(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XI - Goodbye Paine, Hello Punta Arenas

The alarm went off and GG was not having it.  After getting blown over on the full day hike and then the expert horseback ride, her body was done.  I tried to see if there were any super easy excursions, but there were not, so we cancelled and had a leisurely morning/lunch before heading off to Punta Arenas.

We departed Explora at 3p in a van full of the few guests we didn’t get a chance to meet, all of whom live in Chile and spoke Spanish.  It was going to be a long 6 hour ride.

Surprise, surprise, it wasn’t at all. 
The couples were wonderful and spoke enough English for them to give us great tips for our time in Santiago and Wine Country and for us to give them a full primer on the best NYC restaurants as both couples love to visit NYC.  We were actually a bit sad when we got dropped off at the Cabo de Hornos hotel in PA on our own.

We checked in and the hotel seemed fine.  Probably the fanciest in PA which is why Explora recommended it to us, I’m sure.  But, it was pretty unremarkable.  We were there in PA for an extra night for one and only reason – see the Penguins.  Not much else happening there besides that.

It was time for dinner and the chatter from our friends in the van was we had to get the Austral Crab at Sotito’s.  Our only pause was, our other NY friends at Explora had eaten there the night before their transfer to the hotel and got food poisoning.  Well, in any case, we rolled the dice and I’m glad we did.  The service was a bit spotty but we did get amazing crab – a heaping portion of sweet, succulent crab – reminiscent of Alaskan King Crab, but sweeter and more tender.  It was served with a side of mayonnaise on a bed of lettuce.  The presentation let the excellent crab shine.  That was a surprising highlight of PA.  But, just in case, we hedged our bets on our order just in case with a tortilla espanol and papas fritas.

Sotito's bar - home of the Austral Crab!

It ain't pretty, but it was delicious!

Papas fritas and tortilla espanol - safe bet...

And how could we forget a Pisco Sour?

Then it was back to Cabo do Hornos to rest up for our afternoon date with the penguins.