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- Visiting the Penguins and Trip is Over, Patagonia
- Punta Arenas, Chile
- Driving to Puerto Natales, Patagonia
- Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia
- Fitzroy Section of Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia
- Into Argentina - The Moreno Glacier, Patagonia
- Valle Ascensio to The Paine Towers, Patagonia
- Hiking Up The Valle Frances, Patagonia
- Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia
- Santiago and Punta Arenas, Chile
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The last part of the Patagonia trip ended on a fun note - visiting the penguin colony. The colony is located 65 kms north of Punta Arenas, on Seno Otway (Otway Inlet), along the Brunswick Peninsula. They are Magellanic Penguins and return annually to this spot between October and March to lay eggs and raise their young. At the site, you can walk to the middle of a natural reserve filled with penguin burrows.
Since this was the beginning of January, there were scores of little "pinguinos" (penguins) already hatched and being fed.
Continue reading "Visiting the Penguins and Trip is Over, Patagonia" »
Punta Arenas, the southernmost city on Earth, overlooks the Straits of Magellan named after Ferdinand de Magellan (the Portuguese explorer) who led the first successful attempt to sail around the world. Magellan passed through the Straits not far from the present site of Punta Arenas in 1520.
This is one of the world's historic trade routes. The harbor, although exposed to storms, was considered one of the most important in Chile before the construction of the Panama Canal, used by ships to prepare for the difficult passage around Cape Horn.
Continue reading "Punta Arenas, Chile" »
Our three vehicles were waiting to drive us to our hotel in Puerto Natales, on Last Hope Sound for a Farewell Dinner
"ex-Marine" and I were riding in the third vehicle with an extremely macho driver. We got to an over-flowing stream crossing. There had been a lot of rain the previous night...what a surprise! (Note the sarcasm.) The first two cars took the high ground around it, but our driver tried to barrel through the river.
The engine died...water started gushing in...and there we were...trying to climb out of the windows on top of the vehicle.... View image....
Continue reading "Driving to Puerto Natales, Patagonia" »
We had a some great camps in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina. Camping Lago Roca (located at the base of Cerro Crystal) had a general store, cafeteria, fishing equipment for hire, hot showers and very nice toilets! Hey...toilet facilities rank very high in importantance when you camp. And, it was relatively WARM here. Camp El Ricon was equally nice.
Our cook conjured up some great meals and I seem to remember that the campsite was relatively sheltered.
on the road to El Ricon
Continue reading "Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia" »
We spent the next three days camping in this Park which is located in the area known as Austral Andes, Argentina, on the border with Chile. Los Glaciares National Park is a mecca for mountaineers and hikers.
The main peaks of the massif are: Fitzroy (11,703'); Cerro Torre (10,280'); and Poincenot. Fitzroy is in the northern extreme of the park with peaks, lakes, woods and glaciers. The name, Los Glaciares, refers to the glaciers born on the Ice Caps or the Patagonic Continental Ice. There are 47 big glaciers and more than 200 smaller glaciers.
Around a 37 km drive away, is the small village of El Chalten.
Continue reading "Fitzroy Section of Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia" »
It was a relatively short drive from Calafate to Lago Roca, our campsite for the next few nights.
From there, we headed to the Moreno Glacier. It is the last advancing glacier in South America (or was advancing...with Global Warming...who knows if that's still true). It really was magnificent!
Just made our way to the various look-out points...View image and, it was even sunny that day.
Continue reading "Into Argentina - The Moreno Glacier, Patagonia" »
An exploration hiking day in the Valle towards the classic lookout beneath the three batholithic pinnacles, Paine Towers, for which the peak is namd. "Batholithic" is igneous rock that has melted and intruded into the surrounding layers.
We set off to one of the most famous vista points in Torres del Paine. Along the Rio Ascencio into Valle Ascencio, through Beech forests and boulders, up to the viewpoint with the three towers and the glacial lake at their feet. The towers are nearly vertical (expert climbers attempt to climb those walls), with glaciers surrounding the turquoise lake.
Continue reading "Valle Ascensio to The Paine Towers, Patagonia" »
Today's hike in the Valle Frances was between Cerro Paine Grande and Cuernos del Paine.
The views were wonderful whenever the sun came out. This was just the beginning of typical "Patagonian" weather. You start out (always in long pants with a long sleeved top) in the sunshine; three minutes later the temperature drops, it starts to snow, sleet or rain on you; drop the pack, put on the Goretex, hat and gloves; five minutes later, the sun comes out and it's now 70 degrees with sweat pouring off; drop the pack, take off the Goretex, stow it; next it starts to rain with the wind gusts blowing the rain sideways..... Sometimes it seemed as if we spent more time dressing and undressing than actually hiking.
ex-Marine is not happy
Continue reading "Hiking Up The Valle Frances, Patagonia" »
Our group had three mini-vans for transport into the Park. On the way, there were many "potty break" stops, and most restrooms were attached to a souvenir stand. People were always hopping in and out of the mini-vans, changing seats, etc. When we finally arrived at the gate entrance to the park, a private auto zoomed up behind us and a woman ("ex-Nun" who was perpetually cheery!) from our group jumped out! She had been left behind at the last place and James didn't take a head count before leaving! Bad James!! Fortunately for her, she spoke fluent Spanish, flagged down a passing car, told them the Park destination and they drove her to meet us. Rest assured...there was a careful head count whenever we stopped after that little incident. View image
entering the Park
Continue reading "Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia" »
Why is it always a late night or early morning arrival when traveling? This trip was no exception with a very early morning arrival. We were met by the Wilderness Travel rep and transferred to Hotel Santiago Park Plaza, in Providencia (a very hip area of Santiago with lots of restaurants, hotels and shops).
Santiago, the capital of Chile, is one of the largest cities in South American with a population of 5,500,000. An afternoon tour was included. Unfortunately, Santiago has tremendous amounts of smog and pollution and every viewpoint was hazy including the snow-capped mountains in the distance. (They told us there were snow-capped mountains out there, somewhere!) One reason is geologic and the other, atmospheric - the Andes trap the pollution in the valley. Other than the ambiance of Providencia along with great food, I don't remember any "must sees" in Santiago. It was just a jumping off point for us.
The group gathered in the evening for our "Welcome Dinner." Wilderness takes a maximum of 15 travelers on each departure and that is what we had - six from the East Coast, two Texans, two Californians and five Midwesterners - a full trip.
Continue reading "Santiago and Punta Arenas, Chile" »
The "Peaks of Patagonia" started and ended in Santiago, Chile. There were also quite a few extensions offered which included: Iguazu Falls; Bariloche (we had already been there); Tierra del Fuego (Ushuaia - the jumping off spot for cruises to Antarctica); Easter Island; and the Falklands. In hindsight, we should have added in Easter Island.
Air? We flew American Airlines from Chicago-Santiago via Miami. Other U.S. carrier choices are Delta, United and Continental Airlines. They all require a connection through somewhere.
Continue reading "South America Details and Planning" »
About 10 years, the "buzz" started. All we heard is, "You must go to Patagonia." Why? The scenery was supposed to be stupendous. I'm always ready to learn about (and travel to) someplace new so I started looking through my different adventure brochures. Wilderness Travel had a good trek (considered Moderate) that seemed to fit the bill, departing over Christmas/New Years, 1996.
Their definition of "Moderate": altitudes below 4,000'; trails weren't considered rugged or difficult; an average of 8-10 miles a day; and you could hike at your own pace.
Continue reading "Patagonia, The "Hottest" Cold Weather Destination" »
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