Torres del Paine National Park

By Fernando -

The waiting game…

We’re eager to start our cruise, but we found out yesterday the 10 of the 25 cruises this year were delayed at least one day. We find out if we go later today, so we might as well have fun on our tour.

After breakfast we boarded a bus for the 90 minute drive to the national park. Luckily, the bus was comfortable and we received some great information from our tour guide. As we approach the park, the main attraction kept getting closer, and the views got more impressive.

We stopped to have lunch at a hotel called Rio Serrano just outside the entrance to the park. Lunch was great and it was a beautiful setting with the mountains in the background.

After lunch, we entered the park, and every turn brought a more impressive view. This particular location is world renowned for amazing hikes, but even without the hike it was breathtaking.

A couple of stops were especially beautiful. One was at a lake directly under the mountains. We walked about 100 yards to the edge of the lake, so now we can say we hiked in Patagonia in Chile. 😁. We could see a glacier shaped like a condor, and a couple of peaks that looked like horns. Probably the most unique thing about the mountains were the color. The top tips are black ( kind of rock) the middle is granite, and the bottom is black again. All this was created over millions of years by the glaciers.

The second stop was on the way back. It was a view of the back side of the mountain and shows the famous three towers. The stillness of the lake was unusual since (as we were told) it’s usually windy there. It created a great mirror effect and some stunning pictures.

When we returned to the hotel, we had dinner, and after we ate the organizer alerted us that the poets that be “did not say no” about flying to Antarctica the next day. More hurry up and wait. 🤞