Puerto Natales
The entire region of Patagonia is famous for multiple things. Wide open spaces, magnificent scenery and wild weather are just a few of the many things to look forward to when traveling in this part of the world. Patagonia is one of the most wild landscapes on the planet, it is one of those places that you could take a five minute walk in any direction you will feel like the only person around... the only person in the world.
In the Chilean Patagonia there is a famous 4 day trek around the Torres del Paine National Park known as the W Trek. But, on this 4 day 3 night adventure most people camp for the three nights and continue on the next day. It truly gets remote and the scenery is supposed to be unbelievable. But for us, unfortunately (Danna may say fortunately) it is just too close to winter. The nights are nearing freezing and the wind, well lets just say that the wind is a real issue. We are here in Autumn which is incredibly lucky from a scenery point of view – but unpredictable from the weather standpoint. So, the next best thing for us? A bus trip of course! With limited time in Peurto Natales, the jumping off point to Torres del Paine, we signed up immediately for the trip and was ready to explore.
For a full week, I checked the weather every chance I could. In fact, for most of the week the weather for our time in Torres del Paine was forecasted to be around 35 degrees and windy. So we woke up early in the morning and once again put on every piece of clothing we owned and got ready to brave the day.
The plan for the day was the grand circuit around the park. We got on the bus before sunrise and head out of the city. The region is covered in Beechwood forests with different types of trees in diferent altitudes. The leaves were turning colors and many of the trees were covered in light green moss type plant that gave the entire landscape an ancient look and feel. We cruised along the one road as the sun rose and shed light on the surrounding mountain range. Our first stop was a huge cave that was discovered and housed almost perfectly preserved remains of the now extinct Giant Sloth that used to live in these parts. Caves in general are very cool to explore but this one had a life size replica of the inhabitant that used to call this place home – we were happy that guy no longer stands guard. As we walked back from the cave we commented to each other how it was not that cold out and we were feeling good about the day.
We got back on the bus and head for the National Park entrance, we had some planned stops along the way and some stops that were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. After about a half an hour of driving, the bus slows down in the middle of what seemed like an endless road. From our window, Danna and I see a massive black bird fly by the bus out into the field. The guide yells did everyone see the condor?! That giant black shape turned out to be one of the most endangered bird species in the world not to mention the largest flying bird in the world as well. I quickly ran off the bus to see what was going on and to see if we could get another look at the condor. It turns out that was some road kill on the side of the road that was surrounded by birds of prey. I crossed the street to get a better look and then the massive condor reappeared in field. The condor can have a wingspan of over 10 feet and are scavengers. But, more importantly in this part of the world, the condor plays a major part in the folklore and mythology of the Andean and original South American societies. Seeing one was a great thrill for us and kept the good vibes of the day going strong. We got back on the bus and kept heading down the endless road.
Before we got settled in, we saw out of our window the famous Torres del Paine themselves – the Towers (that is is the definition of Torres) loomed large in the backdrop of beautiful fields. Surrounded by snow capped peaks the three granite spires stood ominously in the center. Our guide told us that it was the first time in two or three weeks that the Torres were visible from this vantage point and that we got extremely lucky with the weather that day as the clarity was as good as it gets. We kept rolling along but then the bus stopped short again. This time, the guide told us all to quickly get off the bus so we could see the regions most famous inhabitant – the llama. This particular species of llama live here in Patagonia and are farmed but basically let roam free. We got off the bus to see a heard of the animals making its way from one grazing field to the next. It really felt like we were transported back in time to what this place looked like 100, 500, or even 1,000 years ago. Those same Torres have been dominating the backdrop while llamas and condors wander the landscape. This is what makes Patagonia so special, in a world that gets smaller by the day, it is becoming harder to find places that look and feel the same they did before people took over this planet – Torres del Paine gives you that feeling.
We continued on the bus tour that took us to alpine lakes that glowed a neon blue. The lake was this blue-raspberry slurpee color that is not usually found in nature. The color is a by product of a rare blue algae that grows in very few places in the world. The algae also makes the water completely toxic so it is free to grow wild and makes for rings of unreal colors in the water. The sun came up strong and Danna and I started peeling off layers of clothing. But, the weather man was not wrong about everything. With the sun came the wind and what a wind it was. Every stop from then on came with instructions on what to do when the wind gusts. We went to a waterfall lookout and we could see the gusts coming strait down the valley over the river. The wind was so strong it would literally blow the top layer of water of the lake or river and turn blow the mist onto shore. The guide say “ok brace yourself here comes another gust – get down into crouch position!” and we would all get low as not to be blown over where we were standing. While we thought the wind at the waterfall was crazy, nothing could have prepared us for the next lookout. We came to the edge of a mountain lookout and could feel the bus shaking. No one could walk strait – the wind decided where we went and where we didn't. You can see from the pictures that it was like standing in a wind tunnel or the eye of a tropical storm. Facing into the wind your cheeks would ripple and tears would be pulled from your eyes. It was a magical place that combined the vastness and beauty of natural scenery and the humbling power of nature's ferocity.
We kept going to our final destination of the day, the great Lago Grey and the Lago Grey Glacier. Normally, there is a boat ride you can take to the base of glacier but it was too late in the season and it was already shut down due to lack of passengers. So we were forced to hike through a forest out onto the lake's rocky beach and see the giant glacier in the distance. The forest was gorgeous – the leaves were changing and the sun was shining. We wandered among the falling leaves until reaching a suspension bridge to cross the river that would put us near the lake's shore. When the trees finally ended we were greeted with a massive open space in the valley of huge mountains and a huge icy lake. Icebergs were floating in the lake and the wind was still blowing hard. It was quite the treacherous walk to the lake across the completely open area. This time, not only did the wind pick up freezing cold water and toss it at us, but also the smaller rocks and sand would come hurling at us like hail. We pushed forward and embraced the wind and the scenery as a whole. It was the culmination of everything that Torres del Paine has to offer. On the way back, as we were crossing the bridge again I said to Danna “oh my God, there is a unicorn over there!” Ok, I did not really think it was a unicorn, but I knew I saw a bright white horse standing on the bank of the river. We were just there like an hour before and there was no horse. And after everything we had seen today – it would not have been that crazy to me if the long lost Patagonian unicorn also made an appearance. But alas, it was just a white horse randomly standing under the different color foliage going for a stroll.
This whole day was amazing, it really left us feeling like we wanted to stay and see more. One day we will have to come back and do that trek.
