WANderlust - Puerto Natales 2014
It was a 4 hour 15 minutes flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas, with a stopover in Puerto Montt, on Sky Airlines. Based on the recommendation of Audley Travel, we skipped Ushuaia and headed for Puerto Natales. It was a 2 and a half hour drive to Remota, home for the next 3 nights. The drive was so lovely because it was such a gorgeous day - blue skies, white fluffy clouds, like how I would imagine heaven to look.
Remota blew us away. Inspired by sheep barns, the hotel's award winning architecture makes one feel in harmony with the surroundings. Simple and welcoming, it's easy to overlook the thought that went into designing the place such that it would blend into the landscape, and at the same time, remain environmentally friendly. The rate we got included all meals (ALCOHOL!) and excursions. Mealtimes at Remota were such a blast - an abundance of fresh seafood, a variety of Chilean cuisine, cocktails and wine, meant that we always left the table immensely stuffed.
We went on 3 excursions during our stay - a full day tour at Torres del Paine, half a day off looking for condors, and the 3 caves tour. The first was my favourite - we had such spectacular views of the clouds, Laguna Azul, the Paines massif and came across a herd of guanacos roaming freely. It reminded me of a wilder New Zealand, a Lord of the Rings set. This was followed by outdoor cooking at a campsite, courtesy of our driver and guide. There was a huge spread of piping hot, delicious food AND alcohol, including pisco sours which are the national drink of Chile. Our last stop was to Lago Grey where we had my first glimpse of a glacier - the Grey Glacier. The winds were so strong, we could barely stand straight.
The condors hike was also memorable because of the huge, gusty winds that made the previous day's winds pale in comparison. At times, it felt like I was going to blown off the cliff, with wind speeds of 110km/h supposedly. I had to sit down instead because it was impossible to stay put, and needed to be rescued with an "anchor", our guide. This was simultaneously fun and scary.
As we were approaching summer, we never saw night in our stay. I think it would have been gorgeous with the stars, no light pollution to speak off. I strongly encourage everybody to consider Remota. I'm thinking of going back again!
Related photos on Flickr and Instagram.
Remota blew us away. Inspired by sheep barns, the hotel's award winning architecture makes one feel in harmony with the surroundings. Simple and welcoming, it's easy to overlook the thought that went into designing the place such that it would blend into the landscape, and at the same time, remain environmentally friendly. The rate we got included all meals (ALCOHOL!) and excursions. Mealtimes at Remota were such a blast - an abundance of fresh seafood, a variety of Chilean cuisine, cocktails and wine, meant that we always left the table immensely stuffed.
We went on 3 excursions during our stay - a full day tour at Torres del Paine, half a day off looking for condors, and the 3 caves tour. The first was my favourite - we had such spectacular views of the clouds, Laguna Azul, the Paines massif and came across a herd of guanacos roaming freely. It reminded me of a wilder New Zealand, a Lord of the Rings set. This was followed by outdoor cooking at a campsite, courtesy of our driver and guide. There was a huge spread of piping hot, delicious food AND alcohol, including pisco sours which are the national drink of Chile. Our last stop was to Lago Grey where we had my first glimpse of a glacier - the Grey Glacier. The winds were so strong, we could barely stand straight.
The condors hike was also memorable because of the huge, gusty winds that made the previous day's winds pale in comparison. At times, it felt like I was going to blown off the cliff, with wind speeds of 110km/h supposedly. I had to sit down instead because it was impossible to stay put, and needed to be rescued with an "anchor", our guide. This was simultaneously fun and scary.
As we were approaching summer, we never saw night in our stay. I think it would have been gorgeous with the stars, no light pollution to speak off. I strongly encourage everybody to consider Remota. I'm thinking of going back again!
Related photos on Flickr and Instagram.