Today we drive northeast through the park crossing the border into Argentina and on to our hotel in El Calafate. A long day – 8 hours of driving. A lot of the drive follows Lake Sarmiento the largest lake in the park and also the only lake in the park which is not glacier fed. Winds were so strong that it developed dirt devils along the water. The scenery speaks for itself. A quick photo stop was made at Lake Torro. A brief stop at Cascada Paine was a welcome stretch of the legs. We continued north along the Amarga Lagoon just outside the park – along the way we stopped to see a heard of guanacos. We arrived at El Carafate for a very late dinner.
Our hotel room came with a balcony and unbelievable views of the Torres del Paine Towers – completely different perspective in morning and evening light. We started our day driving to the Nordenskjol viewpoint along the way we saw the towers from different vantage points, the Rio Serrano River and the winding roads to the parks entrance gate. Of course, it started raining as soon as we entered the park. Still the road was very scenic driving past jagged peaks, lakes and thick forests on our way to the Salto Grande waterfall and the end of the world trail. The trail ended with another Tower view fronted by a Hidden Lake. During our return hike we spotted one of smallest owls I have ever seen maybe 6 inches tall. We continued the scenic drive along the Paine River and Lake Pehoe to view the Cascade Paine. One last stop on the way back to our hotel was Grey Lake with its grey beach and distant glacier. It was pouring rain when we arrived with wind gusting to 40 mph. As we hiked the rain diminished with a few moments of a rainbow and a glorifying view of the glacier which was 12 MI away. The return hike was a washout with sheets of rain and a constant 30+ mph wind. We headed back to the hotel to dry out & have dinner.
First an apology – we have been on the go from 7am to 9 or 10 pm – leaving little time to work on photos. So, I’m going to show the best I can with the little time I have – then I will update the travel blog when I get back home. So, enjoy the slimmed down version.
Today we boarded a catamaran for a 2-hour sail through the Ulima Esperanza Fjord. BTW it was raining the entire trip with extremely low hanging clouds. Our trip passed the Balmaceda Glacier and several waterfalls in the area. Along the way we viewed nesting cormorants and not so friendly sealions. We disembarked at Puerto Toro for a hike through Bernardo O’Higgins National Park -no joke. The hike to Serrano Glacier covered a forest and along the shoreline leading to a viewing area of the glacier. After the return hike and boat ride we boarded a bus for the 4-hour ride to Torres del Paine NP.
Today started with an early morning transfer to the airport for a Flight to Punta Arenas, in the southwestern tip of Chile, the jumping off point to the rugged landscape of Patagonia. Our first stop was a view of the Strait of Magellan. Along the way to our overnight in Puerto Natales we stopped at Cerro Negro Ranch for a traditional lamb barbecue lunch. After lunch we watched sheep shearing and a demonstration of herding by a sheep dog. We then headed to our hotel arriving in the late evening to see our first views of Patagonian snowcapped mountains.
Our second day in Santiago started with a city bus tour of the varied neighborhoods of the city and a walking tour of the “old” city center. Much of the center has been redone in the early 20th century. The presidential palace has been rebuilt after a 1973 Pinochet coup which had started with the air force bombing of the palace, killing Allende who was the world’s 1st elected socialist President in 1970. After the city tour, we headed to Mount San Cristobal for a funicular ride to the mountain top to view the famous 150-foot statue of the Virgin Mary. We had a typical Chilian lunch of chicken and beef “shepherd’s pie” topped with a sweet corn mush. Our afternoon tour was of the Undurraga Winery the oldest in Miapo Valley. The wines were nice, and the tour was interesting especially because it was harvest time & we saw the de-stemming & crushing of the grapes. The owner of the winery has interest in the indigenous Mapuche peoples and had totem poles plus a small museum displaying varied artifacts reflecting their culture. Before heading back to our hotel, we decided to view the Santiago Sculpture Garden about a half hour stroll to the west. It was a very enjoyable walk with an eclectic mix of sculptures and a big hangout for the college crowd. Heading back to the hotel we enjoyed an excellent dinner at Pinpilinpausha in their garden area. Back to the hotel at nine for packing and our 5 am wakeup call for our flight to Patagonia.
Our 9 1/2-hour flight from Miami had us arriving in Santiago at 7:00 am along with several other flights – so baggage and customs took another hour. Our driver met us after customs, and we found out what rush hour was like in a city of 5.5 million people. Glad the driver had a good set of breaks and was able to avert a stop and go rear ender. Arriving at our hotel in the financial district way too early for check in we left our bags and headed to the city’s Bicentennial Park for a walk along the river and past several statues of Chile’s war heroes. The path ended at the city’s general services and police building with an unusual triangle shape. We headed back to our hotel, stopping for lunch at the city’s oldest restaurant – Confiteria Torres founded in 1879. Meeting the owner, he proudly showed us a photo of him with Secretary of State Blinken taken last October. After getting an early check-in we started another trek to discover the Japanese gardens while walking around the capital city’s largest urban natural area, which is part of the Metropolitan Park. The gardens were small but well-appointed and provided good views of the financial district and especially the Costanela Center Tower – 62 stores and the tallest building in South America. All tolled 21,000 steps and after a group dinner we were ready to call it a night.
Travelling Photographer 