Day 13 … exploring the Torres del Paine National Park

Today was a full day adventure to the Torres del Paine National Park. We were part of a group tour and were the last to be picked up so after a wake up alarm at 6.45 we were up and dressed and ready for the day. We headed down to breakfast … another lovely buffet! After breakfast we waited in the hotel lobby for our pick up. Morea had told us yesterday that we would be the last to be picked up and that pick up could be anywhere between 7.30 and 8.00. At 8.02 the bus pulled up and Salvador came to collect us. 









 

We were the last on the bus so had the joy of being in the back row along with two Spanish speakers (not sure of their nationality). There were 16 of us in total. Four Spanish speakers, two from Wales and then the rest Aussies! 

Today’s blog will be a little different to past ones as the day has been jam packed. So to avoid lots of … we got on the bus, drove, got off the bus, took photos, got in the bus, travelled on … repeat … we will break it down to locations and some key points of interest and learning.








Stop 1 - Milodon Caves. In 1895 a German adventurer found unusual fossils in a massive cave (30m high, 80m wide, 200m deep). Four now extinct species including the bear-like milodon and the sabre-tooth tiger.


































Condors. Juvenile condors feasting on a dead sheep, the mature birds having already eaten their fill. (Photos taken with my camera... so these are photo of photos)



Cerro Castillo - Gateway to the National Park. Small town with cafe, souvenirs and toilets. And a huge horse statue.


























Guanaco. Shares a family with llamas, alpacas and vicunas. Can jump fences in a single bound. Females carry one child per pregnancy for 11 months. And yes - they spit in defence (saliva and regurgitated stomach contents).

 






Rhea (nandu) - the South American variation on an emu or ostrich.

Lago (lake) Sarmiento. Long large lake. Glacial features at the distant end showed solid ice (white) and a thin blue line. Magallanes Province (named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) has a flag that includes the Southern Cross.









Torres del Paine (blue towers). The best view of TDP is actually from a knoll just outside the National Park. Three tall granite spires, imaginatively named South, Central and North. The lake below the viewpoint has a pH of 9.8. Don't drink the water!













TDP National Park. Elected by Trip Advisor (so not official) as the 8th Wonder of the World the park is unbelievably picturesque and a hiker's/climbers delight. The centrepiece mountains are soaring peaks and spires of grey granite and black basalt. Capped by pure white glaciers and snow. Fronted by verdant green hills and blue/green/milky grey lakes. We visited on a blue sky day. Wow! Double wow!

 

















Lago Nordenskjold. Viewpoint of the mountains overlooking the lake. Another 50 postcard photos.

 



Salto Grande (big waterfall). On a sunny day perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the world. Look at the mountains (see previous description). Water from Lago Nordenskjold pours into Lago Pehoe  via cascading river falls, then pours through a narrow channel gathering speed and momentum, over a 20m drop into a narrow gorge. And with the sun behind you there is a full colour rainbow. Enough to bring you to tears. (And I even wore my mummas scarf today!)





















Hotel Pehoe. First hotel in TDP NP, and hence now the oldest and least expensive stay in the Park. Picture perfect. With a fossil in the car park at the viewpoint.












Pingo. Lunch stop at the buffet (included in our excursion). Soup, chicken, ribs, rice, pasta, pesto meatballs, salad and a selection of tasty deserts. We're not eating dinner tonight! The young welsh couple on the bus did not have lunch included  ... Jacqui may have snaffled a dessert for them!













Lago Grey. 10-minute walk from lunch to see the milky glacial lake, complete with icebergs floating in the lake. As we walked to the lake a beautiful white butterfly led the way for a little before flying off ... thanks dad ❤️ 

 












Drive home. Not much to say. For 100 minutes we watched the scenery go by. Fellow travellers slept. We layered further down, having stunned our peers by getting around all day in shirt sleeves while they sported puffer jackets, beanies and gloves. Last morning pick-up = first drop-off. Yay.











Some final scenery shots ... these were taken throughout the day through the windows of the bus ...

 















 

And a few more birds, flowers and bees ...








And so ends our day. What a winner!

Steps ... 16,616 (although 6000 of those were bone shaking rattles in the back of the bus)

Kms ... 12.72

Photos ... 812 and 155 from Ian.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1 ... and off we go

Image
Today dawned a beautiful day and we were excited to get going. Thankfully we had an early afternoon flight so no need to try and fill the day!  Up and out of bed, dressed, finalised our packing, had breakfast and then we were ready to twiddle our thumbs until our pick up at 9.30. So obviously we had time for a quick puzzle! Then off to the airport we go! An easy check in, security and passport control and before you know it we were airside and able to relax before boarding our 12+ hr flight to Santiago, Chile. LATAM Airlines were a pleasant surprise. Clean, comfortable and efficient.  Meals were lovely and the staff happy and helpful. We had paid a little extra for premium economy which gave us 10cm extra legroom  ... an absolute bonus. (Ian - I watched 3 movies and listened to 3 albums.) We arrived into Santiago about half an hour ahead of schedule, with the magnificent Andes outside the windows, and made the easy transfer through the airport to the gate of our connectin...
Read more

Getting ready … T - 64 hours

Image
Well I thought it was about time that I actually put pen to paper (fingers to a keyboard) and made the first entry for this travel blog. In under 3 days we will be heading to the airport to begin our next exciting adventure. Our trip has been organised, with a LOT of oversight from Ian and Jacqui, by our wonderful travel agent Joanne and we really appreciate her hard work in making all the connections with SATO (South American Tourism Office). We have carefully planned out this itinerary to take us to the best of the best in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. On this adventure we will explore the wonders of Rio de Janeiro - including the infamous Christ the Redeemer statue high on top of the mountain that towers over the city, and we will paddle our feet in the waters of Copacobana Beach (and yes … I will be singing!). Then off to Iguazu Falls (from both the Brazilian and the Argentinian sides) before flying on to Buenos Aires (do I sense another song coming?).  We will head down to Pata...
Read more

Day 5 … the falls from the Argentinian side

Image
Today we had an early start with a scheduled pick up for our day trip at 7.30 so the alarm was set for 6.30. I slept badly, spending most of the night awake, and when the alarm went I had just drifted off to sleep so I was a tad groggy at the start of the day. We dressed, headed to breakfast and then went straight to reception to wait for our pick up.  Take a moment to enjoy the cakes that were available at breakfast!  Our tour today was a group tour so we were part of a group of 14. Six Australians, one lady from Wales, five from Argentina, and two from France. Our guide today was Pamella from Brazil. We had a small mini bus to take us to the National Park and after doing the rounds of the hotels to collect everyone we were off. The park opened at 8 am and we were fairly quick through the gates, but even so we were on the 8.40 Rainforest Ecological Train that would take us to the furthest point where we disembarked and began the first walk of the day, a 2.2 km round circuit t...
Read more