Ride 'em Cowgirl!

PUERTO NATALES, CHILE, 7 March, 2023.

It feels like a lie-in when the alarm goes off at 7:30. The minibus arrives on the dot of 8:30. Pleasingly, the driver speaks some English and understands that PG is going to walk not ride. We collect a young couple who we think are Chinese, although RJ learns on the ride that they are Taiwanese.

We stop in the middle of nowhere. The girl thinks that the stop is for her but it's for PG. The driver shows him an A frame styal and points to a hill on the right. He offers several meeting options; here, the gate to the farm or the farm.

The walk is tough, climbing from the very start and continuing for the best part of 45 minutes. As PG breaks through the trees, the wind increases considerably , leaving PG feeling very exposed. It's about 3/4s up the hill when he decides to return downhill using a large branch found on the floor as a walking stick. The photo below is taken from the turning point.

A large group are walking up the hill including an Englishwoman who bids "Good Morning". How did she know that PG was English? Towards the end, PG spots a guide leading two Oriental up the steep side of the hill on the outside of the woods. What have they done to upset him? Back at the start, a taxi driver asks PG about the climb. He manages to communicate with a little Spanish and sign language.

It's only 10:40 and the minibus isn't due until 11:45. So, PG walks down to La Laguna Sofia. Time to enjoy a sit down, a drink of water and a snack bar.

The horses and PG arrive back at the farm at the same time, coincidentally. The Taiwanese have never been on horseback before but spend the whole ride with one hand on a selfie-stick. Hank and Cindy, they tell us are their Western names, have taken lots of photos and promise to send them to RJ (which they subsequently do). An owl landed on the ground close to the horses and rolled up into a ball. Plus, they saw several large hares. In all , the ride took two hours. On the journey back, Hank and Cindy tell us that they have just finished medical school. You can't move in this place for budding doctors!

We walk down to the harbour but turn left instead of the usual right. We head away from the ferry towards the working port. Much busier and more built up. As we head back towards the hostel, a man is cutting his lawn. He must be unused to tourists because he stops us and tries to tell us the way back to town!

We've chosen Afrigonia again, a vegetable curry for PG and guanaco meat for RJ. In truth, we share a bit of both. It's very lean meat, cooked medium rare with hardly any fat. We wash it down with a bottle of Carmenere. Delicious and the piece de resistance, desert of purple pear, a pear poached in red wine.