A Travel Post- Patagonia
Patagonia Journal
This is a weird post, I know...but I wanted to share.
Much like my last post about a trip to Michigan, I wanted to share my notes from a trip that my wife and I took to Patagonia for my 40th birthday. These entries were not in a “story” form, but in bullet points. I will share them exactly as they are. If I put a “(1st)” next to the note, it means that I believe this was the first time I did this particular thing. What a trip. Enjoy.
4/1/2019
We’re in fu#$%!g Patagonia (1st)
EcoCamp is great
Amazing food/wine
Saw Guanacos (1st)
Don’t forget Raymond- petrified wood, fossils
Great stars
Saw glaciers already
Flamingos
The group = me, Nat, Megan, Scott, Raymond, Heather, Kari, Dave, Beth/(Alberto & Caludio)
Punta Arenas, cool town, cool dogs
Ate at La Luna
Had beets twice in same day (1st)
Cold & rainy, but not terrible
4/2/2019
Saw a wild horse (1st?)
10 mile hike in the wind and rain
Thankfully Raymond’s wife is alive- and famous for bees! (he was by himself, we were worried)
Our 4x4 is stuck in the mud
Talked to a lot of Chileans today
Ate lunch in a field
Saw puma poop (1st)
Had Patagonian beer (1st)
Fun, well- traveled group
Weather is “miserable” (with a smiley face)
Coffee w/ Bailey’s before our hike
Worried about our dogs
Chilean dinners = long with wine
Bed time: raining hard, no electricity, no wifi/internet/phone...feels good
Had eel (1st)...ehhh
Haven't met a Chilean who wasn't nice
Chapped lips
Haven't thought about work more than 2 times
Head lamps = clutch
Played w/ outdoor puppies
In camp, toilet paper goes in bins (1st)
I can see why people love this region: challenging, beautiful...no snakes
Good camaraderie today- people not taking the truck even though it is raining and cold
The outdoors brings out the best in people, and the best people choose to be outdoors
*I should write something about this- how we could all use more of the outdoors to bring people together
Something about writing by little light/rain beating down/a few glasses of wine…
4/3/2019
Kayaked in 0 degrees Celsius water today (1st)
Saw an iceberg break off, had to paddle away very quickly (1st)
Saw 3rd largest icefield in the world
Skipped stones in a Chilean lake (1st)
Spoke some basic Spanish
Pisco sours/skipped a shower (I think I was going for a clever rhyme here)
Shared tea w/ Chileans 100 ft from a glacier (1st)
Forgot what day it was (positive)
STRONG winds
Icebergs = the bluest blue I have ever seen
Tender lamb for dinner
What a GREAT day- notes don't capture it
10 years, today, since I met Natalie
End of rainbow
4/4/2019
Sleep was tricky due to wind
Weather has already changed twice in 1st 1.5 hours of the day
Lots of coffee
Biking today
Saw a fox within 5-6 feet that had what I think was a bird in his mouth...he didn't care about humans, standing, waiting (1st)
There was potential to see a puma today- driver saw 2 the evening before
Sat on a kill for a bit, with no luck (1st)
Multiple rainbows, again
MUDDY!
This BBQ lamb lunch is what it is all about: us, Chileans and family, outside, tin roof, smoke, beer, wine, LOCAL (side note: I may write a post just about this event one day)
The “Patagonian breeze” was brutal today
Ate octopus (1st)
Look up “Harlem River” song- heard it in EcoCamp bar...haunting (I prob had some wines in me)
4/5/2019
Got within 2 feet of a fox, he was on the walkway to the restrooms- awesome
PUMAS!- saw a mom and 2 cubs feeding on a dead guanaco, cubs were playing/running...it was awesome, one of the coolest things I have ever seen (1st)
Saw some legit Gauchos (1st)
Hiked: bridge was out, which was actually cool
Insane wind and rain, everything and everyone was soaked...sucked but awesome
Put Claudio’s wipe-out video on a loop at EcoCamp dome bar
Smoked lenga tree in my whiskey- awesome (1st)
Played “guess my animal” game with Natalie
Raymond told me he wasn’t going with us tomorrow- I’m bummed, but for good reason- tough hike and he has a…….pacemaker
He said his wife would be happier if he didn’t go
4/6/2019
Last day in the “wild”
Hike trail closed- bridge washed away, still went on a legit hike
Best weather yet, still windy though
Done early- kind of nice to have some down time on last day
Wind literally blew snot out of my nose...multiple times
Close fox in AM
Need to get Glenn’s book into the “book trade”
What time does the bar open?!
Great night- laughs, jokes, etc.
Grouper for dinner
Claudio won an award for being the best guide in the region- well deserved
I talked sports w/ him...was interesting to get his take on American football- he likes it
Week has been the best, but ready to get home, mostly because of the dogs
Sun was finally out today, and that was good for all
Laughter and camaraderie can be heard around camp, as new friendships were forged and old renewed...thanks to the outdoors (and no wifi)
S. America changes times, but Patagonia does not
Interesting how quickly cliques form, I suppose it is natural...Nat and I bridged the gap for the group this week (also included was a drawing of how we accomplished that)
4/7/2019
Last full day in country
Cruised back to Punta Arenas
Great pizza for dinner, wine, champagne
Saw killer whales (we think) from hotel room! (1st)
Back to civilization, phone, internet- kind of good, kind of bad
Love this hotel
Dogs are safe! (we checked in finally)
Found some sea glass for Aunt Phyllis
Time, man
Said goodbye to the group...mixed feelings...weird to think you will likely never see them again- I should be used to that (military)
Travel is SO good, yet can be so exhausting
May never see a guanaco again
Claudio seems to have his dream job
Leaving in the AM
OK, so there are my notes from an EPIC trip to Chile & Patagonia. Some likely did not make sense, hell some didn’t make sense to me. I tried to include some links so you can learn a little more about the things I mentioned. That trip should be on your short list, especially if you love the outdoors and getting away from reality. I hope you enjoyed this somewhat odd post!
-Houston Bailey (@BumpBailey)