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yourworldmyworldourworld-blog1 · 5 years

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Chile - a land I fell in love with

CHILE - a country I thought I was going to spent 1 week but ended up staying almost a month. Land of deserts, of cities, of volcanoes and of Patagonia. Land of beauty, of Nobel prize winners, of culture and much more.

SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

Day 1. (23.10). After border control it was a 45 minute drive to San Pedro de Atacama. The views were stunning. Chile is an hour ahead of Bolivia so we arrived at 12ish noon. I headed to Laskar hostal. After check in we headed into town to get money and exchange money. The town only has a few ATMs and all charge so take out a bit of money at once instead of a bit at a time. Then we rented bikes from Rutas Atacama that is on Caracoles street inside Licher - its like a stand. They do 3,000 pesos for 6 hours and double for 12hours. We then headed at 3pm to the Vale de la Luna. It's stunning but I would not recommend cycling as it's all uphill and it's quite a bit of a way. Either give yourself a lot of time and take a lot of good and water or take a tour. The entry is 3,000 pesos. At night I decided to cook and by the hostel there is a cheap supermarket and Vicents supermarket on Licancabur street is also a cheap option. For fruit and veg the agro market is a good option.

Vale de la Luna, San Pedro de Atacama

Day 2. (24.10). Wake up at 8am and went to get bikes at 10am. I headed towards Pukara del Quitor but first I headed further into the Catarpe National Park on the other side of the river. Inside the park I cycled to Los Túneles, the Quebrada del Diablo and a white church at the end. Do the Túneles first then the Quebrada then the church. I got there for just before 10:30 and left around 1pm. It will take you around 3 hours to do the whole park comfortably. It costs 3,000 pesos to get in. Then Pukara de Quitor; the ruins of a fortress over 2,000 years old from the atacama civilisation. Here you will find the ruins, various miradores (1.7km walking to the furthest out) and a face sculpted into the rocks. It is also an awesome place. I had lunch around 2pm at the top of the mirador and was done for around 2:30pm and back in town for just after 3pm. The whole day took me just over 5 hours. Again make sure you take plenty of water and potentially consider doing the two places on separate days for a more chilled day.

At the last mirador of Pukara de Quitor

Day 3. (25.10). Today I booked a tour through Desert Adventures - based on one of the corners of Caracoles street in San Pedro. First stop is the Chaxa lake (2,500 pesos). Here you can find the salar of Atacama which unlike the Uyuni salar it was made during glacial times by the minerals dragged off the volcanoes. It hosts three flamingo types- the Chilean flamingo (pink and dances to displace ground for food in a step step motion), the Andean flamingo (black tail) and the James flamingo (yellower beaks). Then to the red stones (iron minerals) and it's lagoons and lastly a little town called Socaire and Toconao.

San Pedro Salt Flats

Day 4. (26.10). On my last full day at San Pedro de Atacama I went off to the Puritama springs (Los Termales de Puritana). The trip started at 8am and I was back at 13:00. Super amazing and relaxing!

Puritana Spring

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CRIBSHEET OF SAN PEDRO:

Hostal: there are many hostels in San Pedro. I stayed at Laskar.

What to do:

Vale de la luna - by bike: 1 day; with a tour: half day. If you do this by yourself take at least 2lt of water per person, a head torch (which you can get when you rent a bike); a bike; sunscream.

Pukara de Quitor Ruinas - I would recommend you do this with a bike as its so close to town. Make sure you take cash with you, water and sunscreen. You will have to leave bike behind and walk around the archeological site but that’s super doable in 1-2 hours.

Valle de cantarpe. If you decide to do this do it before Pukara as its further out and more tiring. Make sure you set out a good 4 hours and bring plenty of water, food, sunscream.

Tour de las estrellas. Book a tour to do this. I did not manage to do this as during my time there it was full moon so make sure you check the moon as a full moon won’t allow you to see the stars.

Alicancabur. This is the name of the volcanoes that borders Chile and Bolivia. You can do tour to the laguna verde y carácter.

Hot springs - Terma de Puritana tour. Either rent a car and go or go with a tour. I did it with a tour and its either in the afternoon or morning. So half a day.

Tebichinki

Laguna artiplanas y piedras rojas. This is a full day’s tour where you stop at the San Pedro salt flats and another two lagoons

Salt Flats. You can also to do the salt flats from San Pedro either dropping you off at Uyuni or coming back to San Pedro.

Rental bikes: Rutas Atacama

Tour company: Desert adventure ——————————

SANTIAGO

Day 5. (27.10) Today was a chilled day. Waking up breakfast and going round town for a bit before lunch and heading to Calama airport. I flew with Sky airlines. Landed and headed to the exit. You can get taxis or you can get colectivos for a bit less that leave you outside your hotel/hostel. These are outside the duty free before you exit the baggage area. Super easy and range between 6,000 and 8,000 pesos compared to an Uber at 14,000 and taxis a bit more. I got one named Delfor that dropped me off in front of the hostel. I stayed at Providencia hostel in Santiago.

Day 6. (28.10). On Sundays many streets are closed for the cyclists and runners. So its quite pleasant to walk around. I headed in the morning to the Santiago teleférico and went all the way up had this Santiago drink with durazno and maiz and lunch at belas artes followed by some yummy ice cream called Rosa nearer to the hotel.

View from the top of Cerro San Cristobal

Day 7. (29/10). I used this day for planning. You could look into heading to the Maipo maintains. I ended up not doing it. At the Providencia hostal you can find someone selling these tour.

Day 8. (30/10). I headed very early to Valparaiso. I would recommend waking up at 6am and being out by 7 ish. I left around 7:30/7:45 and made the 8:20am bus with Turbus to valparaiso. I bought the ticket at the station. Buses leave from station Pajaritos (line1/redline). Price varies but I paid 5,600 chilean return. The way back is an open return so you can show up and get any return and they leave every 15 mins. When you get to Pajaritos metro just get out of the metro and the booths to buy the bus tickets to Valparaiso are right there. Just ask around for the cheapest. They have two main bus companies: Pullman and Turbus. The trip to Valparaiso is around 1.2 hours. I got there around 9:40am and just made it for the 10am walking tour that leaves from Plaza Sotomayor. The guides of the walking tour are dressed in “where’s wally” like tops (red and white stripes) so its fairly easy to locate them. From the terminal de buses to the centre is a good 30 min walk. You can privately get a bus or taxi in. The am walking tour takes you up to the old prison and cemetery so it's an alternative route and I quite liked it. I then did the old town int he afternoon by myself but you can also get the same walking tour in the afternoon.

Streets of Valparaiso (Calle Uriola)

The afternoon tour goes to the German church luterana, and several viewpoints. I did it my myself starting at calle Uriola where you will find a bar and cafe called Al Alba that is super sweet. Walking up you get awesome street art. At plaza Sotomayor there is also a good café called 504. And for food near the port there is Buenos Aires restaurant that does good menu del dia. Other restaurants are Lupita, Pizzeria Ecuador - all at calle Ecuador. Be aware that Calle Ecuador is no longer the historical centre but according to my guide the area is still known as the bohemian side of town but its not too safe so be careful.

Rooftop space at Cafe Al Alba (Calle Uriola)

Day 9. (31/01). I quickly headed to the Universidad de Santiago station (red line) to buy tickets to Pucon with Turbus. I then headed back to the city centre - first to the Moeda station and the museum of lá moeda which is free until 12 noon. Then walk to the Precolombiano Art Museum and Plaza Mayor, up to el mercado and back down. Then I headed back to the hostel through Lastaria area and stopped at the park with the fortress at the top. I read a book there for 4 hours and then back for dinner and Halloween night out.

Day 10. (1/11) day of rest, home comfort and cinema. A family friend took me for coffee lunch and the cinema as well as dinner. Blessed to have been taken care of like that and enjoyed a nice family rest. You can also chose to go to the many wineries around Santiago on this day. You just get the underground a couple of stops and you can arrive in one of the many wine houses one of which being Concha y Torro.

Day 11. (2/11). After breakfast and a rest we headed for an early coffee at Lastaria. I then headed out on the red line to the Santiago Artesan Market further out round the corner. It was a pretty market and we had some food there. I was back at the hostel for my last night in Santiago.

Day 12. (3/11). I woke up and did the check out before heading to breakfast. We headed into the city and walked to Lastaria to get a coffee and then decided to walk to the Human rights museum. The walk was far - about one hour but there was always the green like tube straight back near the hostel. Later we did a trail up Cerro San Cristobal to watch the sunset. It took us over an hour to climb as we took the road instead of gravel route by mistake. We took the gravel route on the way back. We were at the bus station for 10pm as our bus was 11pm. Ways to Pucon: flight or bus. The flight is to Temuco or Calama and bus from Univesidad Santiago (10hrs).

Sunset at Cierro San Cristobal

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SANTIAGO CRIBSHEET

Hostel: Providencia Hostel

Things to do:

Lastaria area

Walking tour either by yourself or with one of those free walking tours (get info at the hostal)

National Museum

Precolombian Art Museum

Cerro de San Cristobal

Maipo treking

Wine tour at Concha y Toro

Mercado central

Valparaiso and Vina del Mar (get there with Turbus or Pullam from Universidad Santiago station)

Bellavista (especially during the night cool bars)

Restaurants:

Mercado central

Chipe Libre

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PUCON & PUERTO VARAS/MONTT

Day 12. (4/11) after arriving in Pucon and finding the hostel we had a nice chilled morning. The hostel (Chilli Kiwi) by the Poza was easy to get to. From the bus terminal (right out and on the main road right) or the city centre just follow O’Higgins road all the way down until you hit the lake (they call this part of the lake the Poza; in Spanish it means the puddle). Then when you hit the lake turn right and the hostel is right there. It has a beautiful view of the lake. Unfortunately, in November, the time we were there, it meant that the sunset was behind the buildings on the left and not straight across from the hostel. Apparently a couple of weeks back (so more October time) it was more central. The weather was very rainy so bought food and chilled at the hostel kitchens. Staying at Chilli Kiwi was an awesome choice as its by the lake. The rooms are clean and good and your rent can range from 9, 6 or 4 bed dorms. They also have a 2 bed dorm for walk ins as well as a 3 bed Harry Potter room, the caravans (20-22,000chl) and the tree house (32,000chl).

Day 13. (5/11). Woke up and headed out around 10:30am to Salte del Claro. Make sure you ask the route at Chilli Kiwi as they have a pretty comprehensive map. Here you walk towards a waterfall. Its beautiful and it will take you around 4 hours round trip. We got to the waterfall just after 12. Its stunning and even better due to the strong rains the day before. The path is fairly well signposted but if in doubt bear right when going through the forest at the end and have the river to your right. On the way back we got a ride back which sped up the trip.

Salte del Claro

Day 14. (6/11). Chilled in the am at the hostel and kayaked the lake from 1-3pm. It's 5,000chl per person and 4 hrs on the lake max time. Then back for my last night. During the am day bought tickets at JAC terminal, just off O’Higgins road, to Puerto Varas. As a rule, stay at Puerto Varas (at Maguoy Patagonia) and not Puerto Montt. Buses leave frequently from Puerto Varas to Puerto Montt.

Day 15. (7/11). Bus at 9am (9,500 chl) to Puerto Varas. I found out that Juan was also heading the same way as me so I glued onto him. Funnily enough we were to trek the next day together and meet again in Buenos Aires for some typical Colombian food - and who said you can’t be international in every sense of the word?!?! The trip took 4/5hrs. I then headed to the hostel (Margouya Patagonia (see leaflet below)). Then I went for a wonder round the town and bought food.

Day 16. (8/11). Wake up early and headed to Petrohue Park. The bus left from town (if you are at Margouya turn right out of the hostel, then right again at the main road as if you are headed into town and then left at the bottom of the hill by the fish restaurant; its just down there) and final stop was the park. The bus fare cost us 2,500chl each way and took 1.5 hrs. The trek was 4 hours all the way round. The full round trip is quite exhausting as quite a bit of it was volcanic sand which is not a joke to walk on. We were back for 5ish. Early night as I had bought a boat fare down the Fjords to Puerto Natalie’s (southbound only leaves on Fridays and Northbound only leaves on Mondays).

Petrohue park (me and our not so trustworthy but loyal guide - Rix!)

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PUCON & PUERTO VARAS / MONTT CRIBSHEET

Hostels:

Pucon: Chilli Kiwi

Puerto Varas: Maguoy Patagonia

**If you are by any chance going to: Valdivia, stay at Kauai central lodge; or Cochamo, stay at La Bicicleta Hostel; or Ancud stay at 13 Lunas Hostel; or Castro stay at La Minga Hostel or Palafito Waiwen (Chiloe).**

Things to do:

Pucon: climb the volcanoe; canoe on the lake; Salte del Claro other national marks/waterfalls. Make sure you ask at the reception at Chilli Kiwi and be around for the intro talk they do daily.

Puerto Varas: Petrohue Park; waterfalls. Just ask at the reception at Maguoy Patagonia.

Restaurants: to be fair I cooked a fair bit in Chile so just ask at the hostel the closes supermarkets which in all had one a max 10 min walk and enjoy the very cheap and good selection of wines.

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PATAGONIA

**Just a quick note here. You have a few options to travel down to Patagonia. You can either fly from Santiago or another airport near Pucon to Punta Arenas and then get a bus up from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales; or you can rent a car around Puerto Varas/Montt (there are a few caravan companies around or if you rather bike it there are a few options too); or you can do what I did and get on a boat (called NAVIMAG at Puerto Montt which will drop you off four days later at Puerto Natales). Of course, if you want to stop more often you also have a few other options like getting a boat with TABSA that takes you from Puerto Natales to Caleta Tortel and other destinations. Equally if you are travelling northbound these options are still the same. However, please note that NAVIMAG boats only leave from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales on Fridays and from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt on Mondays.**

Day 17. (9/11). Woke up at 7 and got everything ready. Headed out around 9 ish and got the bus at the end of the road (Calle Imperial). The fare is chl900 and it takes 20 mins to get to Puerto Montt. So I got in for 10am . From the station I got another bus (just ask around for the Costanera Shopping Centre/Holiday Inn) or you can walk (its probably 20/30 mins) where the check in was which is just down the road meaning I got in for 10:30 ish (this second bus cost me chl400). It's also where the Costanera Shopping Centre was. The boat left at 3:30pm so I could have arrived a bit later. But still. We were on the boat for 4pm and only left the port around 8pm. The whole trip cost me USD350 for four days/three nights all inclusive.

Sunset leaving Puerto Montt

Day 18. (10/11). I wake up on this boat and am surprised how well I slept. It's an interesting life on the boat but the bed, the showers and the amenities are very good. There are about 100 passengers and it feels full but not too crazy. Breakfast at 8am. Very well served the meals. The views are stunning. During the day there were talks of the route we were to take, a yoga class and materials around to colour in, knitt etc. The day went fast. There were talks about the route we were taking. The day ended going into the golf with a stunning sunset. The stars were even better.

Sunset on Day 2

Day 19. (11/11). Second full day on the boat. At dawn we had just crossed the golf and were back in the Fjords. The golf was quite calm and I only felt the boat rock twice. We stopped around 3pm at the Eden village with 3,000 people where only four people of pure blood of previous native people of this area. There was a talk about Torres del Paine - three entrances, bus in and a few options for day treks. We went through quite a few narrow straits. We went through the Cotopaxi shallow where the Leonides ship sunk (legend says there is another ship below it as it lies quite high above the water). We went through 89 wide straights with meter tall granite rocks. The day ended quite cold and the night was overcast so no stars.

Clear day through the Fjords

Day 20. (12/11). Last day on the boat. We woke up to an overcast day. We had breakfast and I did a bit of exercise and headed to the bar to write. The day eventually cleared. We docked at 4pm and it took close to two hours to get out. I then headed to my hostal: We Are Patagonia. The hostal was really good! Super comfy beds although a bit more expensive than the usual. Included breakfast which was very good. I arranged as well a rental car and shared it with two other people. Ask at the desk at the hostal for more information as they have the numbers for the cars. It also depends if you want to do day trips to Torres del Paine or whether you will be doing one of the treks (3-day or 8-day).

Leaving the boat (Navimag) at Puerto Natales

Day 21. (13/11). We woke up at 5am and headed out at 5:30am to Torres del Paine. The park is quite big and you can do the O in 8 days, the W trek in 3-5 and all of these need planning and booking if you want to stay overnight at the park. Although I was with some people who just winged it and did the towers one day, then the second drove to the middle to do the Britannia climb. The campsites have more flexibility as they may have last minute spots and you can rent tents at Puerto Natale’s from 2,000 to 5,000 for a 4 person and 3,000 for sleeping bags.

Getting to Torres del Paine National Park

What we did was rent a car and go very early to the Serrano entrance (there are three entrances). The Serrano is the most scenic route (the buses don’t use this route) with lakes. This road is not tarmacked but quite good. The entry to the park is 21,000chl and you can come in and out of the park up to three days. The parking is free. The day walks you can do are Torres (entrance on the east); the French valley and grey glacier (both entrances closer to Serrano). The last two start in the same spot so the guys I went to did grey and I did the French valley. For these two the Serrano entrance is the closest. You then park by Pahoe lake and get the ferry for 9am. Which gets in for 9:30am on the other side of the lake.

River running next to the treck to Vale Frances and Britannico

The trek

As the boat got in at 9:30am on the other side I started treking at around 9:40am. The map says that the first section of the trail up to the bridge is 2.5hrs but in brisk pace I made it in 1.5hrs. The views were stunning. Crossing the bridge you are by the French and Italian camps. Here is where the W joins. Across this very wobbly bridge to the other side I went. From there through the forest I got to the French mirador within one hour. From the mirador Frances to the británico I took about an hour as well but that's because a lady told me that the top closed at 13:00. But when I got there there was no gate. Asking around I heard that CONAF could have a guide shutting the trail if weather was bad maybe. The views at the top were absolutely stunning. Breathtakingly beautiful and no picture does it justice. So I got up there for 13:00, lunch for one hour and headed down at 14:00 to get back before 6pm for the 18:35 boat. We got to PN at 10pm. It’s a long day so take plenty of water and food. Make sure you take clothes for hot and cold/windy weathers and be ready to sweat.

The view at the top

Day 22. (14/11). Today I decided not to head out and do Torres del Paine as the Vale Frances was quite heavy and a full day. That's why I would recommend staying four day or three full days min in Puerto Natales so you can do Vale Frances one day and then do Torres on the third having a rest day in between. I then headed out for some food and chocolate. I was also recommended Patagonia Dulce (apparently best hot choc in PN) and La Gregario for coffee and chill. Also Pampa and Baguales as good bars. The afternoon went super fast catching up with people and resting. In the evening we sat round a table and chatted for hours. It was the best way of closing my Chile chapter. Thanks Chile!

Just an awesome group of people I met (two faces missing)

Day 23. (15/11). I was getting the bus to el Calafate at 7:45am. The bus ticket came to 20,000chl and the terminal was not crazy far. I travelled with Bus Sur and they were good.

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USEFUL INFORMATION:

Money: Chilean pesos

Hostels:

San Pedro de Atacama: Laskar Hostel

Santiago: Providencia Hostal

Pucon: Chilli Kiwi

Puerto Varas: Maguoy Patagonia

Puerto Natales: We Are Patagonia

Torres del Paine: book your stays with Fantastico tours or Vertice.

Info on Torres del Paine trekking options: -1 day - advise renting a car which goes at 40-45,000chl per day instead of getting the bus as with the car you can then get early for the first boat. You can then do Valle Frances one day have a rest the second day and on the third do Torres. I tried to do one after the other and it did not work.

- the W : 3-4 days. You must plan this in advance and book the campsites. In this case you will get in on your first day and do Torres or stay overnight at base and wake up early to see the sunrise and on that same day walk to the second campsite between Torres and the French/Britanico. On the second full day you will do French and Britannico to get to the third campsite by the boat. Your third full day you will do grey and come back on the 6pm boat, then bus back to Puerto Natales.

- the O: 8 days: Day 1 Get there in central camp at 11am and get there at 3pm. Stay at camp seron. Day 2. Set off at 9 am to camp Dickson. Day 3. Take easy morning. Short day and stay at perros. Day 4. From perros to grey. Start at 6am. Don't do Paso as with Conaf and need not book with three. Day 5. Walk down to grande or Frances and camp - Frances. Day 6 from Frances walk The Valley and come back pick up stuff and stay in cuernos. Day 7 walked to chileno or central - chileno no cooking. Day 8 do Torres for sunrise and go back get your bag and head down for the bus. Book in June for November and book meals throughout and for later stops so as not to carry too much food.

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#chile #sanpedro #desert #santiago #pucon #puertovaras #puertomontt #puertonatales #patagonia #torresdelpaine #thingstosee #thingstodo #journey #travel #visionworld #vision #yourworld #myworld #ourworld

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medproish · 6 years

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As someone who’s criticized the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the prospect of sitting through a 31-hour marathon of these movies was daunting, to say the least. But I knew that the ordeal would be a prime (if very stupid) opportunity to raise some money for a good cause. So this week, I joined a few hundred diehard Marvel fans for an Infinity War of our own.

Would the experience break me? Would it force me to see the light and embrace my inner Marvel fanboy? Would I understand why the hell I’m supposed to care about Bucky?

This is my diary of my 31-hour trip to Thanos.

Wednesday, April 25th

1:15pm: I arrive at the AMC 25 in Times Square, the Stark Tower of multiplexes. Fresh from an emergency supply run to the Duane Reade across the street, I have a large box of granola bars; an even larger bigger box of painkillers; a giant can of sugar-free Red Bull; an iPhone charger; a sleep mask for “Captain America: Civil War;” and a few precious memories of the outside world.

I feel relatively well prepared, at least until I spot a man going up the escalator with a suitcase.

1:25pm: A long line forms as they wait to take our tickets. People tentatively introduce themselves. Many — perhaps even most — are decked out in some form of Marvel paraphernalia, and we’re all about to get some more of it: Every marathon attendee receives an Avengers pin, a plastic-sealed poster, and a shiny badge that must be worn around our necks at all times, to ensure everyone feels the proper level of embarrassment.

1:28pm: Good news: AMC 25 has several theaters decked out with leather recliners, perfect for sleeping! Bad news: Our marathon isn’t playing in one of them, because it’s organized by some of the world’s most twisted sadists.

Read More:‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Review: A Decade of Marvel Movies Collide in One Epic Showdown After Another

Auditorium #17, our home for the next 31 hours, is about as comfortable as an episode of “Nathan for You.” Seats are stiff, legroom is nonexistent, and the cushions are made out of the most fart-absorbent material in the galaxy. It’s like sitting in the last row of a 31-hour flight that never leaves the ground.

1:30pm: Lights go down at 1:30pm sharp (all movies started exactly on time, the marathon scheduled down to the minute so that “Infinity War” can begin at 6pm the following night and AMC can clear the room in time for a 9pm show). The crowd cheers.

People also cheered when the Titanic set sail.

“Iron Man”

1:32pm: “Iron Man” is so old that it takes place in a world where Maxim is still a thing.

1:36pm: Tony Stark is introduced through the lens of his attitude towards weapons and power — his lucrative belief that fear and violence are the surest means toward peace. “It’s an imperfect world, but it’s the only one we got,” he caws. “I guarantee you the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I’ll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals.” As one character points out a few minutes later, the first MCU movie has a mass murderer for a hero.

1:40pm: It’s amazing how fully formed Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was right out of the gate. The quick-tongued arrogance, the withering sarcasm, the poisoned moral righteousness — “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” has a lot of blood on its hands.

1:50pm: The kind-hearted Yinsen dies after imploring Stark not to “waste his life.” Everyone seated for this 31-hour marathon of Marvel movies begins to shift in their seats.

1:55pm: Agent Coulson makes his first appearance and the crowd explodes as if Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé dropped in for an impromptu jam. Hooray for middle management!

2pm: Dum-E, the fire-extinguishing robot in Tony’s lab, earns the MCU’s first deep laugh. Honestly, this little guy might be the reason Terrence Howard was fired. I picture Kevin Feige at the premiere and being all: “Is it just me, or does that droid whose face is an empty metal tube give the second-best performance in the whole movie?”

“Iron Man”

2:40pm: By today’s Marvel standards, this movie is mumblecore: 70 minutes in, and the biggest action sequence is Iron Man dominating a rabble of terrorists. It’s almost quaint.

3:15pm: Stane is a useless villain (anticipating a franchise full of useless villains), but I like the half-assed final fight because Stark — in his battle against an Iron Man prototype — is effectively fighting his former self. So many MCU heroes are defined by their struggle to reconcile the people they were with the people they’re empowered to become.

3:45pm: What a nice little movie about a powerful man who learns that the world might be a better place without weapons of war on the streets.

3:40pm: There’s a 30-minute break between each film, but most people stick around for the post-credit scenes. I am not most people. I need coffee and I need it now.

3:42pm: The lady at concessions stand tells me, “The coffee machine has decided to stop working.” This is the bad place.

“The Incredible Hulk”

3:45pm: Wait, I just Googled it and it turns out that Maxim is still a thing! That’s insane.

4:00pm: “The Incredible Hulk” begins before anyone can figure out why they’re forcing us to watch it.

4:13pm: Did Edward Norton accidentally kill Stan Lee?

4:20pm: CRASH! You know those plastic-covered posters they gave us on the way in? They’re now sticking out from underneath everyone’s seat, turning the narrow aisles of this cramped room into a veritable slip-and-slide. Not that I’m complaining: Someone falling on their ass is easily the most entertaining thing that will happen for the next two hours.

Read More:‘Avengers: Infinity War’ World Premiere: Marvel Celebrates 10 Years of Films With Star-Studded Red Carpet

4:35pm: I like how Norton’s take on the Hulk was pretty much: What if a guy with no discerniblepersonality did everything in his power to avoid growing one?

5:25pm: Watching two hideous CG blobs clobber each other across the streets of Harlem, it occurs to me that “The Incredible Hulk” might be more of a DC movie than it is a Marvel one.

5:42pm: There’s a giant “Tully” stand in the lobby. At the moment, my big plan for the night is to knock it down and sleep inside of it.

“Thor”

6:15pm: “Thor” starts, and the theater is half-empty. It’s like revisiting “The Incredible Hulk” made a roomful of Marvel obsessives question some of their life choices.

6:40pm: I snap awake after my body involuntarily shuts down. Thanks to the rigid structure of all these origin stories, it’s all too easy to reorient myself.

7pm: That Loki sure loves genocide, huh?

8:05pm: It’s pretty remarkable that the MCU survived “Thor” and “The Incredible Hulk,” and that “Iron Man,” Chris Hemsworth, and the promise of the Avengers was enough until this franchise found its legs. Of course, it was a more innocent time.

8:10pm: You can condition people to sit through the credits, or you can play some awful new Foo Fighters song over the credits. To do both is probably in violation of the Geneva Convention.

8:12pm: Three movies down, and Tony Stark’s fire-extinguisher robot is still by far the best character in the MCU. Fingers crossed for a standalone movie in Phase V.

8:30pm: Standing in line for chicken tenders, the only source of protein on AMC’s menu. I meet a woman who drove up from Maryland for the marathon. The teenage girl behind me frets about finding time to do her homework. (“Maybe during ‘Guardians of the Galaxy?’” she asks a friend.) There are whispers that someone flew in all the way from Utah.

8:42pm: Survival instincts start to kick in. People get territorial over power outlets. A kid with fluffy blond hair loudly contemplates if this is the right time to pop an Adderall (“It’s extended-release,” he explains to no one in particular). It occurs to me that 24 hours from now I will still be sitting here watching spandex men fight computer people.

“Captain America: The First Avenger”

9:07pm: “Captain America: The First Avenger” is a few minutes old, but it’s clear that the MCU has found its groove.

9:15pm: “I can do this all day,” Steve Rogers says to the bully who’s beating him up behind a movie theater. Too soon, Steve.

9:24pm: Steve Rogers is injected with a super serum; I eat an entire box of Red Vines. Two great Americans with unstable chemicals swirling around our veins.

9:35pm: I love that Captain America has a comic book written about him before he becomes a superhero — the identity comes first, and Steve Rogers is forced to live up to it. The U.S.O. tour sequence is an inspired way of expediting character development. Joe Johnson rules.

Read More:Avengers Experience: The Russo Brothers Offer an ‘Infinity War’ Set Visit as an Indiegogo Reward

10:04pm: For the first time in my life, I actually hear a Wilhelm scream. Is it possible that sitting through nine consecutive hours of Marvel movies has somehow sharpened my senses? Or is the smell in here so rank, my eyes so dry, my tastebuds so defeated, and my touch so unused that my ears are picking up the slack?

10:05pm: I break into another box of Red Vines.

10:30pm: Maybe it’s the Stockholm Syndrome talking, but this movie is phenomenal. It’s playing like gangbusters; listening to this audience, you’d think everyone in the room was seeing it for the very first time.

11:04pm: “I had a date.” Oh good, I can still feel things — I haven’t quite gone full Gollum yet. Hands down the best ending of any superhero movie this side of “Spider-Man 2.”

“The Avengers”

11:30pm: “The Avengers” starts. It’s so weird to watch this movie without commercial breaks.

Thursday, April 26th

12:20am: Tony Stark invokes “a terrible privilege.” With great power comes great responsibility. This is the heart and soul of the MCU: human(oid) weapons fighting for peace, and trying to pave the way toward a world that doesn’t need them in it. It’s a matter that subsequent movies will confuse as they try to pick it clean.

12:40am: Agent Coulson’s death was sad when I first saw it in 2012, but now that I know the character was demoted to network TV, it’s devastating.

12:45am: Nick Fury motivates the Avengers by showing them the bloodied Captain America trading cards that were in Coulson’s jacket when he died, only for Maria Hill to reveal that the cards were in Coulson’s locker. Which, if I’m following this, means that Fury went to Coulson’s locker, took out the cards, and … slathered them in blood he found dripping from one of his freshly slaughtered colleagues on the airship? Or, being a true professional, did he go back to Coulson’s body and dunk the cards in the chest wound that killed him? Either way, I think this dude might be a bit more damaged than we’ve been led to believe.

1:10am: Harry Dean Stanton!! The crowd goes wild, and — for the first time — I’m cheering right along with them. Maybe these are my people.

1:40am: The Chitauri definitely voted for Trump. [I don’t know what prompted me to write this down in my notes, but I’m gonna roll with it]

1:30am: The Battle of New York is still the most fluid, operatic, and flat-out spectacular action setpiece in this entire franchise, and nothing else comes close. It’s no wonder the rest of the MCU is so hung up on it.

1:55am: Enter Thanos. Or, the purple concept art that would become Thanos. Our first glimpse of the MCU’s big bad reminds me of the shots we see of Gollum in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” when a movie is forced to introduce a CG character before its franchise has figured out what it’s going to look like. That’s Hollywood, baby!

2:05am: The rest of the theater is closed for the night, leaving us to roam the towering multiplex at our leisure. There are sleeping bodies strewn about the building, some on inflatable mattresses but most lying on the floor.

2:09am: I head to one of the auditoriums I know has recliner chairs (there are perks to being a film critic who’s spent a lot of time in this building over the years). I make a little bed for myself, but it’s so creepy listening to the pre-show in an empty room — Meghan Trainor songs mixed in with chirpy popcorn propaganda from Maria Menounos. It’s even creepier when the music abruptly shuts off.

2:50am: I head back into the theater about 40 minutes into “Guardians of the Galaxy,” hoping that all the flashing lights and smooth ’70s tunes of Peter Quill’s maiden voyage might lull me to sleep.

“Guardians of the Galaxy”

2:52am: They don’t.

3:13am: Every Benicio del Toro performance is 50 percent more fun once you realize that he’s playing himself.

3:30am: Alien John C. Reilly says “I don’t believe anyone is 100 percent a dick.” Maybe it’s the fact that it’s the middle of the night, but this feels like a profound statement that could be applied to the entire MCU.

4:30am: Nothing says “carpe diem” quite like a 4:30am “Age of Ultron” screening.

“Age of Ultron”

4:31am: Captain America throws a motorcycle at someone.

4:45am: There’s a seductive ASMR vibe to the scene where Ultron becomes conscious and starts chatting with Jarvis. I immediately pass out.

5:40am: Jarvis is an Irish lady now.

5:50am: Captain America says a naughty word, and Nick Fury replies: “You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Which, like … dude, if anyone is aware that Captain America’s mom has been dead for 100 years, it’s you. That’s just insensitive.

“Captain America: Civil War”

Walt Disney Studios

7:30am: “Captain America: Civil War” begins. We’re technically watching it, but it would be more accurate to say that the movie is just sort of happening, indifferent to our presence. I think about Quentin Tarantino’s comment about digital projection being like “watching TV in public.” Celluloid is harder to ignore, but the real difference is the passivity. We’re waiting this thing out like a rainstorm.

7:45am: Why is this a Captain America movie, anyway? There are more Avengers than there were in “The Avengers!” Poor Steve. It’s like being ignored at your own birthday party.

7:50am: Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve hit rock bottom. This movie is the worst. I think that’s because it should be the best. Here’s a film that forces the various Avengers to confront their conflicting ideas about power and its proper application, but refuses to dramatize their disagreements. Instead, it’s lots of blank philosophizing interrupted by poorly choreographed fight scenes.

On the other hand, at least someone with power is putting real thought into America’s foreign policy.

8:18am: Dreaming up a supercut of moments in the MCU when there’s no music playing — it’d be about 25 seconds long. I’ve been trying to put my finger on the sameness of these films, how such a grab-bag of candy can taste like the dominant flavor, and the wall-to-wall scoring is a major factor. The movies were always going to blur together by this point of the marathon, but our current fugue state is enhanced by the sense that we’ve been listening to one long, sustained note since we got here.

9:45am: I’m sitting outside an early-morning screening of “A Quiet Place” and using the jump-scares to jolt myself awake. So that’s where we’re at right now.

9:49am: I’ve been holding on to a can of sugar-free Red Bull for the last 26 hours, saving it for my most desperate and pathetic moment like that bottle of 1961 Château Cheval Blanc Paul Giamatti drinks out of a styrofoam cup at the end of “Sideways.” Cheers.

10:00am: Time for Tim Burton’s “Inception!” Wait, no, sorry [squints at notes], “Doctor Strange.”

“Doctor Strange”

10:20am: One of the things I like about this movie is how it hones in on one of the ideas binding this entire franchise together: That our perspective on the world is the sum of our own experience, and our empathy for the experiences of others. A character whose path runs parallel to Tony Stark, Stephen Strange is a self-centered prig who learns that the universe contains realities separate from his own. Only by internalizing that is he able to use his powers for good.

10:45: “Shamballa” is the wi-fi password. Still funny! Also, I’d say somewhere between 85 to 95 percent of the jokes in the MCU hinge on humanizing superhuman characters. Every punchline amounts to “Superheroes: They’re just like us!” But hey, it works.

11:05: “We never lose our demons, Mordo. We only learn to live above them.” No one is 100 percent dick, and no one is 100 percent hero. It’s why Doctor Strange and Iron Man are such compelling characters, though they both grow tiresomee: They’re always at war with themselves, even when they’re saving the world.

11:50am: “Doctor Strange” is in the books, and the books are in some old Tibetan library or something. It’s hard to watch a movie about the meaning of time when you’re nearly 24 hours into a marathon that has stripped time of all meaning.

11:54am: Sitting on a throne of granola bar wrappers like a mad king looking over a ruined world, I experience a profound epiphany:

11:57am: People are sleeping in the aisles, absorbing the MCU through osmosis. Where we’re going, we don’t need fire safety codes.

11:59am: I don’t think a single AMC employee has so much as popped their head in here since the marathon began. It’s “The Lord of the Flies” in theater 17, and they’re just gonna let it happen. Send in a HazMat team when it’s over and let them deal with it.

12:32pm: They’ve scheduled a lunch break, but most people are too broken to venture into Times Square. The younger ones only remember the outside world through the stories the elders tell around the ICEE machine (the one that a kindly AMC employee left on and unattended all night long).

12:51pm: “Spider-Man: Homecoming” time. Someone cheers at the first appearance of Murph, the bodega cat.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming”

12:52pm: The guy at the bodega says that Aunt May is hot.

12:55pm: The kid from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” said “Penis Parker” and I laughed.

12:59pm: Those hilarious instructional videos are enough to make “Homecoming” a better Captain America movie than “Civil War” ever was. I’m not sure if there’s a stronger testament to MCU’s world building: Not only does it milk laughs from our collective understanding of Captain America’s character, it also articulates how the Avengers function in their culture.

1:10pm: Tony says Aunt May is hot.

1:12pm: Tony says Aunt May is hot, but with different words.

1:16pm: A waiter gives Aunt May some free larb because he thinks she’s hot.

1:25pm: Tony is legit about to dump Pepper Potts, abandon the Avengers, and start a new life with Aunt May.

1:30pm: If Marvel hired Nancy Meyers to make a straight-up romantic-comedy about Aunt May looking for love (and maybe finding some danger), it could single-handedly save the genre.

2:20pm: I’m impressed and delighted by how the fictional technology tracks across the various stories. The turbines in the Vulture’s wing suit recall the flying aircraft carrier from “The Avengers,” the reactor cores that power his guns connect to Tony Stark’s Arc Reactors, and someone — I can’t remember who — fires a gun with a corrugated barrel that looks like the Destroyer from “Thor.”

2:50pm: The last five seconds of “Homecoming” are perfect.

3:10pm: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s very purple. Everyone is buzzing. All that’s standing between us and “Infinity War” is “Black Panther,” and we’re about to watch the movie as it was truly meant to be seen: In a boiling cauldron of farts.

“Black Panther”

3:26pm: T’Challa namechecks Zemo, and I am outraged that fucking ZEMO is momentarily invoked in a future Best Picture nominee.

3:50pm: Klaue’s mixtape is real, and I want to hear it.

3:52pm: “Guns. So primitive.” Okoye gets it.

4:15pm: As if the need for better representation wasn’t obvious enough, watching 12 of these movies in a row really hammers it home. That’s true for race, and it’s very true for gender. Nearing the 29th hour of the marathon, it’s impossible to ignore that I’ve mostly been staring at various white dudes named Chris — even the team-up movies push everyone else to the side. It’s not a matter of being woke; hell, I’m barely conscious right now, and I still can’t unsee it. “Captain Marvel” can’t get here soon enough.

5:50pm: An unseen AMC employee has abandoned a cardboard box outside the theater. We tear it open, wondering aloud about what treasure might wait for us inside: “Infinity War” swag? Signed Thanos autographs? Tear-stained letters from the partners and children waiting for us back home?

It’s 3D glasses. A box full of 3D glasses. It’s like the first scene of “2001,” fits of anger and confusion before our hard cut to space. After 29 consecutive hours of eye-straining insanity, this seems like a cruel joke. At least, I hope it was a cruel joke, because if anyone at AMC thought we wanted this, those people understand their customers even less than I thought.

5:57pm: It’s pandemonium in theater 17. Almost everyone who was there at the start came back for the end. A big guy up front commands our attention and requests everyone stay quiet for the Stan Lee cameo so that “we can hear what the old man has to say.” There are shouts of agreement.

5:58pm: This happens:

memories. pic.twitter.com/LH3t6NC6oW

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) April 27, 2018

6:00pm: “Avengers: Infinity War” starts. Well, not the movie, but five minutes of corporate branded content. The glasses were not a joke. They’re a cookbook. Soylent Green is made out of people, etc.

6:05pm: It starts for real this time. Except the 3D isn’t working. It’s like the last 30 minutes of “mother!” in here. I see my entire life flash before my eyes, and it looks an awful lot like a supercut of Marvel movies.

6:07pm: It’s fixed! The shouting stops in time for Thanos’ first line. I start wishing that the 3D would break again.

6:19pm: Stan Lee gets his cameo. People yell at the top of their lungs.

6:25pm: It occurs to me that the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is the story of Tony Stark trying to figure out faster and faster ways of getting dressed.

6:50pm: “After 11 years and 19 movies, let’s end it by stranding all the characters together in nondescript pockets of outer space so they can joke about Kevin Bacon and shoot lights at each other for three hours.” The bigger these movies get, the smaller they feel.

8:55pm: “Infinity War” is pretty much everything I don’t like about superhero movies, wadded into one epic bore. All the same, there’s no denying that I watched it with the right crowd. When you see the film, you’ll know what I mean.

9:01pm: And just like that, I’m on the A train home.

Did the experience enhance my appreciation of the MCU? Hard to say. On the one hand, it definitely clarified the thematic conversation between them, however garbled it gets. It also forced me to awe at the connective tissue, and the architecture required for such an astonishing feat of world building.

On the other hand, I left the theater even more disenchanted with the way these characters have been subsumed into the spectacle around them, and fear that next year’s “Infinity War” sequel will be more of the same. One thing’s for sure: I’ll be watching that movie on its own.

Oh, and I still don’t understand why I’m supposed to care about Bucky. Sorry, guys.

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