28 February 2014
We were up and out the door by dawn for about the third time this trip (what kind of vacation is this??) to catch our bus from Puerto Natales. We rode for two hours through a rocky, scrubby landscape to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile's crown jewel of natural beauty and the Eighth Wonder of the World...according to a public vote through some online tourism site. And who am I to question the interwebs?
Although honestly, I think this park could win in a fair fight. Around every corner we found larger-than-life gorgeous vistas. Like this view from the park entrance:
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| Ridiculous, isn't it? |
These are some of the most unique formations I have ever seen, jagged and steep ("torres" means towers) and banded with stark black and white layers of different types of rock.
After paying the entrance fee and signing a paper promising not to start any fires, the bus took us another 45 minutes through winding switchbacks and hills, past wandering herds of grazing llamas to Putedo, a site on the shore of Lago Pehoé. All the lakes I saw featured variations on the distinctive icy white-blue shades caused by glacial run-off (more on the glaciers next time).
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| Kind of muted by cloudiness, but trust me: it's ice blue |
We would be seeing more of that lake later, but first we had time to visit a waterfall and another scenic overlook.
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| "Great Falls" |
There were several signs in the area that warned of fuertes vientos, strong winds, and wow, they were not kidding.
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| Can't argue with that hair |
I realized after our visit that "salto" literally means a "leap" or "jump." That lends a nice sense of intentionality to the water; rivers in Chile don't just passively fall, they leap!
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| Lots of leaping water |
From the falls we continued on down a trail toward some kind of mirador. We didn't know exactly what kind of viewpoint, but you can't really go wrong in this park.
The growth along the path showed evidence of a pretty extensive fire in the recent past. No wonder we had to sign the Thou Shalt Not Light a Fire form. I am not condoning wildfires, but the twisted remains of bushes
and the contrasting dead white wood and charred black bark did make for great photo-taking.
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| Not everything was black and white |
Pretty much everything we were seeing counted as scenic in my book, but then we came over a rise and saw what it takes to be an official mirador in this park. Lago Nordenskjold, winner of the Norwegianest Spanish-Language Lake Award, along with some mountains and stuff.
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| Okay, yes; that is more scenic |
Kat and I were both fascinated by the layers of white in those peaks on the right. At one point I even said, "Sometimes I wish I had become a geologist." But I hadn't, so we would have to seek out another source of info later.
"Later" turned out to be about 20 minutes later. On the trail back we got to chatting with a Canadian with a big camera. He knew about the fire, which was set in 2011 by an Israeli tourist with an illegal campfire. (Guess who's in jail now? That guy!)
He said he came to Patagonia for work every year or two. Oh? we asked politely, What do you do?
He was a geologist.
What?? Ponder and you shall receive! We peppered him with questions and he graciously answered them. The details of what he said have already leaked out of my brain, but it was cool to hear it at the time.
We made our way back to the lake and waited for Stage II of our Torres del Paine adventure, which involved a catamaran, overpriced cafeteria food, and the strongest winds I have ever encountered. More on that later.
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