Our final few days in Puerto Natales and the loss of a dear friend

Our return to Puerto Natales involved numerous stops to refill the radiator, so much so, that we went through about 25 gallons of water. And again, we are grateful for our 40 gallon water tank. To say the owners of the campsite were surprised to see us (again) was putting it mildly. Tom told them that the repair did not hold and there was much talk as to what to do next. They bring yet another mechanic to the motorhome and after he examines the radiator and hoses, tells us he can help. Tom is skeptical but what are the options. We give the go-ahead for the work and they tell us they will be back the next day. Tom still wants to see Torres Del Paine a little more so we decide to rent a car and he will go for the day, while I stay with the RV and Winston in town. Early Sunday, Tom took off for the park and I cleaned the RV and walked Winston. There is a very pretty small church in the town square and so I went to mass also. It was in the afternoon that we received some very sad news. I had went into the hostel to call the kids and check emails. As I was getting on line with Skype, Tom’s sister called me and we chatted for a while and I got brought up to date on the family and our numerous nieces activities and lives. Just as I was in the process of calling Danny (our son) and I began to read emails. One was from our friends in Buenos Aires whom we had spent such a wonderful time with only a few weeks ago. After we left, they were going to China and Japan for vacation before Pablo went back to work. Apparently after their vacation, they decided to go to the Caribbean islands off Colombia for a few days just to relax. There was a terrible accident and due to lack of hospital facilities on the island, Pablo had lost his life. Needless to say, Cesar is devastated and I just could not believe what I was reading. I read the email to Danny and signed off. Pablo was only 40 and so full of life. He loved to travel and they had so many plans for the future including visiting with us in the States. It was hard to comprehend what could have gone so terribly wrong. About half hour later, Tom got back and one look at me told him something was up. I told him about Pablo. The truth had trouble sinking in with him also. We will contact Cesar soon and give him our condolences but we know nothing we can say will express how we feel. It is really a reminder of how precious life really is and how every moment should be reveled in because we never know when it can be taken away. We honor Pablo’s life in our own way. Pablo loved champagne and we had drunk a few bottles with him and Cesar. So, we opened a bottle and toasted his life and remembered the good. We pulled up photos that we had taken of the four of us. Of the day we went to the Tigre Delta and another time spent sightseeing in Capital Federal and of course the numerous days we had just relaxed by the pool and ate dinners on the patio. Vaya con Dios, mi amigo. (Pablo Gatti. RIP March 15th, 2012).