains and this ground had seen millenia pass by and are still standing strong? 

I have always been a girl who loves nature, and living in a more urban environment in Chile has only confirmed my belief that I want to live in a rural place. However, I believe that people who are born in the city or who have been removed from nature for a long time, have forgotten what it can feel like to return back to the very thing that creates life. Now obviously I am not trying to shame those who identify as city people, because I am sure they have their reasons just as I have mine for wanting to live in the middle of nowhere. But there is something to be said about breathing fresh air and touching grass once in a while. Make of that what you will. 

If you've made it this far into this blog post, you truly are a fan of this Chilean adventure and for that I am grateful. Thank you for following along and thank you for your patience with my recent infrequent posting. 

Much love always,

Anna