As our travel guide, the South American Handbook, puts it: "Nothing prepares you for the spectacular beauty of Parque Nacional Torres del Paine." Well I won't dispute that, but I must add that nothing prepares you for the wind, the rain, and the rivers of ankle-deep rainwater flowing right along the trails. Weather is often tricky in this beautiful park in the Chilean Patagonia, but we had come during a very funky EL Niño year, and the summer weather was the worst it had been in years. On Saturday, Feb. 6th we travelled by bus from Rio Gallegos, Argentina, westward across the Patagonian tundra to Puerto Natales, Chile, a quiet and pretty town on the edge of the Senoret Fjord. Our hostel was overbooked, so they shuttled us to hotel Niko's II. Hotel Niko's II was
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