Torres del Paine, Chile, Feb 25-28

After a sad farewell to my ship, we headed into town (Punta Arenas, "Sandy Point") for lunch of (yep, steak!!!). I ordered my newly discovered favorite beer, Austral Calafate. I had one while I belted out bad karaoke on the ship, and was happy to discover it is made in Punta Arenas! If only that PA was closer to my PA so I could purchase it.....

Austral Calafate, new favorite beer.

After lunch we boarded our bus and headed inland to Torres del Paine (Blue Towers) National Park. It is the most visited national park of Chile, and you'll see why soon. Our bus ride was long (5 or 6 hours) and we crossed classic Patagonian landscapes. Estancias and yellow grasses (yellow year-round) seemed to go on for eternity. I've crossed the USA, and certainly parts of it seem large, but there was a feeling of this land being even bigger somehow.

Patagonian Grass

Finally we got a glimpse of Torres del Paine, though hard to see due to the position of the sun. After hours in a bus, we were quite excited to jump out and get a few pictures. Paine has a reputation of wind and rain, so we took advantage of the clear, bright skies while we could.

Torres del Paine

We were staying at a Hosteria, right up against the mountains. Our bus was too big for the bridge, so we transferred to shuttle buses. I hopped in the front seat and struck up a conversation with the driver. He was excited that I spoke as much spanish as he did english, and asked if we could practice together. So from then on, when shuttling, I'd sit up front and talk to him. When he ran across an english word he didn't know, I'd write it down in his notebook that he carried around. I enjoyed hearing about his life and working on my then-improving spanish. Our hosteria was beautiful, with horses grazing freely on the grounds.

As we checked in, a guide from the hotel approached me (in a very forward manner). He asked my name, where we were coming from, and what our plans were for the park. I explained all of this to him, then he asked who I worked for. Huh?? Work?? Ummm,....should I tell him I work for an environmental engineering company in Hershey? Then it dawned on me....I chuckled and told him I wasn't working, I was on vacation. He blushed a little and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a guide!! You're with a group of older people, and you look like a guide,...you have the backpack and everything!" At this point I explained I was with my mom, I'm not a guide but thank you, and you can still talk to me. Turns out he's from Kansas. Yup. Kansas City. He just packed up and moved to Chile. He's my inspiration now and then.

The next day we were touring around on the bus to see different areas of the park. It truly was hard to take a bad picture.

Creek, Torres del Paine

At one point we stopped to see flamingos! Yes, the pink birds we all associate with Florida and tacky yard decorations. There they were, in a small pond....hanging out. They were far away and hard to see, but they were there. I promise. Look closely in the photo below and you'll see them. The photo, however, is meant to show the bush. It's common name is "cushion" or "mother-in-law bush". See how it's all prickly? Well, thankfully my mother-in-law is nothing like this plant. :) I love you, Karen.

Lichen, Torres del Paine

Our guide, Felipe, did a fantastic job. He knew a lot about flora, fauna and geology. See what's on his head? That's a boff. They seemed very common in Chile. I saw them on the ship, in Punta Arenas, and now in Felipe. Hmm...later I purchased one for myself. I'll be mowing my lawn in it all too soon.

Felipe, educating us.

The clouds were lingering this morning, but now and then we'd get a glimpse of the towering granite mountains that were so close.

Me and Mom, Lake Nordenskjold, Torres del Paine

A glimpse, a glimpse of one of the horns!

One horn, Torres del Paine

In December, Paine was victim of a forest fire, believed to be arson. It was sad to see the damage, especially knowing it was most likely done on purpose.

Fire damage, Torres del Paine
Salto Grande, Torres del Paine

More and more blue sky!

Mom and me at Salto Grande, Torres del Paine

Mountains of Torres del Paine

Vertical bedding

Our lunch destination was a restaurant on the shores of Lago Gray, (Gray Lake), which is the melt from Gray Glacier. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Our guide kept commenting that "someone in this group is leading a good life, this weather is amazing!"

Glacial moraine from Gray Glacier

Me and mom, Gray Glacier in background.

Yep, the weather was perfect. I'd like to take claim to "leading a good life" that allowed us such spectacular weather. On the way to S. America, on my flight from Charlotte to Miami, I put my backpack by my feet so the guy across the aisle from me could shove his overstuffed, monstrous "carry on" in the overhead compartments. Hey, the little things add up!

Hotel where I'm staying next time I visit.

Cloudless, windless day. A once per year occurrence.

Wildlife in Paine? Lots of birds, guanacos (see below) and puma. Birds, check. Guanacos, check. Puma? Unfortunately (or fortunately) no. Guanacos are related to llamas, are are the "oldest" species of llama-esque animal. They travel in herds, with one male and his harem. He's usually up high, watching out for puma. Guanacos were exciting at first, but there were SO many, that after a while, they just seemed like part of the landscape to me.

Guanaco

Lots'o'guanacos

Speaking of birds, we did luck out (again) and our bus driver spotted condors feeding on a baby guanaco (called a chulengo). He stopped the bus and we got out. Soon, all nine (that's a lot of condors) took flight. Seeing this in the bright blue sky with the mountains in the background was pretty special, even for me who isn't too excited by birds. These condors have a wing span of 10 feet. The jaggedy lower peaks on the right edge of the mountains are named the "Condors Nest", and, surprise, that's where these birds live. Pretty amazing to see them all.

Condors flying

Then we stopped at another waterfall, but unfortunately I can't recall the name.

Mom and me.

Waterfall

We returned to the hosteria (yes, completely with shuttle-bus spanish/english lesson) in time for an afternoon hike for those of us who wanted it. Although it was tempting to stay and read my book here, in the hotel bar, while sipping some tasty drinks. But, I opted for the hike and was glad for some less-sedentary activity!

Bar view

The hike took us a few miles along the base of the mountains. We saw horses grazing, heard glaciers cracking, and saw more spectacular scenery. Including more lakes. The lake in the foreground is fed by rainwater and ground runoff, and is like any lake we'd find in the lower 48. Clear water, allowing flora and fauna to flourish. The lake in the background is glacial melt. It has high concentrations of sediment in it, which causes it to be that brilliant, opaque turquoise color. No fish, no plants...but gorgeous color.

Two lakes, two colors.

Fearless guides, Ivan and Felipe

On the hike back, Felipe and I started talking and laughing, it was nice to get to know him a little better. We stood under a waterfall that came straight from a glacier, and it felt great. On return, I caught up to Mom in time for a pre-dinner PisCola (pisco and coke). We had our last dinner (lamb straight off a spit,...YUM) at this gorgeous hosteria, and were sad to be leaving the next morning. Every now and then on vacation, you run across a small paradise that you feel relaxed and refreshed in. This was one of those places.

Leaving Torres del Paine, EARLY in the morning.

We reversed our 5+ hour bus ride, had lunch at a breathtaking brown stone palace in Punta Arenas, then hopped on a plane headed north to Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas in Chile's lake district.

Flying over Paine, from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt.

On to the next adventure!