Damn this Documentation.

PUERTO NATALES, CHILE, 3 March, 2023.

The temperature in the room is 28 degrees Centigrade as displayed on the bedside clock radio. No wonder it felt hot in the night. RJ had trouble with the lack of hot water last night but there's no shortage of it this morning. Breakfast is a buffet affair. We stick to roast, cereal and fruit. Nothing further to pay so we're on our way by 9am. Satnav takes us to a local filling station where Martine, from Haiti he tells me, fills the tank as required by Europcar.

Whilst it's easy to find petrol, the car rental return is another matter. The address on the paperwork takes us to the local headquarters for Santiago city. Using an address for Starbucks in the terminal, we find the turn off but are in the wrong lane. And, the irate taxi drivers are in no mood to let us move across. So, a further pass around the airport until we're finally in the compound. Parking is chaotic but the thorough guy from Tuesday quickly gives us the all clear. The shuttle bus arrives immediately and we're quickly into the terminal. I expect to talk to the agent but the rental desk is empty.

We're advised to go to the second floor but this is for security only. Thus we cause mayhem getting back into the lift travelling down to the ground floor and back up to the third. No need to print the luggage tags, we're shown directly to a counter clerk for a smooth process.

RJ talks to Information about her lost papers. He says that it is not important but RJ is not convinced. She asked PG to show his copy for clarification but now that has gone missing! He returned to the check in and, with difficulty, explained that it might have been dropped. No luck, there, so at least we're both in the same boat.

We head to security where we're told that we can't take the trolley through, naturally. In parking the trolley, PG leaves his cabin bag aboard. Fortunately z a fellow passenger calls him back. Time for a coffee to settle the nerves. We finish off the remaining avocado that's been rolling around the hire car since Wednesday.

There is a technical stop at El Tepual, Puerto Monty, where we stop for 35 minutes whilst passengers disembark and new ones embark. 90 minutes flight to the technical stop then a further 100 minutes to Puerto Natales. Baggage claim is chaotic, why do people get so stressed? A woman in in front can't standstill and impersonates a giraffe at regular intervals. RJ buys two bus tickets for £8. Our driver piles all the luggage on to the front seat and invites us to take seat. There are 12 of us for 8 hotels. The driver welcomes us to his town, in English, explains that it is a safe place and that we may criss cross as he drops us off at each hotel. We're second off at a tired but clean hostel which will grow on us as the week progresses. Breakfast is from 5am to 10am. PG stopped listening at 5am!

We walked around the town looking for a place to eat. Generally, restaurants seem to open for dinner at 7pm, it was still only 6:30pm. So, we called in at the local PDI ( police department of investigation). The sergeant on the desk told us that we needn't worry, everything is now computerised and the paper is only a receipt. After checking mass times for tomorrow, we dine in an Italian restaurant, "Mesita Grande", PG has salmon parcels and RJ lamb fettuccine. A stroll along the harbour, a mini market for milk and we're back in the room by 9pm.