Torres del Paine to Puerto Natales

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It rained the entire night and it showed no sign of stopping in the morning, but we decided to hike 1.5 hours to see some cave wall paintings from 5000 to 6000 years ago. Along the way we saw many guanaco carcasses from puma kills. There were some round depression in the ground from guanacos rolling around to get rid of fleas and other parasites. We also saw some Lesser Rheas, ostrich-like birds, but no pumas which I am sure were observing us from a distance.

The wall paintings were primitive and most not very well preserved, except for a couple of places where you can still make out some figures. We got back around 1:00pm and waited around 2:20pm for our bus toPeurto Natales where we would overnight before heading further south to Tierra del Fuego.

We got to Puerto Natales with time to spare before supper so I walked down to the waterfront where it’s actually the Pacific Ocean as it’s located near the sea inlet Senoret Channel, between Almirante Montt gulf to the south and the Ultima Esperanza (last Hope) fjord to the north. Ultima Esperanza was so named by Juan de Ladrillero who, in 1557, was desperately trying to find the western exit of the Magellan Strait.

If I recall correctly, a glass of wine costs the same as a bottle of beer and a bottle of water, all at $1500 pesos or about $3, at the restaurant we ate at.

The town is small and very easy to navigate. It’s nice to be warm and have a bed to sleep in, even though the mattress sags in the middle.

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Photos

Torres del Paine
lesser rheas

Torres del Paine
puma kill

Torres del Paine
wall painting

Torres del Paine
guanaco on guard

Torres del Paine
guanaco on guard