Torres del Paine

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Geo: -51.1001, -72.5785

Torres del Paine national park(Towers of the Pi-nay)

This amazing place was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1978, it contains ancient forests, glaciers, Lakes, rivers & variety of wildlife including Puma, guanaco, skunk, armadillo, rhea, black necked swan, Hawks, Eagles and the impressive condor.After breakfast Sarah leads us plus 4 others, 2 from Brisbane and our two lesbian Dutch friends from Montreal on our 12 km hiking trek. The views are breathtaking particularly of the 4 Torres (towers in English.) This is what we came to see. These granite monoliths rise majestically into the sky, their shapes eroded over time by glacial ice. Our camp is at the base of these beauties.Our hike takes in so much beauty and some natural death given the amount of recent dismembered remains and skeletons of Guanaco hunted by Puma and then scavenged by foxes, Eagles and condor. Our guide promises that the first of our group to find a skull with incisor teeth intact will get an extra Pisco this evening. Yep I won!We also visit a rock overhang which has ancient rock paintings dating back as far as 5500 years ago. Not as long as the Australian Aboriginal history but still very interesting.Sarah tells us some great stories of the indigenous peoples, many of which no longer exist and of one tribe that only has 8 remaining people. The stories take on very familiar themes, experiences, treatment by European settlers and histories of the worlds many indigenous populations.We choose a spot on the mountains to relax for a while and have our self packed lunches. It is so peaceful up here. An amazing day and time for a shower, chill out and update this blog which won't be posted until early next week as there is no wi-fi. It's actually quite nice not having the technology we are so attached to...However when walking behind the staff quarters I discover a massive satellite dish. Mmmm they do have TV.Dinner was great and we had plenty of laughs, I pop outside whilst the rain has stopped and see an Andean skunk scurrying about. I don't get too close as I've been advised that should it feel threatened and spray me it could take 2-3 weeks to get the stench out of the clothes. Apparently there is a family of 4 living under the bar here.After dinner Sarah invites us to the bar to listen to her play some music. She plays violin and saxophone usually but tonight gives us 2 tunes on her newly learnt instrument and a little out of place; the bagpipes. She is very good and gets a loud applause. Anyway the rain is getting heavier and more snow has appeared on the mountains. Time for bed.

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Comments

[Sheila]

Makes you and Chris feel right at home, I'm sure.

[Mum]

Wow in the middle of nowhere, looks good

[ailsapaterson]

Not exactly slumming it you two :-)