Chile Forum

Hola amigos,
I am living down south in Puerto Natales and wanted to say hello and thank you for all the good information you have on this site. Ive been here since 1995 and it is good to see some current events being covered. Very helpful and I hope I can add some input as well.
If you need and info on from down here in Magellanes just let me know and I would love to help.

Ps

WOW! Puerto Natales!
What do you have down there? Whats the warmest it ever gets? Whats the population down there?

Welcome, Welcome PS! You may have the distinction of being the southern most member on the forum. Greg and I hope to make a trip as far south as we can manage next year, starting from Futa. We will look forward to your observations and info. Why not start a thread in the Southern Chile part of the forum about life there???

Vicki

Ha Ha Ha,
Um well... its not as remote as you might think. In fact Aysen is so much more "behind" as far as infrastructure, development, access, etc. But most of us like "behind" dont we?!
It can actually get to 25 celcius in the summer when the wind drops. But that is not very common as you can imagine.
Population in Puerto Natales is about 15,000, but at the moment you would never guess it as everyone tends to hibernate and/or migrate north during these winter months and its very much a ghost town right now.
Yes, I can highly recommend that Futa to Natales overland/water trip. Its amazing and the best part is the wonderful people along the way. Go for it and hope to see you down here. If you make it this far I can promise you a warmish place to crash.

suerte
Ps

Wow - welcome to the board. We now have Arica to P. Natales coverage! Looking forward to your posts.

Isn't that where the Milodon was discovered?
My grandfather sent a piece of Milodon skin from that cave,to his cousin in England and inspired her grandson, Bruce Chatwin to write the book "In Patagonia" about my grandfathers travel and adventure in that area. I have been to Punta Arenas, where my mom was born but have yet to make it to Paine and Puerto Natales.l

Thats the place


"The town of Puerto Natales was in sunshine, but purple clouds were piling up on the far side of Last Hope Sound. The roofs of the houses were scabby with rust and clattered in the wind….Raindrops smacked on the pavement. Old women, black specks along the wide street, scuttled for cover. I sheltered in a shop smelling of cats and the sea. The owner sat knitting socks of oiled wool. About her were strings of smoked mussels, cabbages, bricks of dried sea-lettuce and trusses of kelp, coiled up like the pipes of a tuba."

Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia, 1977

Hello Patagonia,

Is there much activity in Torres De Paine this time of year?....

Scott

Hola,
Yes, the Milodon Cave is about 18 ks from my house. About 12 of it is newly paved!
There are not a lot of visitors in Paine at this time of year, although the hotel Explora has solid bookings all year so you do see people around. Very few backpackers as there is no scheduled bus service in to the park from Natales.
It is incredibly beautiful though. A tip for all you residents: if you want to see the park and surrounding mountains and glaciers with close to zero visitors, book one of those cheap Aerolineas del Sur flights to Punta Arenas, rent a 4WD and enjoy. Great time to see pumas too.

abrazos
Ps