Reminder: click here to see my online photo albums and more pictures of my tripArrived in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile after two days on the road. A popular destination, the area offers outstanding hiking and is also known for its three large rock towers (the Torres). The first day in the park we went to view the nearby Grey Glacier. Best seen from boat, we hiked about a mile to the lake where we then took a ride by boat right up to the face of the glacier. Being my first visit ever to a glacier I was amazed by how blue the ice was in places. 50 times denser than the ice you find in your freezer, glaciers result from snow compressing itself over thousands of years. With their craggy faces and jagged edges, glaciers up close are both beautiful and scary. Its hard to believe that they shaped much of this planets topography, yet when you see them up close and realize how dense they are, you realize its just a matter of time for them and that as they move forward anything in their path is going to be crushed. After taking in the magnificent view we were rewarded with Pisco Sours from the crew of the boat - not a bad way to start our time in the park.
Despite the amazing scenery, Mother Nature was not in a good mood during our time in the park and it was only on the final day that we actually saw blue sky. As such we were all a bit apprehensive for the following day when we set out on a 20km hike up to a view point to take in the rock towers that give the park its name. While the day started off with brief spots of sun, it quickly turned to rain, turning what should have been a beautiful hike into one of the coldest treks I have ever done. By the time I reached the view point, the rain had turned to snow and the torres were barely visible. Of the 20 of us that set out for the view point, only half of us made it to the view point. Despite being colder and wetter than I can ever remember I distinctly remember reminding myself that the trek was still better than any day I had spent in front of a desk! Arriving back at the hotel at the beginning of the trail, I was greeted by many other cold and wet hikers who had decided to use the radiators in the beautiful lobby as their own personal drying racks. With about 40 of us in there drying our clothes the poor hotel staff did their best to shepherd arriving guest quickly to their rooms, lest the guest began to question their decision to stay there.
During our final day in the park, we went horseback riding. For some reason that I´ve yet to discover, I´ve been attracted to image of horseback riding for some time now (and even have a dream of owning a ranch in Montana one day). Getting the chance to go riding was something I couldn´t pass up. About 8 of us went that day and it was by far the highlight of the trip for me. After getting set up with our horses we set out with the gauchos (cowboys), two of the coolest cats I´ve ever seen. Both had plenty of facial hair and smoked cigarettes non stop (see picture below). What was amazing about both of them was how much control they had over their horses and the minimal amount of control they used on the horses. They would gallop past me at times, leaning back with one hand in their pocket, cigarette hanging from one corner of their mouth, almost as if they were bored and just hanging out waiting for the next big thing to happen.
So off 8 of us went on our horses, first following the river that ran along side the ranch. It was quite an impressive scene with the mountains in the distance. A pack of dogs from the farm ran alongside us, running in between the horses legs at times and generally being a nuisance. After a certain point, we turned away from the river and headed toward the hills, passing free range horses and cows along the way. Sure enough the dogs in their mischeavous ways took it upon themselves to harras the cows and soon enough there was a full on stampede! Leaving the cows we entered a forrest, where the horses picked their way between old withered trees. Low branches were all around us and we had to be careful to duck low to avoid hitting our heads. My horse seemed to have a sense of humor as he constantly took us right by the trunk of the trees where the branches were lower - he clearly wanted to have me run into one of them!
Emerging from the trees we crossed a bog about a foot deep in water. As we finished our crossing the guy in front of me, Wei, caught the hood of his jacket on a low hanging branch. As his horse continued to move forward he was pulled back. Initially he was able to stop the horse but despite my best efforts to free his hood, he couldn´t keep his horse still (probably because mine was right behind his and started to push his horse forward) and next thing you knew Wei fell right into the bog. Having just gone through the drenching hike the day before, the first thing out of his mouth was ¨damn, I just got these shoes dried!¨ Covered in mud and soaked, the poor guy looked pitiful. And yet it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen! Even the gaucho, normally straight faced, couldn´t help laughing.
Once Wei got back on his horse we continued our ride back into the forrest were we witnessed a second stampede, this time with horses and once again the result of those damn dogs. Emerging from the forrest we had wide open plain between us and the ranch, and the horses took the opportunity to stretch their legs and it was off to the races. What a rush! Despite the weather and the setback we encountered on our hike the day before, ending with this ride definitely made the time in Torres del Paine worth it.
After a fiesta that night at the camp site (everyone was jazzed up from the ride) it was an early start the next day to get back on the road for our next destination, the Perito Moreno glacier. More to follow...
One other thing...
We stopped by a penguin colony on our way into Chile. Saw these little guys up close. They were pretty impressive standing there despite the strong bitter cold winds that were whipping in off the sea. Didn´t seem to phase them one bit!
Saw a lot of beautiful landscapes and a lot of desolate landscapes. We covered a lot of unpaved road, got stuck in mud that was more like clay and stopped at a couple of out of the way roadside haciendas (homes that also offered food). One had even housed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid during their brief stay in Argentina at the turn of the century.
My favorite though was the one that had a cow, goats, sheep and guanacos that you could pet. Below you´ll see my portrait with the guanaco (a minature llama is the best way to describe these guys).
