Are we there yet?

A trip to the end of the world takes just as long to get there as it sounds. Trust us when we say the world is not a small place. Five flights, two continents, three countries, and 36 hours later we´re still barely there. The flights were mostly uneventful but immigration had its share of surprises. Thanks to that distracted apple-munching lady at the Peruvian consulate, we arrived in Lima with a ¨business¨ visa. Now given the nature of our ¨business¨, it was no small task to prove our far-from-capitalistic intentions. Finally after running around in circles trying to plead innocence in our non-spanish, we signed some obscure form and wriggled our way out of Peru. Let´s not even worry about how to leave Peru next time just yet.

But wait, we didn´t really leave Peru that quickly. The last thing we needed after a seven hour sleepless layover followed by immigration drama was a two hour flight delay to Santiago. Brownie points to LAN Chile for serving sandwiches and bebidas (drinks) at the gate.

Touch down in Santiago was breathtaking. Nestled between the Andean mountain range was the sprawling expanse of the Chilean capital. It was a gorgeous summer afternoon - bright and 84F. Can we stay?

Now comes the famous ¨riding a bicycle in an elevator¨ flight to Punta Arenas. Chilean Patagonia is notorious for its gusty winds. While Nagesh was relieved that we were not riding a propellor plane, Kavita tried to abate her nervousness by focussing on winning rummy games. Apart from a few heart-lurching plunges, we made a smooth landing at 11pm on Feb. 22.
Are we there yet? Not at the end of the world. Not until we make it to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Although the airport at Punta Arenas was small, there were ample transfer options into the city. We chose to share a minivan that dropped us outside Hostal al fin del Mundo (hostel at the end of the chilean world). We were greeted by our very pleasant, bilingual host - Rodrigio. After a hot shower and change of clothes, we were energized enough to plan the rest of our Patagonian journey into Torres Del Paine national park.

We were in for a rude shock when Rodrigio unceremoniously told us that the park was indefinitely closed. A fire, accidentally started by a Czezh camper´s stove, had ravaged 14000 acres of the park. No one knew when it would open next. Rodrigio casually mentioned that it could take 2o days or more. We gawked at each other in utter disbelief. This was not really happening to us. Silence ripped through the room as all our planning, paranthas, and flights flashed by like a tragic movie.

Ah the joys of travelling. All we could do was to pick up the guidebook and start planning from scratch. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.