We closed out our time in Puerto Natales with a week of school, relaxing, fútbol, enjoying this cute town, and history! We returned to the same AirBnB we stayed at before the "W" as we really enjoyed being in this local neighborhood, the house worked out great for school, and the house had great TV's for watching the World Cup final (hey, you pick you places your way and I'll pick mine my way!).
We treated the kids to a night out at Last Hope Distillery for drinks (FANTASTIC mocktails!) and tapas and also took them with us for a night out at Indigo Hotel's restaurant which is where we originally learned about the meaning of "Paine" and the Tehuelche language so many years ago. While I love eating in and stretching our travel budget, it was really nice to have some nights out. The adults had one last date at Last Hope where we officially closed out our tour of the menu, having tried ALL of the cocktails and food on the entire December menu. We look forward to returning in a few years when their whiskey is ready!
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| We simply love Last Hope! Comfortable, friendly, and delicious! |
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| We don't do "fancy" very often, but we enjoyed this trip down memory lane. |
We decided to get one last tourist site in before we left town--la Cueva del Milodón! The cave was discovered at the end of the 19th century with skins and bones of a milodon, a giant, extinct sloth. We spent an afternoon exploring the big cave, as well as two smaller caves (which we actually preferred) and climbed up La Silla del Diablo, "The Devil's Chair," to take in the views and enjoy a snack. It was a nice, easy day of hiking in the hills.
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| Cueva Grande and the milodón. |
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| Cueva del Medio and the trail tunnel. |
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| Deep inside Cueva Chica. |
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| La Silla del Diablo. |
When it was time to leave our comfort in Puerto Natales we packed up some sandwiches, grabbed our bags, and walked 10 minutes to the bus station. We enjoyed a three-hour ride south through beautiful country and saw tons of guanaco, nandu, and sheep along the way. And after another 10-15 minute walk, we were at our new home in Punta Arenas. This was a super easy transfer.
And then there was a bit of crazy! As we were being welcomed by our host, it was clear she was an American ex-pat so I asked where she was originally from. When she said "northern Illinois" I had to dig a little more. Turns out she was from Peru, Illinois, a whopping 30-minute drive from where I was born and raised. We live in such a small, wonderful world and I love the adventurers that we are meeting along the way!
~Jo, Nomadic Momma
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