With all of the COVID chaos and shelter-in-place, I have some extra time to think back to slightly happier times. My work gave a suggestion to look at the Sanvello app to help get through these crazy times so I downloaded it and did a meditation session today. It had you go to a happy place (ok not exact terms but that is what I call it) and I found myself back in Patagonia. So I decided to finally get around to blogging about my Patagonia trip. I will still mix in cancer updates as well, but hopefully this gives me (and maybe you) a nice break from COVID and cancer. I started this post a couple of weeks ago, but just finally getting around to finish it.
I have been trying to get to Patagonia for years. The views and hiking just drew me in. So when my friend Hilary won a contest for a buy one, get one free trip for Active Adventure through her photography (https://www.hilaryheincerphoto.com/), she had heard from me enough about Patagonia that she asked if I wanted to go. I was beyond excited and of course said yes! We decided on the Active Adventure Condor trip in November 2019 just before Thanksgiving. Even better, my job allowed me to enjoy the 2 week Condor trip and stay a week in Argentina over Thanksgiving to explore.
I was getting excited to start packing and preparing when I found the lump on my chest. I had three weeks until my mammogram, but it started to hurt so I just assumed it was a cyst and was hoping there was time to drain it before I had to carry a bag for 2 weeks. Well obviously, it wasn’t a cyst. The two weeks leading into this trip were stressful and not very happy. Not to mention I had to cancel the third week of the trip within 4 days of leaving. This meant cancelling AirBNBs and tours and changing my flights. Thankfully Chase (I booked through them using miles) was wonderful in rebooking my flights to come home early as soon as I sent in my dr note. AirBNB also was great since I booked flexible rooms that allowed me to cancel.
My mental state going into this vacation wasn’t great. I was stressed about being able to keep up since I hadn’t exercised much for the two weeks before thanks to the biopsy. The best part (sarcasm) was getting my chemo teach back (taught me everything I need to know about chemo) three hours before my flight to Santiago. Nothing like getting lots of wonderful information and boarding a plane with nothing to do but think about it. Oh and I also got a large shot into my stomach to put me into menopause. I had no idea if I would start getting symptoms while hiking in Patagonia. So my mental state wasn’t great when I got on the plane, but my goal was to forget about it and enjoy the trip.
Santiago
On top of my health fun, I was worried about riots in Santiago. They were plentiful and I wasn’t sure what I could do with them going on. I had a room at a cute boutique hotel and just planned to wing my plans since I was distracted and never firmed them up. I got into the airport first thing in the morning and went straight to the hotel to drop off my bags. It was incredible driving through the city and seeing the damage. There was not a single bank in the city open. Graffiti was everywhere. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do once I dropped my bags but I decided to walk down to Plaza de Armas to see the square there. I walked along the river in a park and couldn’t help but marvel at the damage. I always felt safe, but the destruction made me sad.
The square was untouched by the graffiti and beautiful. I was starving so I grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants there. I am not entirely sure what I got for lunch but it wasn’t great, but the wine was delicious. I am not great with red eye flights so my exhaustion was kicking in as well as all of the info I had received before leaving. My goal was to take the free walking tour, but that didn’t start for another hour and a half and I just didn’t have it in me. I walked the couple of miles back to the hotel to take a shower and a nap.
I had to peel myself out of bed to get dinner. I had given up on seeing more of the city. My emotional state wasn’t with it and I just didn’t know if there would be protests in the evening. So I walked just down the street to find a place with empanadas. I found Luco’s, which was a cute restaurant. While there, I saw lots of people on motorcycles driving down the street honking their horns in the pattern I already associated with the protests. I enjoyed some amazing empanadas and two glasses of wine (couldn’t pass up happy hour). I spent the dinner relooking over the chemo information I was provided and looking up hats that I should buy. I needed the night to get out any emotions regarding my health before putting it behind me.
Sadly, my trip to Santiago felt like a waste. Emotionally I just wasn’t into it and I decided being ready for Patagonia was more important. I found it sad to see all of the destruction throughout the city too. I would love to return one day though to really explore the city I have heard good things about.
Day 1-Punta Arenas
The taxi picked me up at 3:15am to head to the airport so sleep was again lacking, but I was excited to get to Punta Arenas to see Hilary and start the trip. I arrived to the hotel in Punta Arenas around 10:15am and we set off to explore the town.
I loved Punta Arenas. It was quiet around town since it was a Sunday, but we walked down to the beach to see the views and grab lunch. The beach area was cute with lots of artwork. And lunch was very good at La Luna. I highly recommend visiting here at least to just see the bathroom. It was a very entertaining piece of art. I wish I had gotten some pictures. We also explored the cemetery as the hotel recommended it. The cemetery was unlike anything I had seen. Each family had a large area and it was decorated. It was a beautiful area to walk around and see how families honor the dead.
Incredible cemetery 
Trees lined the cemetery to create rows 
We ended the day by meeting with our Active Adventures group. When we got to the lobby, it seemed like everyone knew each other. It was intimidating, but fun to hear the different connections. Penny was tied to almost everyone through different methods, but mostly through previous trips including Kilimanjaro and Switzerland. It is always fun to find people who enjoy adventure as much as you do and this group fit the mark. I didn’t know it yet, but the group ended up being wonderful and I really enjoyed my time with them. These trips can be made or broken depending on the people you are with and I have to say my trip was incredible thanks to my group and guides. We had a nice dinner in town and then prepared for the rest of the trip!
Day 2- Magdalena Island
Our first full day on the trip was spent crossing the Magellan Strait to go see the penguins on Magdalena Island. Magdalena Island is home to the largest penguin colony in Southern Chile, with around 60,000 breeding pairs of Magellanic penguins. I was super excited to go see this incredible island. The weather was a little iffy so we found out that morning that the trip was a go.
The boat was not very big and I definitely had fears of motion sickness (this wonderful thing I found in my late 20s…dang it). I took my dramamine and hoped for the best. Obviously penguins would help me get through any rough seas. And thankfully the ride over was pretty easy. It was fun to start getting to know my group mates.
The island was beautiful but more full of birds than penguins. The rangers on the island said it was nesting season, which is why the island wasn’t packed with penguins. One of the penguins was nesting with their egg while the other was out swimming to find food. So it was sadly little disappointing to not see thousands of penguins, but I still got some quality time with a few of them. Not to mention there were birds everywhere. It was a fun experience and happy we made it there.
We all hopped back on the boat to go see the sea lions. A storm seemed to be moving in so the seas were way rougher by the time we were back on the boat. I didn’t realize seeing sea lions was from the boat. We all climbed onto the top of the boat to sit and watch the sea lions. It was fun for a minute or two but the boat was rocking and I was starting to feel it. I closed my eyes for the rest of the trip and hoped for the best. It worked…I made it successfully back without feeling sick.
Puerto Natales
Then we were off to Puerto Natales to get closer to Patagonia. It was about a 3 hour drive between the two cities with a lunch stop in the middle.
Puerto Natales is another super cute town in Chile. We had some time to explore after meeting our local guides and before grabbing dinner. Hilary and I took off to get some photos and just enjoy the beautiful day. It is definitely a town driven by tourism with plenty of restaurants and stores. It is situated on a lake surrounded by mountains so of course, we both loved it. We ended the night at a restaurant overlooking the water during sunset. I even enjoyed fish! I was so excited to head to Patagonia the next morning.
