Other than being the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park, there is nothing special about Puerto Natales. But since it is our last stop before the wilderness, I thought I'd devote a post to it and explore what it's like in a small Chilean town. This is also where we picked up our rental car delivered to us at the airport.
Driving into town, we noticed an old pier with nothing but pilings left at the waterfront . This turned out to be our destination for sunset and sunrise. There wasn't much of a sunset but the sunrise was breathtaking. The bonus was it was within walking distance from where we were staying.
The town is small enough to walk to wherever we need to, so we walked to dinner at a restaurant - in a shipping container nonetheless! And it served the sought after black cod or Patagonian sablefish! After dinner we walked to the grocery store to stock up on necessities for the following week. Interesting that the supermarket allowed small vendors selling local fruits and shopping bags at competitive prices just outside the door.
You will see below snapshots of the town, and random things we came across. We left for Torres del Paine right after breakfast. It wasn't far but part of it is on gravel roads and it took us a couple of hours to get there. One important note, there are no gas stations after Puerto Natales so we were very conscious about conserving gas throughout the five days we were in the area. The one tank of gas would have to last us until we cross the border into Argentina.
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The old pier at dusk |
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Santolla - restaurant in a shipping container (outside and inside) |
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| Delicious Patagonian sablefish |
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Riding the skatepark |
An expressive mural on a house fence
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| Wooden statue of Mylodon, an extinct giant ground sloth - town landmark and mascot |
Local church
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Interesting abodes |
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| Ready made cart for street vendor |
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| Dried peppers and what looked like smoked mussels or oysters |
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| Matcha cups in all shapes and sizes |
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| Monument commemorating renowned Patagonian explorer Alberto De Agostini, Salesian missionary, photographer and cartographer (beside an indigenous person, symbolizing his respectful approach to the local cultures) |
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| Just before sunrise at the pier |
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| A dazzling sunrise with double rainbows |
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| Rock shags ready to sun themselves at the end of the pier |
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Two vista points before we got to Torres del Paine - a foretaste of vistas to come |
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