Blogs from Torres del Paine, Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 3

The sky was clear when we left Calafate. We were driving East however, and fast, so it was highly likely we would meet up again with the storm which we had watched go over us earlier that morning. We did. It was cold. We rose up to meet it, climbing onto the high Patagonia plateau. The temperature dropped to 45 degrees F ( 6 degrees C). The fog came down. We plunged on into the mist, all lights blazing, not knowing quite what would come next. After an hour or two of misery, we watched the clouds lift and drift off to the East. We motored on South to Esperanza (Hope), not even considering a wet gravel short cut down Route 40 to the Chilean Border. Been there. Not doing that. The Westerly winds were good ... read more

Patagonia. It all seems so far out. We think right away of the end of the world, the middle of nowhere, well, it is certainly around the corner from there, that is for sure. 5:30 hrs drive sound okay to get somewhere more or less exotic but this one we did during the night, crossing borders in gravel and dirt roads, through the mountains and with a thick fog, and no map at all we might add - although we were very much prepared with our world wide tom-tom, this one didn't have anything but Europe on it as we found out starting our journey - someone at the shop forgot to mention we needed to download the rest of it. We wanted adventurous? We certainly got it. Pure on instinct and gut feelings is that ... read more

This morning we were picked up for a day trip into the Torres del Paine National Park with guide Eduardo and driver Gregorio. Gregorio proved to be an excellent wildlife spotter and he stopped the minibus on the side of the road on numerous occasions so that we could see eagles, condors, juvenile condors, caracas, a skunk, rheas and guanacos ... all of those before we got into the national park! We stopped at a view point at the end of Lago Sarmiento from which there is a fabulous view of the three granite torres (towers) for which the national park is named. Well, sometimes there is a fabulous view of the towers. Unfortunately this morning they were shrouded in cloud. Although it was very cold this morning it was mainly sunny with only patches of ... read more

Zwei Sonnentage in Punta Arenas fuellten wir mit einem Besuch des Friedhofes, der die Einwanderungsgeschichte der Stadt wiederspiegelt. (Kuriositaet: "Grab der deutschen Krankenkasse") und dem Erwerb eines neuen Telefons fuer Wessel, da das alte einem kaputten Ladegeraet zum Opfer fiel. Sehr spannend, sowohl technisch als auch sprachlich! In Puerto Natales am Fjord Ultima Esperanza haben wir Heidrun's Geburtstag verbracht. Wir liefen zu einem spektakulaeren Hotel, das einst eine Schafsfleischverarbeitungsstation war. Hier wurden Schafe geschlachtet und tiefgefroren nach England verschifft. Das Gebaeude verbindet sehr geschmackvoll seine Geschichte mit einer luxurioes eingerichteten Herberge. Hier nahmen wir ein kleines Mittagessen zu uns. Das richtige Highlight des Tages war aber das Essen im Restaurant Afrigonia. Ein Afrikaner hat es gewagt und die Afrikanische Kueche mit der Patagonisc... read more

Park Map: http://globe-trekking.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/map_torres_del_paine5web.jpg After Antarctica (See Antarctic Cruise Blogs) we head straight to El Calafate, Argentina, and check out Los Glaciers National Park. This is a beautiful place, but the crème de mint of our Patagonia plans is Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. We take an early morning bus to Puerto Natalas, Chile on the first Wednesday of the new year. This is our home base for hiking in Torres del Paine. Walking to our guesthouse we are really disappointed by the condition of the town. It is really run down, not attractive at all. The parks are dilapidated and dirty. Garbage is on the side of the road. Shaggy stray dogs wander around everywhere. For a place that gets as many tourists as this I was ex... read more