Passing Time in Punta Arenas:
16/2 - I came to Punta Arenas, Chile from Ushuaia, Argentina about 1.5 days prior to my van hire to get some rest, run some errands and do general preparation for my long 24 day trip. The bus ride from Ushuaia was supposed to be a long 12 hours, but due do bad driving habits of the driver and a flat tyre, the ride took an arduous 14.5 hours. The ride was bumpy and windy to say the least. I was very tired when I arrived to the hostal at 19:30. I really didn't even eat a dinner, except for a small snack. I ended up going to sleep at around 22:00.
17/2 - I woke up well rested the next day around 07:00. I finished breakfast around 0830. Yes I took a long time to eat my breakfast as I just wanted to relax really. I went back upstairs and got a nice long HOT shower. I went back up to my room and grabbed my white small waterprof backpack and packed up my laptop/its power cord, my wallet, my passport and etc. I went out around 9am to begin to run my errands. The errands in particular that I needed to do were:
1) Needed to get CLP (Chilean Pesos) about 500,000 CLP at a Bank
2) Needed to buy a new AA battery charger or new one-off use AA batteries for my Canon Rebel DSLR camera
3) Needed a Chilean data/calling SIM card for my SmartPhone
4) Needed to look for possible birthday gifts for Rebecca
5) Needed to mail home a pile of my clothes to make room for extra stuff in my backpack for the flight home on 17/3.
6) In the process of doing the above 5 errands, do some sightseeing if possible ;-)
7) Last but not least, get a good lunch at a nice cafe...
The weather today was sunny and windy with on and off spurts of dark heavy cold rain. So in short, the weather was no different from where I live in Wellington during a spring or autumn day. I feel like I am home.
I enjoyed my errands today. During lunch I was able to practice my Spanish a bit too with the English/Spanish speaking owner of the cafe. She was a bit older than me and very attractive, so I called her very pretty in Spanish after she helped me read the Spanish menu.
I then tried to ask directions from some cops. No can do. They don't speak English so I got a photo with them! How fun!
I then found an Entel cel phone store. After 30 minutes of using Google translate with the store clerk, I finally got a working Chilean sim card into my phone. Score!
The easiest part of the day was exchanging my Euros for CLP.
I had to use my translate app on my phone to help me get AA batteries at a local electronics store. Score!
Getting my clothes mailed away to NZ was far more challenging. I had to get in line at an expensive shipping (eg. Chile's equilivant to FedEx) store, to buy a box. That took 45 minutes. Yes 45 minutes. Then I had to a Chilean Post store to mail them. That took 30 minutes more because I had to fill out forms and the Spanish issue was there. I don't much!
I eventually made it back to my hostal around 4pm and took a nap.
I then went out around 6:30pm to get some dinner. What I found was a gem of a place to eat. I got an amazing scallop meal with 3 cheeses on pasta. After my lovely meal, I then headed back to the hostal for a good night sleep. I eventually got back to the hostal at 8pm and soon after (2130 or so) went to sleep as I had a long day a head of me.
Tomorrow, 18/2, is the beginning a big day for me. Tomorrow is the beginning of a lifelong dream!!!
16/2 - I came to Punta Arenas, Chile from Ushuaia, Argentina about 1.5 days prior to my van hire to get some rest, run some errands and do general preparation for my long 24 day trip. The bus ride from Ushuaia was supposed to be a long 12 hours, but due do bad driving habits of the driver and a flat tyre, the ride took an arduous 14.5 hours. The ride was bumpy and windy to say the least. I was very tired when I arrived to the hostal at 19:30. I really didn't even eat a dinner, except for a small snack. I ended up going to sleep at around 22:00.
 |
| Hostel La Estancia, Punta Arenas, Chile |
1) Needed to get CLP (Chilean Pesos) about 500,000 CLP at a Bank
2) Needed to buy a new AA battery charger or new one-off use AA batteries for my Canon Rebel DSLR camera
3) Needed a Chilean data/calling SIM card for my SmartPhone
4) Needed to look for possible birthday gifts for Rebecca
5) Needed to mail home a pile of my clothes to make room for extra stuff in my backpack for the flight home on 17/3.
6) In the process of doing the above 5 errands, do some sightseeing if possible ;-)
7) Last but not least, get a good lunch at a nice cafe...
The weather today was sunny and windy with on and off spurts of dark heavy cold rain. So in short, the weather was no different from where I live in Wellington during a spring or autumn day. I feel like I am home.
 |
| Weather pic #1: Rain and wind |
 |
| Weather pic #2: Sunny skies, no wind |
 |
| Weather pic # 3: Rain and wind, again! |
 |
| Weather pic #4: Here comes the sun, again! |
 |
| Lunch at the cafe.. |
 |
| Very friendly Chilean police officers! |
The easiest part of the day was exchanging my Euros for CLP.
I had to use my translate app on my phone to help me get AA batteries at a local electronics store. Score!
Getting my clothes mailed away to NZ was far more challenging. I had to get in line at an expensive shipping (eg. Chile's equilivant to FedEx) store, to buy a box. That took 45 minutes. Yes 45 minutes. Then I had to a Chilean Post store to mail them. That took 30 minutes more because I had to fill out forms and the Spanish issue was there. I don't much!
 |
| Yes it took over an hour to simply mail this to New Zealand! |
I then went out around 6:30pm to get some dinner. What I found was a gem of a place to eat. I got an amazing scallop meal with 3 cheeses on pasta. After my lovely meal, I then headed back to the hostal for a good night sleep. I eventually got back to the hostal at 8pm and soon after (2130 or so) went to sleep as I had a long day a head of me.
 |
| Scallops for dinner in Punta Arenas, Chile.. YUMMY! |
No comments:
Post a Comment