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Only the very faintest promise of dawn showed as we left El Calafate in the minibus that would take us to our next destination. We had the road pretty much to ourselves, as very slowly night turned into day.
Formalities
at the Argentine border were completed quickly and we drove for several
kilometres across no-mans-land until we reached Chilean immigration.
Organised chaos may best describe the immigration process but eventually we
made it through; forms completed, passports stamped (now that’s a rarity these
days) and baggage x-rayed. We left on a brand new concrete road that ran
out after about half a kilometre and it was a dirt road for a while. But
it was a good dirt road and we’re used to those, so no complaints. Then
it was back to a first class concrete road until we reached the Torres del
Paine (pronounced pie-ney) National Park. The scenery remained as it had
been for a while - mountains, hills and low scrub – not entirely unlike the
Australian bush, but more green. We found out that Paine actually means
blue. It’s taken from the colour of the glacier ice and a bluish haze
that appears over the steppes.
We spotted
the first guanacos, (wan-ar-cos) a wild versions of the domesticated llama, and
somewhat smaller. These animals are native to the region, breed
prolifically and are the main prey for the puma (which we didn’t see).
They’re attractive creatures. Some are in small herds, mostly females
with a dominant male while others are solitary, generally younger males.
These frequent the hilltops and perform vital sentinel services by warning the
herds of any potential dangers.
Our hotel,
Las Torres, was gloriously located at the base of Monte Almirante Nieto (2670
metres) in the Torres del Paine National Park. The national park has been
described as the eighth wonder of the world. Sometimes the view was
clear, at other times it was lost in the clouds. At all times it was
extraordinary, verging on breathtaking.
We were
fortunate to come across some grey fox cubs playing amongst the grass
hillocks. They were entirely unconcerned about their audience. And
then a real thrill, condors flying overhead. These enormous birds have a
wingspan of three metres, making them the largest flying land bird, and the
second largest bird (the albatross has the longest wingspan at around four metres).
They’re carrion and can gorge on up to five kilograms of meat and still take
off, although with some difficulty. We thought them magnificent and a
camera with a better lens than ours is needed to really do them justice.
Then it was
more mountains, lakes, fast flowing rivers and us keeping an eye on the
weather, which changed in minutes. Warm sunshine to rain as the clouds
descended in moments. Each time we looked at a mountain it seemed to
appear in a different form, or disappeared completely. But the air
was clear, clean and cold, and that made us feel wonderfully alive.
The Las
Torres hotel offers twenty five different excursions, all included as part of
the package. We avoided the horse riding and opted for five of
them. Firstly, an all-day tour; bus, half an hour in a Zodiac, some
hiking, another 1½ hours in another Zodiac, finally another hike. Finally
we arrived at the Serrano Glacier. Wonderful. The journey was worth
it. Then we had to return the way we came. Four hours in a Zodiac
is tough on the nether regions!
During the
three hiking tours to the surrounding terrain we saw a giant woodpecker (no
decent pic unfortunately) working diligently on a tree, many more guanacos,
varieties of duck, swan, goose and a host of smaller birds. And Kim was
in her element with the variety of plants and shrubs. Our visit to the
hotel’s organic vegetable garden, the only such place for hundreds of
kilometres, was fascinating. About 30% of the fresh food served in the
hotel is produced there. We thought that impressive given the
climate. Food and drink were plentiful and the hotel staff treated us
royally with lovely touches that demonstrated a genuine level of thoughtfulness
– tea from a thermos on the top of a hill in the middle of a hike, chocolate
bars for instant energy after a long trek. Stops for a rest at regular
intervals on a hike. With advancing years, these touches are
appreciated. Altogether a wonderful experience.
All too
soon the days passed and we were scheduled to move on. The mini-bus was
there to collect us sharp at 1pm for the 6 hour journey to Punta Arenas.
We’re going south once again. Goodbye Torres del Paine and thankyou.
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