The bus ride was easy enough, and I slept most of the way, so that was nice. I wandered through Puerto Natales to find my hostal, and it's an interesting town. Not as big as Punta Arenas, but it's hard to say if it's better kept or not. There are some real similarities, that's for sure.
The hostal I'm staying in is run by a husband and wife - Alejandro and Andrea - and they live upstairs with her mom and their two kids. It's pretty cute. The funny thing is, I'm the only person staying there. I paid for a single room, just because I wasn't feeling gutsy about sharing a dorm...but I wouldn't be sharing it. Sigh. Could've saved $40. Oh well. The real bummer of the day came when planning my next few days. Found out that since it's the off-season here, there's only one bus to Torres del Paine and it's at 8 AM. Lovely. So I didn't have to leave PA so early, because there's nothing really to do in this town...or I could've come last night. Because another thing - since it's the off-season and I'm traveling alone, tours can get cancelled because there aren't enough people. So I can't go to El Calafete in Argentina because the tour is Thursday...and it would get back after the last bus back to PA which I need to catch so I can make it to Santiago on Friday. FML.
I ended up planning out a tour of Torres del Paine for tomorrow, and a return trip Thursday to go hiking to a waterfall and see a few more things on my own, so it'll be okay. Just not the most happy days so far. After that was all done, I decided to go wander the city to get my mind off things and try to feel like I was accomplishing something. I hate waiting around, and since I'm alone, I can't really go on any tours for the afternoon without booking a private one for $300. No gracias.
First I stopped and ate at a pizza place that came recommended by the LMG crew (since it is here during the winter) called La Mesita Grande. It's basically got one long table that people sit at. It wasn't crowded when I got there, but I got the impression that it would be a cool place for dinner with a big crowd. The atmosphere was nice, the pizza was great, and I might just come back for some homemade pasta tomorrow night. I also finished off lunch with some homemade raspberry ice cream...yum.
After lunch, I wandered around through the streets, noticing stray dogs again, and an abundance of litter everywhere. It's a strange thing. Like Uno said yesterday, it's just like they don't care or don't realize it. I saw some people cleaning up the front of their store, washing windows and the like, and then noticed all the candy wrappers and cans on the grass in front...weird.
Anyways, I walked down to the water to look at the mountains, which surround the city and are gorgeous. The port here is actually where the LMG and the NBP spend the winter, so it was neat to see the docks and try to imagine them sitting here. I think they'd stick out (and not just for being bright orange). As I walked along the water it kinda reminded me of Ocean Springs, except with mountains everywhere. There were birds swimming in the water and flying around - gulls and swans. No pelicans, though.
I headed back into town to check my email and went to a museum on the early peoples of Patagonia and the first settlers in Puerto Natales. It was pretty basic, but neat to see all the artifacts and learn a little more about the region. I headed back to my hostal after that and took a siesta and read my book for a while, then went to the grocery store to buy picnic lunch food for the next two days, since there aren't really restaurants at Torres del Paine.
After all of that, I headed out for dinner. I'm sorta getting used to this whole eating at 8 or 9 thing, because that's what I tend to do in the states, but I still do not achieve the eating a heavy lunch and light dinner...especially when I find a great restaurant like tonight. I went to this place called Afrigonia. It's a fusion of Patagonian and Zambian food, by a wife and husband from each nationality, respectively. Oh my goodness. This is the best food I've had so far, well, along with that from La Marmita. Don't make me pick which one was better. So this is what I had. To drink, a Mango Sour, which is made with Pisco (Chilean liquor), mango, cream, and sugar. Amazing. I was given some roasted lentils, plantain chips, and a cucumber-yogurt with mint for a complementary appetizer, and, as with all other places I've found, some homemade bread and salsa (pebre again, only this time more blended). I asked what the owner recommended, and she said the ceviche, so I went with it to start and it was awesome. Salmon and mango. Yum. And then for my actual meal I got chicken curry with rice. The chicken was stuffed with spinach and peanuts, which gave it this incredible flavor, and the curry was really good. And the rice was African, called Wali, and was made with almonds, raisins, and curry. Fantastic. I was horrendously full, but it was soo worth it.
So I came one last time to the internet cafe to check email and write. I'll go back to the room soon to read and then get to bed, so I can be well-rested for tomorrows tours. I'm excited. Even though the day didn't work out exactly as I expected, I think it will end up being a good trip up here. I'll just get to Argentina on my next trip down.
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