Patagonia, Chile

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Oct 7, 8, 2008

Patagonia, Chile

Today was a 6 hour bus ride through the pampas, into the mountains and ending in Puerto Natales, Chile. This is another small city on the other side of the Andes that is a small port on a long fjord off the Pacific Ocean. Not much to do here except some spectacular sea kayaking and trekking for those that are that energetic.

This was a very interesting ( albeit too long ) a drive through a lot of nothing ( and more nothing ) with a few Nandu’s ( Rheas - like a small ostrich ), a few hundred thousand sheep and lambs and some great views of Torres del Paine in chile as you get close to the mountains. We spent one night in Puerto Natales on our way to Torres del Paine national Park.

Wednesday morning we took the 3 hour drive from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine National Park in the Southern Andes. The scenery is spectacular and we were very lucky with clear skies and a great day to travel. Lots of wildlife with too many guanacos ( like a small Llama ), more sheep, grey fox, nandus, lots of smaller birds and 10 or more condors. Very tough to get a photo of the condors as they fly very high. They’re not hard to spot as there wingspan can reach over 3.5 meters and they weigh up to 20 kilos. This many condors is unusual but there must have been a recent “kill” some where near. We enjoyed the comments of our guide and driver as they were both very knowledgeable about the area and the flora and fauna. The views of the mountains are unbelievable !!!

We arrived in the afternoon at the Hosteria Los Torres Hotel that is situated right beneath the spectacular towers of the Torres del Paine mountain peaks, for a relaxing day snooping around. We are looking forward to few days of “light trekking” and some relaxing in this beautiful place.

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