Santiago to Puerto Natales, Chile
I spoke with Oscar yesterday at the party and he said he would be happy to drive us to the Bolivian consulate and then to airport, but he would have to pick us up at 7am. 6am snuck up real quick because after the party last night, we had to quickly print out all our vouchers for Torres del Paine and all our documentation for the Bolivian visas (which includes hotel reservations, departure information, bank statements, passport pictures, etc).
Oscar picked us up a little after 7. We gave Esteban and Cata a big hug goodbye and thanked them for everything they did for us. We hopped in the car with Oscar's two kids, who were on their way to school. We got to learn firsthand what all the locals already know: traffic sucks! Usually our drives into Santiago took around 20 minutes, but during rush hour this morning, it took over an hour (even with a shortcut through a grocery store parking garage). On the way to school, Flor's nose started bleeding and they couldn't find tissues, so she had to use a safety vest case. Luckily Jenny was able to reach into her bag in the trunk and grab some tissues.
After all that was taken care of, we headed towards the Bolivian consulate. The internet had conflicting information with regards to whether you can get visas at the airport or not. Many websites say you can, but then another embassy website says you needed to get them in advance. We decided that since we were already in Santiago, that we should just stop by to try to get them in advance. Waze said we should arrive in 25mins, right at 9am. Unfortunately for us, traffic just kept getting worse and worse, to the point where we were at a complete stand still with no exit nearby. Oscar said we should probably just walk because it would be faster. We hopped out of the car, walked along the highway to a big staircase to get us to the sidewalk where we started booking it to the consulate.
Once we got there, there were a few other people in line, which worked out well because we did not have the $320 USD we needed to get our visas. Jenny ran to get cash (which she couldn't actually do because none of the ATMs would let us take out USD) while I waited with the documents. Well I finally get up to the counter and the guy working the first desk said that we could just present all the information at the airport in La Paz when we land. Grrr.
Anyway, after the consulate, we headed to the airport for our flight to Puerto Natales. We said our goodbyes to Oscar and thanked him for everything! Puerto Natales was a tiny airport with no gates. They let us off the plane onto the tarmac and then we just walked into the small terminal. We took a shuttle to our hostel and checked-in.
Puerto Natales seems to exist purely to support Torres del Paine National Park. Everyone in this town was either getting ready to do the trek or just coming back, and all the stores in town were outdoor outfitters and everything stocked camping gear and food. It was fun to hear the stories about what to expect while we prepped ourselves. We got some more food for the trip as well as some food we could eat for the next two days before we heading out. We are getting excited but still have a bunch to do.
*****
Lodging: El Patagonico
Transportation: Sky Airlines
Oscar picked us up a little after 7. We gave Esteban and Cata a big hug goodbye and thanked them for everything they did for us. We hopped in the car with Oscar's two kids, who were on their way to school. We got to learn firsthand what all the locals already know: traffic sucks! Usually our drives into Santiago took around 20 minutes, but during rush hour this morning, it took over an hour (even with a shortcut through a grocery store parking garage). On the way to school, Flor's nose started bleeding and they couldn't find tissues, so she had to use a safety vest case. Luckily Jenny was able to reach into her bag in the trunk and grab some tissues.
After all that was taken care of, we headed towards the Bolivian consulate. The internet had conflicting information with regards to whether you can get visas at the airport or not. Many websites say you can, but then another embassy website says you needed to get them in advance. We decided that since we were already in Santiago, that we should just stop by to try to get them in advance. Waze said we should arrive in 25mins, right at 9am. Unfortunately for us, traffic just kept getting worse and worse, to the point where we were at a complete stand still with no exit nearby. Oscar said we should probably just walk because it would be faster. We hopped out of the car, walked along the highway to a big staircase to get us to the sidewalk where we started booking it to the consulate.
Once we got there, there were a few other people in line, which worked out well because we did not have the $320 USD we needed to get our visas. Jenny ran to get cash (which she couldn't actually do because none of the ATMs would let us take out USD) while I waited with the documents. Well I finally get up to the counter and the guy working the first desk said that we could just present all the information at the airport in La Paz when we land. Grrr.
Anyway, after the consulate, we headed to the airport for our flight to Puerto Natales. We said our goodbyes to Oscar and thanked him for everything! Puerto Natales was a tiny airport with no gates. They let us off the plane onto the tarmac and then we just walked into the small terminal. We took a shuttle to our hostel and checked-in.
Puerto Natales seems to exist purely to support Torres del Paine National Park. Everyone in this town was either getting ready to do the trek or just coming back, and all the stores in town were outdoor outfitters and everything stocked camping gear and food. It was fun to hear the stories about what to expect while we prepped ourselves. We got some more food for the trip as well as some food we could eat for the next two days before we heading out. We are getting excited but still have a bunch to do.
*****
Lodging: El Patagonico
Transportation: Sky Airlines
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