uh oh

things i learned:

1. really, REALLY check your itinerary and know how many days you are supposed to stay at each place.

i woke up this morning with a bad feeling and realized that we were supposed to have already left to go to puerto natales. we didn´t even have our bus ticket yet! YIKES. so we bolted up, packed our bags, got our bus tickets, took a taxi-bus thing to a shopping complex, got the remaining gear we needed, bought our food and raced to the bus station. all within 3 hours. unfortunately, laundry was the first thing to go.

2. the bus to puerto natales plays AWESOME 90s music video mixes. classic project 2 was the title of a particularly good one.

3. the drive to puerto natales is really beautiful. i saw lots of weird ostrich like things and an interesting type of llama. pretty neat.

4. puerto natales is really cool. it is full of backpackers who are about to or have just come back from really sweet adventures. there is a great vibe throughout the town that just makes you excited. everyone here has the same love and appreciation for the wilderness and that makes it really special. there are some incredibly knowledgeable people here who are willing to spend a lot of time helping you prepare as best they can. Erratic rock, where we rented our trekking poles, was especially helpful.

5. Backpackers Kawashkar is TERRIFIC. it truly is a hostel made by backpackers, for backpackers. Omar, the owner, is this intimidating man in his 40s who has long hair and looks like he may have killed someone in his past. but he is actually extremely kind. since we were so limited on time, he helped us get a bus ticket, accustomed us to the park and gave us really good tips and shortcuts, and made sure we had the right food and knew how to use our gear.

6. there is a FIVE STAR fruta seca and nut store in puerto natales. i made the best freaking trail mix in the world.

7. dont take showers at night. there is no hot water left.