Quarantine for the First Time - Punta Arenas / Torres del Paine

23.1. Punta Arenas

We sleep in and take it very easy, there is no reason to hurry anymore. I am rudely approached by one of Gerardo's dogs, he just wants to play... Besides, today it is extremely windy, cool and rather cloudy. Around noon, we decide to look for a new place for our "quarantine in the tent". We don't want to overstay our welcome (and we keep our "hohes C" to ourselves...). We want to stay away from people as much as possible and preferably find a sheltered place in nature. Although we quickly leave Punta Arenas, finding a suitable spot proves to be difficult: Chileans like to put up fences. Everywhere! All private land is fenced off. So we sit in our jeep for a few hours somewhere along a country road and play cards.

Afterwards, we make a second attempt, turn onto another country road and find the perfect spot: hidden among bushes, outside a property fence. The place is so small that only our jeep and the small table with chairs fit. Finally, we are glad and settle in. Although it is less windy here, we don't feel like cooking, we only make a simple salad and then go to sleep shortly afterwards. At some point, we wake up abruptly as a car drives up the country road behind us. We think it has passed by, a good sign. About 20 minutes later, the car drives back down and stops right by us... Damn. The man tells us that we are not allowed to park here, it is private land, everything here, even the road. We explain that we didn't know that and thought that the private property started at the top of the fence. The man denies it and shows no mercy, we have to give up – it is already 10:30 pm.

We get dressed, pack up, tie up the tent and leave. We don't know where to go and look for a campsite. But all the campsites registered in Google Maps are no longer there today, great! And we don't dare to just park somewhere anymore – we don't want to be woken up again. After two hours driving through the night, we find a park! With barbecue areas and parking spaces and it's even free. In the dark, we set everything up again. At least we see a honey melon moon rising over the Atlantic from the clouds, which in its size and beauty makes us forget many of the hardships. Nevertheless, the night remains restless and short, especially because of the wind.

24.1. Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales

We drive into Punta Arenas to get tested again. Because I also need a positive test and as early as possible, so that our quarantine regulations don't get postponed even more and the waiting drags on.

Unfortunately, the test results will only be available in 2-3 days, we are told.

We spontaneously decide to drive back to Puerto Natales and get tested there again. We can reserve 2 slots for samples at 3:00 pm at the same laboratory as on Saturday.

The approximately 3-hour drive is adventurous and dangerous: the gusts of wind here are something else! From one second to the next, you have to turn the steering wheel so that the car doesn't land in the ditch, besides, it is very loud in our vehicle because the wind whistles through the gap between the jeep roof and the tent – are these headaches from Covid or from the noise?...

In Puerto Natales, we find a campsite where we have hardly any contact with other people. The toilets are well ventilated and we always wear masks anyway – there's nothing more we can do...

At the laboratory, there is another long line of people. When the doors open, we tell the man that we have reservations. "Well, then get in line" – wait, what?! A logic that eludes us, but we have encountered it not for the first time in Chile: there is a reservation system, which in the end is worthless because you still have to stand in line on site because it is "too complicated" to organize it all. We are annoyed and patiently stand in line for 40 minutes until we decide that it doesn't make sense. Instead, we go shopping and then go back to the laboratory, but this time for an antigen test: cheaper and sufficient to see if I am also positive by now. They also say that you will have the result in 2-3 hours. After that is done, we go back to the campsite: wait, drink wine, discuss the impossibilities, and pick up the pistachio kernels from the ground – man, this wind!!

25.1. Torres del Paine

At 7:00 am, we receive the emails that seal our fate: we are both positive. We drive back to Torres National Park to Lago Pehoe and rent a spot in the campsite. Here, the distances to the other spots are large, and we are mostly outdoors and by ourselves. Besides, it is probably the most beautiful place on earth to do outdoor quarantine.

We hike up to Mirador Condor and lie down in the stiff breeze. It's fun and for a sunset, we can forget all the back and forth and just enjoy where we are.

26.1.

We take it easy – what else? We read a lot and bask in the sun. During the day, we get to know our neighbors better: Ulf and Gina, an older German-English couple and very! wealthy (ok, they're probably millionaires... but relaxed). At some point in the conversation, it comes up: they are in the same situation as us: positive and enduring self-imposed quarantine AND they came from Argentina and should go back again, and they are eagerly waiting, just like us, if and when that could happen. The neighbor on the other side is also positive – well, we have chosen the right corners of the campsite. At least we don't infect anyone else "fresh".

In the afternoon, we take a trip to Mirador Torres. From here, you can see the Cuernos, the Torres, and the Paine Grande, it's beautiful!

In the evening, we have fun cooking soup, watching the foxes and birds around our spot – there are worse things.

27.1.

The day is similar to the previous one: taking naps, reading, playing Rummy, checking emails and corona rules with bad network connection (takes a long time, hence more time to kill, Check!) watching birds,... In the evening, Ulf invites us for a glass of wine. The glass of wine turns into a half-night with more wine, of course, and lively conversations and discussions about traveling, God, and the world. Both Gina and him, they are interesting conversation partners and only when our feet have frozen into ice blocks, we walk back to our jeep and go to sleep.