Torres del Paine - Highly Recommended!

Torres National Park is a beautiful place at the end of the world. The people are wonderful and the towers are amazing. Amy and I met up with Cam and Gretchen and hiked up the Torres del Paine trail on Wednesday afternoon but it was too late in the day to make it to the base of the towers, plus it was overcast and rainy so the views were obscured. So Thursday we hiked along the lake for about 10 miles round trip. Both Gretchen and I overdid it on the way down and our knees are hurting (her right and my left, so we have one good set between us). We did see the Cuernos towers (next to the Paine towers). They are gray for the bottom 2/3s and then black at the tips. The lake was a vibrant turquoise color due to the high pH. I hope to post a picture or two before we leave wifi range in Punta Arenas. The hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Las Torres (thank you Peter for the recommendation). It was great as was the food (everything home grown including the lamb). 

Cam did a bit of driving around yesterday and found the EcoCamp which are small domed tents with heating and bathrooms perched on top of a small ridge with a perfect view of the towers of Paine. 

Skip emailed and said he missed his plane in Johannesburg so he is flying to Stanley (Falklands) on an RAF cargo plane, arriving Monday. So we'll have an extra day to tour the island and help load Pelagic. Driving back to Punta Arenas now. Fly to Falklands tomorrow. 

Day 1 rainy hike: Cam wondering where HIS horse is

Day 1 rainy hike: one of several well-built bridges

Day 2 hike: beautiful day, with great views and fantastic lenticular clouds 

Day 2 hike: two lakes of very different cold; the turquoise lake in the background 

Day 2 hike: panorama

Day 3: leaving the park, the tops of the Torres del Paine hidden in the clouds

Day 3: road-side Guanaco (native to Patagonia, related to the llama)

back in Punta Arenas, along the Magellan Straits. Note penguin colony on the abandoned pier