Feeling terrible (obviously) we catch a local bus to Puerto Montt in Chile. I try to sleep but the seats are uncomfortable and we have to cross the border into Chile and go through the longest no-man´s land I´ve ever been through. At the border our names are read out and one by one we file up to pick up our passports containing another three stamps. At this rate I´ll need three passports to make it to the end of my trip.
I eventually pass out through exhaustion and when I wake up the landscape has changed. It´s lush and green and the lakes and mountains have been replaced by a string of volcanoes (or ´volcanies´ as my tour guide calls them).
We arrive in Puerto Montt late afternoon, one of the most unattractive places I´ve ever seen. Apparently it used to be nice before an earthquake destroyed it in 1960 but since then it´s been rebuilt in utilitarian style - a mish-mash of uneven structures in different styles - all equally unappealing. The cathedral must be the smallest in the world. I have tried to say something positive about it but I can´t find any redeeming features.
Why are there lots of tourists (including myself) bumbling about here? Well, the 3-day ferry trip through the Chilean fjords leaves once a week on a Monday to Puerto Natales.
It´s been another long bus journey so treat myself to grilled crab and a glass of wine. Looking forward to my bed.
(Photo - ciruelillo taken in Chile)
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