After my stay in Puerto Williams, I took the shuttle boat back to Punta Arenas, still in Chile. We are leaving Navarino Island and the sunset over the Beagle Channel was extraordinary. I’m not really qualified to explain it, but I suspect it has something to do with the tilt of the earth and its distance from the sun. The elements probably react differently, giving the clouds colors and shapes I’ve never seen before. With a French friend I’ve just met in Puerto Williams, we realize how lucky we are to be here, and it’s good to share that with a fellow countryman. Carried by the calm waters, only occasionally disturbed by the sight of whales in the distance, we witness a constant change of colors that takes us into the night. We sleep in the boat on reclining seats, or rather on the floor in my case (I find it much more comfortable…), waking up in the fjords to arrive in Punta Arenas 32 hours later. I’ll have to take care of a few things here, like my tax declaration and redoing my proxy procedure for the 2nd round of the 2017 presidential election. I don’t understand why this procedure, done in France before my trip, didn’t work, but on the other hand, it will be done flawlessly in just a few days at a consulate located in the back of a hardware store! With these formalities out of the way, I get some information and buy a bike with the intention of heading up Chile along the magnificent «Carretera Austral». It has started to snow locally. At first glance, this choice doesn’t seem very reasonable, but by heading north I can hope to race against the onset of winter… 🤞