What ever happened to legroom?

We have learned a very important lesson...ALWAYS fly to and from Ushuaia.

After the joy of the El Calafate-Ushuaia bus journey we could barely contain our excitement about the Ushuaia-Puerto Natales trip. We woke before the stray dogs and got our bags on the bus ready for the 5.30am departure time. The driver wasn't ready and turned up at about 6am! We pretty much followed the same route through the snowcapped peaks of Isla Grande, stopped at Tolhuin for a toilet break for the driver and to allow blood back into the legs of the passengers. At Rio Grande we changed buses and again got one with chicken wire over the windscreen to stop stones smashing the glass on the 'road' between San Sebastian (the border) and Bahia Azul where the ferry took us to the mainland. From there we had tarmac all the way to Punta Arenas. We were supposed to arrive at 430pm, instead arrived at 625pm with our connecting bus leaving at 6.30pm. Our first Chilean experience was running to catch our bus - well not running considering our 20 kilo bags.

We finally arrived in Puerto Natales exhausted (17 hours after the alarm), starving (haven't eaten all day bar a banana and two biscuits) and pissed off with being on a bus. We ended up at Hostel Nikko 2 with a wonderfully hot shower and a very comfy, big bed, which we discovered after food and our first Chilean beers.