RobinsonAdventures2023

  Thursday, March 9, 2023   This day started very early for us we had an early morning flight to catch (7:30 am). That meant a 5:30 am alarm and then racing the clock to move both us and our luggage to the airport, courtesy of hotel shuttle. Remarkably, we made it and settled in for a 1 ½ hour flight from Santiago to Calama, in the foothills of the Atacama Desert. I met an interesting woman on the plane, an avid traveller from Australia who was joining a trek one we arrived in San Pedro. She had already completed a trek in Patagonia and was eager to head out on this one. She has travelled in more than 5 countries; our count is currently about 65 so we spent the entire flight comparing the places we went and the experiences we had. It was a lively conversation, to say the least.   When we arrived in Calama, we rented a car at the airport and headed out on the open road. Destination – San Pedro de Atacama, a small town about 90 kilometres from the airport. No problem … even...

Friday, March 3, 2023   We left our comfortable apartment in Ushuaia (we will miss the mountain and water view) and headed for Rio Grande, about a 2-3 hour drive. Along the way we passed through beautiful forests and spectacular mountains until they gave way to open plains. We were travelling north and the Atlantic Ocean was almost always visible to our right (east). What a vast and amazing body of water. I am beginning to realize that we put such emphasis on the places we visit, that we forget the most of the world is covered by water. We have seen both the Pacific and the Atlantic from the sky and the land on this trip. We have also been on the shore of the Southern Ocean. Amazing!! What a wonderful way to visit the oceans as well as the land.   We have been fortunate to encounter a wide array of wildlife including several foxes, the ever present guanaco, and loads of pairs of geese. We did not see any rhea (ostrich-like birds) during this part of our journey. We were surpri...

  Sunday, February 26, 2023   This day started early in Punta Arenas. We were booked on a morning ferry and needed to be at the port no later than 8 am. We also had to stop on the way to feed the car. It seemed an easy thing to do but the service station was only offering gas at three of the twelve pumps that were there. And the attendants were less than helpful in indicating which pumps were working. After our shift to the third pump and a trip into the shop, finally one of the attendants agreed to put gas in the car. This being a new car to us and an unfamiliar car to the attendant, none of us knew where to find the lever to open the tank. The clock was ticking; anxiety about time was increasing; and no fuel had been added to the tank. The Spanish car manual was not helpful and the attendant walked away. Finally, after touching almost every button and lever on the console and under the seat, Jim hit the jackpot and the fuel tank cover opened. The attendant returned and the c...