Travel to Patagonia in Chile – Episode 631

Hear about travel to Patagonia in Chile as the Amateur Traveler talks to Talek Nantes about her recent trip to the bottom of South America.

Talek says, “It is absolutely spectacular. The scenery is out of this world. I think that the location of the major national park, which is Torres del Paine National Park, has one of the best collections of biodiversity that you can imagine. It’s got the pristine lakes. It’s got the forests, thick forests. It’s got the soaring mountains, the wildlife, the customs, the food. It’s different from what you can find anywhere else in the world. You can go on ships through the Straits of Magellan.”

Talek started this segment of a longer trip with a bus ride through the Andes from Mendoza, Argentina as part of a longer trip. While she crossed much further north than Patagonia, she also recommends that trip.

She flew down to Puerto Natales which is the gateway to Patagonia and especially Torres del Paine National Park. This is a city that grew rich when shipping went “around the Horn” and struggled after the opening of the Panama Canal. The locals addressed the problem that people were not spending time thereby developing the city as a gastronomic destination.

Torres del Paine National Park may be one of the most beautiful national parks in the world. The park is known for its trekking on either the “O” or the “W” trekking route. You can also day hike to explore the park if trekking is not your scene. This is a park with jagged mountains, glaciers, and blue-green lakes filled with glacial silt.

Talek then took a boat from Punta Arenas down past the glaciers in the Chilean Fjords to Cape Horn. They did not circumnavigate the Horn because the seas were too rough for their smaller boat.

Much of southern Chile and Patagonia is national parkland and it has wild lama-like guanacos, penguins, and lots of birdlife. Talek recounted dolphins swimming in the wake of their zodiac as they explored penguins rookeries.

Patagonia is rugged, windy, green, wet, and wild. It has glaciers and majestic mountains. It is a place for those who love the outdoors, but wouldn’t mind a glass of great wine and a steak to go with it.

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Show Notes

travelswithtalek.com
Torres del Paine National Park
Mendoza, Argentina
Crossing The Andes By Bus: A Unique Adventure
Puerto Natales
El Bote
La Ultima Esperanza
Explore Torres Del Paine National Park And Puerto Natales
Hiking the W Circuit of Torres del Paine National Park
The Ultimate Guide to The “O” Circuit
Punta Arenas
Sara Braun
How To Cruise Cape Horn And The Straits Of Magellan
Puerto Montt
Magellanic penguin
Rhea (bird)
Caracara
Video of the Ship rolling as we crossed Cape Horn
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
Explore Buenos Aires To Patagonia: A 21 Day Photo Tour

Community

Savio had some comments on Travel to Singapore – Episode 628

Hi Chris, another fine episode on Amateur Traveler. I happened to visit Singapore a couple of times in the past five years but I did learn a few more things listening to this podcast.

For anyone interested in WWII history, there are a number of sites in Singapore that definitely worth a visit. The Kranji War Cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. It is the final resting place for the soldiers who died during WWII defending Singapore.

A lesser known site is the Old Ford Motor Factory Museum. The factory was built by Ford in October 1941 but before it had a chance to produce any cars, Singapore fell to the invading Japanese army. On February 15, 1942, General Lieutenant-Percival from British formally surrendered to the Japanese on this site.

Near the end of the podcast, your guest Ashley mentioned the swanky Fullerton Hotel. During the Japanese occupation in WWII, the building became the headquarters of the Japanese military administration in Singapore. BTW, Fullerton offered several free walking tours about its properties. You don’t need to be a guest to partake. I did two of them and they were excellent.

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