23:30 - This morning we had a lazy start. The bus picking us up for the airport was not due until 11.15. Just as well as after getting back late from Chiloè I was up late uploading the pictures and Sunitta was more chatty than normal and kept asking me questions...she has yet to understand that if I reply in monosillables I don't really want to talk and I should learn to tell her to shut up. Anyways, after breakfast I repacked my luggage and went down to the supermarket to get a few supplies for the national park in Torres del Paine where we will only have the lodge we are staying in as a food supplier. I went past the fridge and saw bottles of Mango sour so I bought a couple for maybe a little aperitif for the group whilst we are down there. As I got back they were already loading the minibus and off we went. It was only when we got to the airport that I ealised I had left my Death Valley baseball hat drying in my hotel room :-(((. I have asked Toby for the email address of the hotel and I will try and see if they haven't thrown it out if it is possible to retrieve it. The flight to Punta Arenas was a couple of hours and the views out of the plane over Mount Fitzroy and the rest of the landscape was pretty special. I did try and take a couple of pictures with the Ipad as I had it on me (I'm still reading the book about Fitzroy's and Darwin's voyage). They are not great but they'll give you an idea. After landing we had a couple of hours to kill (with lunch) before the bus that would take us to Puerto Natales turned up. The weather has finally turned great and I have been told it should hold for our stay in Torres del Paine. We were dropped off in the main square at around 8pm. Toby had to 'get his bearings' to find the hotel. And off we went...after about a block he realised he was going in the opposite direction. It was rectified and we eventually managed to drag our luggage to the hostales where we are staying just one night. Sunitta did her princess thing and Toby carried her luggage for her. I have to say: I have no problem in dragging my luggage a little while...but I expect my tourleader to know where he's going! We rushed out for dinner not far from our sleeping quarters and with a pretty amazing view over the water. As the sun set the sky and the clouds turned red. Nice... Food not bad either :-), although I had a crab salad (ordering a salad for dinner is an unusual occurrence for me). We'd had burger and chips at 5, so I was not overly hungry. Sunitta joined us for dinner for the first time ever. I tried to help her in ordering as to say that she is a fussy eater is an understatement...and still her risotto turned up with mushrooms!!! Had to be sent back and made again. She claims to have a mushroom allergy as well as being a vegetarian and not eating any uncooked vegetables and only certain kinds of pastas. Pizza is ok though...go figure...
Poor Tina spent the first half of the meal trying to get me out of my mood 'Toby is useless mood'. We still had a laugh :-).
Well, tomorrow we drive to Torres del Paine where we stay for three days. I hear it's a pretty amazing place.