Patagonia is a region of South America that covers part of Argentina and part of Chile, starting around latitude 40 degrees south, then south from there to the tip of South America. Patagonia has unique flora and fauna, and incredible winds, being the only land mass on the planet at that latitude (it is even more south than New Zealand!). There I would see some amazing things: penguin colonies, elephant seals, glaciers calving building-sized icebergs, flightless ostrich-sized birds, the Patagonian Ice Field (the 3rd larget fresh water reserve on earth) and Cape Horn - the end of the world.
The whole trip was put into question when 5 days before my scheduled departure to Santiago, Chile suffered an enormous earthquake. The city of Santiago was spared too much damage, but the airport was temporarily shut down due to structural damage. They were soon up and running again, out of tents on the tarmac (see photo), and I was able to leave as scheduled, arrive in Santiago and fly out again to Punta Arenas, in the south. As of today, almost 3 weeks after the earthquake, the Santiago Airport is still operating out of tents on the tarmac, but everyone is being very patient and nice, and are doing the best they can to get the airport repaired. (The Holiday Inn itself suffered enough damage to render the elevators inoperable, and put cracks in all of the walls).
Although I am starting this leg of my blog at the end of trip, I hope you follow along as I relate my thoughts and experiences on this incredible trip!
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