After arriving in Puerto Natales, Chile on Christmas, Drew and I took the opportunity to visit Torres Del Paines National Park. This is a gem of wilderness and unfortunately, that means lots of tourists. The American ex-pat owner of our hostel told us that even a few years ago you could wander the park without seeing another soul, but that isn´t true anymore. We were only there for a day and only got the chance to flit around the edges, so we shared the experince with the masses.
Still it is a great park and deserves a visit. While we were there it rained several times and might have gone all the way up to the low 40´s. We were soaked, but happy. The park consists of mountain spires that are the remains of ancient volcanoes, glaciers and icebergs, and glacial rivers and lakes. Below are the Grande Salto falls and Drew and I just a bit farther up the river.
After leaving the falls, we hiked up toward the Grey Glacier. This hike straddles two lakes with just thin strip of land (a meter or two) between then. While we tried to cross this little isthmus, the wind kicked up so fiercely we were forced to bend over as the waves rolled up from one lake trying to reach the other. Needless to say we got wet. On the other side, we climbed to the top of small hill and looked to a small inlet that had two icebergs stranded within.
After returning to Peurto Natales, we prepared to leave Chile and jump across the Staits of Magellan to Tierra Del Fuego and the end of the earth. The trip was largely uneventful, but the ferry across the striats was rough. The boat lurched its way across the strait, but a pod of Commerson´s dolphins kept us entertained. These dolphins are a deep gray or black with a white belt the runs diagnally across them. Think of swimming zebra with one big strip.
Almost at the bottom.
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