About a month ago, we met Monica and Marcelo for the first time. They drove for over 2 hours to see us when we first landed our kayaks in Argentina. Barry’s wrist was hurting a lot and we asked them if we could come and stay with them for in Rio Grande for 2 or 3 days.  30 days on, we laugh about our initial request… what would they have said if we had asked to stay for 3 weeks, and then keep reappearing?

In reality, we have all become good friends  & we have learnt how kind and generous our hosts both are (although I am still amazed that they seemed happy to have us staying with them for so long). Yesterday they drove us for 3 hours to Porvenir in Chile, where we took the ferry to Punta Arenas.  We could have taken the bus but it was great to spend the last few hours on Isla Grande with Moni & Marcelo.  We also got to see a different part of the island as we cut west to the coast, driving alongside the huge bay that leads to the ferry town. The tyres crunched over the dirt road as we cruised over the flat barren landscape, dotted with occasional estancias and even more occasional trees. Every few miles, a few lonely fishermens shacks and boats littered the shore.

We took the ferry west across the Straits of Magellan to Punta Arenas and I couldn’t help notice that it was a perfect following sea if we were heading east. Kiko met us on the other side, and despite the fact he is going on holiday first thing in the morning today, he made us feel very welcome, fed us pizza & got up at 3.30am to take us to the airport. I am still gutted about not being able to continue our trip – when I stood on the beach for the last time, listening to the waves pounding on the pebbles, feeling the wind blowing through my hair and yearning for the adventures waiting further down the coast, it was hard to walk away from that…… but as we keep saying, and many of our friends have pointed out, the kayaking adventure is still there for another day, and by not kayaking, we have build strong friendships and shared great experiences.

The kayaks are still in Rio Grande. One of them now belongs to Marcelo but he has promised to let us use it when we return. We are now in Santiago airport on the way home, and looking forward to catching up with friends. I have a feeling that a part of my brain will keep on thinking about that view south until I come back! After all, no-one said goodbye, only “hasta luego”! 

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