My last day in Puerto Natales simply involved laundry, eating, and sleeping. I was not feeling particularly well and was extremely fatigued, so I rested at the Erratic Rock while she did the laundry. The highlight of the day may have been when she asked me to get her an orange and a few other things to eat on the ferry, just in case the time between meals was too long.

After exiting the port in Puerto Montt, I turned right, walked for 10 minutes, and entered the bus station. I quickly located the minibuses to Puerto Varas, paid my 800 pesos, and climbed aboard. Getting around Chile had been wonderfully easy. Buses were reasonably frequent, almost all were clearly labelled with their destination, and the terminals were close to where I had been staying. The minibus cruised through Puerto Montt, picking up passengers. I saw the unmistakable backpacks of the “English Couple” in the distance, and we soon left the city. Twenty minutes later, I arrived in Puerto Varas, got off at the corner of San Francisco and San Salvador, and walked to my hostel.

Before leaving Sydney I decided it would be worthwhile to go hiking in Patagonia. The “I” trek, arguably the most famous trek in the Torres del Paine, is what I opted to do. Although I noted the logistics of the trek in another post, I will share the photos and other stories here. I flew into Punta Arenas on an overnight flight, arriving just after 6:00 in the morning. The airport was small, similar to the one in Medford that I knew so well. It was comfortable, with plenty of room to spread out and sofas to lie on. There was also free Wi-Fi, although the connection was slow. One question remained: how would I get to Puerto Natales? I knew a bus left from the city and thought it might stop at the …

I arrived in Chile shortly after 18:00, although the sun was still beaming as if it were noon. At the airport, I withdrew some money and immediately caught the Centropuerto bus near the front of the terminal, just as Triposo advised. I bought a return ticket and was soon dropped off at Pajaritos Station on Line 1. I managed to get a Bip! card and caught the metro to Manuel Montt, the station closest to my hotel.