TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK
"Do not ask about the weather. We are in Patagonia. We don't know."
I couldn't think of anything more suitable to say.
We've decided to put cycling on hold until further north when we get to the Lake District, but in the meantime we hit up a couple of National Parks en route north. Patagonia is gorgeous when you're by the Andes, but in the plains there is little to see and the boredom becomes more than a little overbearing. It's a little like watching paint dry while running on a treadmill. But when you hit the mountains...OH MY!
In Puerto Natales we visited Torres Del Paine National Park for some hiking. I didn't spend nearly enough time here and certainly intend to return one day explicitly to go hiking and camping.
The horses are loaded with wine. They're not drunk on wine, they're just delivering it to one of the lower camps. Thanks guys! Of course I bought a 1 litre carton for the end of the day.
Patagonia Pea (Lathyrus Nervosus)
Campamento de Las Torres.
My Hilleberg Nallo 2 is back in action after some repairals. I do love this tent despite its flaws.
Mirador de las Torres. This place was heaving with throngs of back packers. I have no idea how nobody is in this shot. I decided that I would come back again for sunrise at 4am.
It's not a selfie. I'm just photobombing my own photo of nature.
I got up at 3:30am to hike up to Mirador de las Torres to see the sunrise. It was far too cloudy to see the main towers, but it was wonderful to be up there all alone for sometime. Quite a few hikers turned up about 45 minutes after myself, but there wasn't much to see so I headed down. It was a great decision as I got a spectacular view of the sunlight of the first peak. It was a burning orange.
A little zoom in on some of the backpackers who hike up with their sleeping bags to stay warm.
The sun peaking up the valley.
Twisted tree carcass.
Mountain top glaciars.
Patagonian Sierra Finch
Southern Lapwing
Rufuos-collared sparrow
Leaving the park the clouds cleared giving us a clear shot of Las Torres.
PERITO MORENO GLACIAR
No hiking here. Just a little boat ride and a stroll around some viewing platforms to gaze at an unbelievably gigantic glacier. I think they said that it stands around 75 metres high and is around 5km wide at its terminus. I might as well have had my eyeballs massaged. A lazy day with a lot of pleasure.
(next page: Bariloche to Puerto Varas)
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