Our Great Adventure: Puerto Natales Day 213 19/04/2014

After breakfast at the b&b, being keen to have something booked for the next few days, we walked back to the bus station to buy tickets for the bus to Torres del Paine and then wandered down to the the main street of Puerto Natales. The town itself is a mismatch of corrugated-tin houses. Once just a dull fishing port on Seno Ultima Esperanza, it's now the hub of goretex clad travellers heading to the national park. Being Sunday most/nearly everything was shut! We hoped to buy a few provisions for our trip, thermal leggings and waterproof covers for our rucksacks amongst other bits and bobs. We finally found one shop open where Simon purchased some new gloves and also found out of another shop down by the sea front. We wandered down to it to find it was next to a lovely cafe, the Coffee Maker. After purchasing thermal leggings for the expectant cold weather we had lunch in the cafe. We stopped in Puerto Natales when we came to Torres del Paine 12 years previously and we looked around to see if we could spot the hotel where stayed in. We think we did but our memories might be playing tricks on us although other than improving the pavements nothing much else seems to have changed. It really is just a stopping off point for people heading to the national park. On the way back to the b&b we spotted a small outdoor shop that was definitely a tardis inside and sold rucksack covers. Shopping complete we walked back and started to sort out of bags for the next few days. Our plan is to stay in refugios and travel light leaving most of our gear at the b&b. Later on in the afternoon we went to a nearby hostel, Erratic Rock, where they hold talks about the national park. It was really interesting. In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant and stocked up on pasta. Back at the b&b we finished packing and had an early night in anticipation of the full day ahead tomorrow.