Chile here we come!

January 2: Leaving Ushuaia

Today Tom and I got up around 7 to get ready to leave Ushuaia. We enjoyed a breakfast at our hostel and then checked out and went to Laguna Negra to cash in on a free hot chocolate. The treat was compliments of Tolkeynen Boat Tours, the shop was closed yesterday as were most shops.

While sipping our hot coco we realized that as the top layer cooled it started to solidify. Tom mentioned that he thinks this was straight up hot chocolate without the milk or water added in. Either way it was tasty and warmed us up for the day.

Before catching our bus we stopped into a few shops. Tom found a leather wallet and I finally found a reasonably prices keepsake to take home from Ushuaia.

At 11 am we left Ushuaia and traveled close to three hours on the most beautiful bus ride I have ever been on...and I have been on a few bus rides :) It´s not everyday you get to drive throughthe Andes Mountains. We switched busses in Rio Grande and headed out for Punta Arenas. Along the way we had two stops for immigration purposes. One at the Argentina Border Control and one at Chile´s. Each stop added about an hour to our trip.

Tom and I both enjoyed the ferry ride across the Magellan Straits. It was extremely windy here and you needed to lean into the wind in order to move from place to place. It was amazing to finally find a place that was windier than South Dakota. We both got a little wet from the sea spray that flew up as we crossed, as did many of the cars aboard. We both captured to shots and footage of the crossing that I am sure we be shared upon our return.

I enjoyed watching the landscape change as we traveled from Argentina to Chile. We saw everyting from mountains, coastline, to rolling plains. I was shocked in the plains how some places did not have fences outlining property lines. Here you could see sheep, cattle, and llama grazing right along the side of the road!

We arrived in Punta Arenas around 11pm and made our way Hostel Keoken, a mere 8 blocks away and settled in for the night.

January 3: Headed for Pucon, Chile

Today was another day of travel :). We started with a great breakfast at our hostel, complete with a bit of embarrassment on my part. The table was set with cereal, milk, bread and butter options, along with a plate and coffee cup set for each person. Problem was I wanted cereal and had no bowl. In order to fix the dilemma I decided to use my coffee cup as my bowl. Not a bad idea since I don´t drink coffee. Plus I was encouraged when Tom followed my lead. However, while I was enjoying my cereal in a cup the host came out and pointed the bowls out to me, and said ¨we have bowls for that¨. Oops!

After breakfast we took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight to Puerto Montt. From Puerto Montt we found a bus traveling to Pucon. We had not booked a hostel ahead of time for Pucon and were a little nervous about finding one quickly after our arrival. Thankfully, God went ahead and sen someone for us. Once we gathered our baggage I was approached by a woman asking me something in spanish. I smiled and called for Tom :) She offered us a place to stay in her home which she opens up as a hostel for travelers. Needless to say we are in a nice, quiet part of town enjoying free internet.

We enjoyed a nice dinner outside at a local restaraunt complete with good conversation and a couple extra friendly companions. There are several stray dogs here in S. America. Many are skittish of people, but some have the art of begging down pretty well. Two approached our table one immediatley licked my hand so naturally I took the opportunity to love on him and his friend a litte bit. One was a german shepard mix while the other seemed to have some collie in him. Made my night.

January4: Morning

Tom and I enjoyed sleeping in a little bit today and then had a nice bowl of cereal for breakfast. We went into town and booked two spots for white water rafting this afternoon and our bus ride for tomorrow evening from Pucon to Santiago. We´ll have more info on our adventures following. I am missing home but still enjoying the great experiences of being in all these new places.