Pods glorious pods

A Guanacho - related to llama and camel.....

7th Jan. We are awake early and go down for breakfast, which is a simple help yourself affair of bread, jam and juice, no different from most of what we have had so far. Both Mandy and I agree that we don't really want to stay in this place when we are back in P. Arenas in 5 days time. It is just a place with no real atmosphere. We are picked by a minibus at 9:30, then pick up 2 American couples before heading to the airport to pick up a number of other people. It transpires that we will be in a group of 7 on the 5 day trip, but the 4 Americans are doing the 7 day trip. It is a good 2 hour drive to Puerto Natales to the local offices of Casada, the company who is the local agent and manages the ecocamp that we will be staying at. The drive starts out through flat cattle/sheep grazing land which is actually quite flat and lacking on significant detail. However, as we drive along hills and then snow capped peaks start to appear. These are the lower peaks of the Andes, the other end of which I have seen in Peru a few years back. P. Natales is primarily a staging post for people heading into Patagonia, and it looks it. The houses we pass are again of basic construction and most are single or double story. Not many high rises here. There are lots of shops dedicated to trekking as well as basic restaurants aimed at travellers.

We have to fill in a bit of paperwork at the office, which gives me a chance to print off some model release forms as well as checking a few emails. I don't know if there is any internet access at the camp, so could be out of contact for 5 days (shock horror!). We are then taken off to a basic restaurant for lunch, I skip on the chicken broth soup and have an interesting mix of omelette/Spanish tortilla, which includes green beans and peas. I have to use some jalopeno sauce to add a bit of zest. I can't even remember what the dessert is! We then walk back to the office. There is a couple from Scotland who have to do some emergency clothes buying as their bags haven't turned up. Luckily they do have their boots and some outer clothing, so not a complete disaster. We are then on the bus with our two guides for the trip out to the ecocamp(EC). Miasha and Huwamani will be our guides for the 5 days we are at the EC. During the trip we find out that they are cousins, Maisha being a trainee vet and Huwamani studying Incan history. The trip from P. Natales to EC is approx 3 hours including a stop to see a set of caves where the remains of a Myllodon were found. I remember the cave being mentioned in Bruce Chatwin's book called 'In Patagonia'. So it would be interesting to see a place that is referenced in a book that is deemed a one of the best travel books written, not that I was completely taken by it. It is a lovely sunny day with a few clouds in the sky, but you do notice the cold when you are in the shade. The cave stop is interesting. As the others walk around having a guided tour, I get stuck into playing around with my new camera as I want to be as comfortable as possible when we start trekking. I am praying that it all works out and I do get pictures that can be used in conjunction with the articles that Mandy will be working on as well as the ones promised to Cascada in return for the significant discount they gave us. I wish I could get this kind of gig more often....maybe I will.

During the tour of the caves, I get to chat to a few others in the group. Mima and Richard are the couple from Scotland. Although Richard is a Scot, Mima is from Finland. There are a couple friends travelling together, Tim and Colin, who used to work together and are both London based. They are a few years younger than Mandy and myself, but appear to be a good laugh. Then there is Roshenda, more of her and the Irish couple later. Back on the bus for the continuation of our trip to EC. We have one more stop at a small village on the outskirts of Torres del Paine National Park, where the EC is located. This just looks like a place with a couple of cafes and artisan shops, so a few of us just loiter outside and we are lucky enough to see a Goucho come by hearding a stack of evidently recently sheared sheep with a few dogs. I didn't see them at first, but heard some whistling and then saw the dogs working a few sheep. I rushed back to get my camera from the bus, but by then I was caught on the wrong side of the herd. Did get a few photos, but I won't quickly forget the sound and the dust cloud……

Back onto the minibus for the last leg to the EC. At one stage we do have to get out to let the van travel over a narrow bridge that has a maximum weight limit. The bridge is quaint in a strange sort of way and is actually made by a company in London. We then go past an ugly hotel before arriving at our destination and finally see ‘The Pods’ that we will be staying in. The photos say it all. The do look cool but even I end up banging my head on the entrance, and I am not exactly the biggest guy in the world. The location is amazing. We have behind us great view of the towers, that are the core to Torres del Paine national park.

We meet in one of the two main pods for welcome drinks and appetizers. More Pisco Sours… Dinner is a nice affair with a few bottles of wine thrown in. This is a rather comfortable form of glorified and ecofriendly camping. The pods look cool, but there are no curtains and the sun doesn’t set till 10:30pm and rises just after 5am. Also there is no heating in the sleeping pods, but lovely warm blankets/quilts. There are only 2 power sockets in the whole place and no internet or telephone access…. Bliss.