Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

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Before showing you some of the photos I took while at Torres del Paine in Chile, I´ve included a couple a last minute shots of the art market in downtown Coyhaiqie. The weather in Parque Nacional Las Torres del Paine was miserabñe the first two days so I don´t have much in the way of photos. I hope you enjoy the ones that did come out somewhat OK.

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Photos

Native Art Carving
Native art carving in art market in Coyhaique. These were last minute phots I took in Coyhaique

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
Me pointing towards the glacier, and man was it ever GREY!

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
Just maybe the weather might be better tommorrow. I literaly froze my butt off this night sleeping near the glacier. There was a slow drizzle with 25mph winds. BBBrrrrrrr!

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
You can get a feel of the terrain here. See one of the guys from Utah I was hiking with in the foreground.

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
So much for better weather the next day. Glacier Grey living up to its name.

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
Hiking out from the glacier and back to Refugio Pehoe. Going through the pass the winds were whipping so hard behind me that I had to run to keep from falling.

Torres del Paine (Glacier Grey)
Finally made it through the pass and out of that cold and gale force wind. It´s all downhill to the Refugio Pehoe.

Torres del Paine (Refugio Pehoe)
Once out of the canyon and at Refugio Pehoe, the firece Patagonian winds are again a part of my day. In your face! Just maybe the horns of Torres del Paine will come out and visible today.

Torres del Paine (Refugio Pehoe)
Just a few more clouds to get rid of and we just might have a view.

Torres del Paine (Refugio Pehoe)
Here we go. The sun is finally coming out. What majestic peaks these are. I think these mountains rival the Grand Tetons and Banff, British Columbia.

Torres del Paine (Hotel Pehoe)
The next day the obscured west range with Hotel Pehoe in the foreground. You don´t know it, but I missed the chance to take photos of the horns (cuernos) of Torres del Paine the previous day on the baot ride from Refugio Pehoe to Pudeto because the battery in my camera had gone dead. The next day (when this photo was taken) I had to hitch a ride from Laguna Amarga to Hotel Pehoe with a private taxi with four Americans. They don´t normally allow public tourists to get rides with pre-paid private taxis. The Chilean guide was not pleased about having to take me. He, however agreed since the high-buck Americans didn´t object (after I´d asked them if it was OK)and I had obviously showered that morning. Good spanish and a clean look sometimes delivers the views you thought you had missed.

Torres del Paine (Hotel Pehoe)
The horns (cuernos) of Torres del Paine. This was as good as it would get for me with no wheels of my own. Still impressive!

Torres del Paine (the road to Hotel Pehoe)
Photos of Guanacos (llamas). These animals were almost driven to extinction by cattle ranching before the area was declared a National Park. The Chilean guide in the private taxi was telling me to close the window, so you are getting a photo of these beautiful animals while racing along at 40 mph with the window closed. Budget travelling improvisation in action. It was not easy timing the photo shot.

Torres del Paine (the road to Hotel Pehoe)
Some more quick shots of the guanacos as we were speeding along.

Torres del Paine (The Towers)
Here is a shot of the Torres. I was ready to boogie out of Torres after the crappy weather, dead batteries and hordes of tourists. So I headed back to Puerto Natales without climbing to the base of the Torres. Can´t see everything.

Puerto Natales
A picture of the town where it fronts on the sea.

Marco and Geraldine
I spent a few hours talking with Marco and Geraldine (both from Santiago)while waiting fro the boat at Refugio Pehoe. They were the epitomy of Chilean friendliness and down-to-earth to the max. My kind of folk. I can´t tell you all the people I´ve met on this trip. It happened that I ran into them in town the day after the battery failure. They invited me to come to dinner with them. So many miles and so many faces.

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Hello! Nice pictures. I'm going to Chile next month. I wonder if you can give me information about the cost of life in Chile ([e-mail]). Thanks. - Ana