Two Stunning Natural Wonders of the World

We set off from Punta Arenas for Torres del Paine National Park.  The scenery was beautiful and we saw wildlife and some old friends.  The friends were Tim and Sally (UK cyclists) whom we had met over a month ago on Carretera Austral.  We also had a close encounter with a full-grown Rhea (think ostrich).  These huge, flightless birds can be seen all over patagonia.  They can grow up to six feet tall (at the head) and weigh 88 pounds.  Interesting fact: the male of the species cares for the young.  Sharon finds these birds fascinating! 

When we arrived at Torres del Paine National Park, the lower halves of the famous rock towers were visible.  Their peaks were hidden in low-lying clouds.  We had five days in the park and after checking the weather forecast and talking to the park rangers, we decided to do the Towers Hike on the sunniest day.  First, we did a shorter hike to Lago Nordenskjold.  The lake was gorgeous, especially when the sun came out from behind the clouds and lit up the surface of the water!  Lots of wildlife in this park; we even saw a fox walking through our people-filled campground!

Unfortunately, on the day for our Tower Hike Sharon had a migraine headache and felt very nauseous.  She had suffered a debilitating migraine a few days before that had never completely gone away. After missing out on numerous hikes due to her sprained ankle, Sharon was determined to do this world famous hike! It was also the last day with good weather during our time there, so she made the decision to try anyway.  This hike is seriously difficult…it’s 12 miles long with over 3,000 ft of elevation gain.  I know if it had been me with the migraine, there is NO way I would have even attempted it; however, Sharon is made of sterner stuff than I (especially when it comes to pain tolerance)!  She was hopeful that perhaps her head and nausea would get better as the day progressed, but that was not to be.  It actually got worse.  She did not feel better until the last couple hours of the hike, which lasted a total of 12 hours.  But she made it!  I did help a little by taking her backpack (as well as my own) on the steep inclines.  The memories of how beautiful it was will last forever.

We left the park and Chile and crossed back into Argentina as we headed towards the Perito Moreno Glacier area.  The drive was wet and very cold; at one point we had to stop for about an hour to warm up at a gas station.  Fortunately, as we neared our destination the weather cleared.  Estancia Rio Mitre is a ranch near the park’s entrance that is located in one of the most gorgeous settings we have ever seen.  Besides being surrounded by impressive mountains on nearly every side, there is something about the sky in this area that produces the most incredible cloud formations and colors (see pics).  The owners and staff were super friendly and went above and beyond to accommodate our needs.  For example, they let us use their restaurant’s stove when they didn’t need it and eat our meals in their restaurant dining room.  Sadly, no hot showers; you can’t have it all!

Located on the same property as the ranch is a small museum dedicated to the history of the indigenous people called Museum Tehuelche.  The owner and operator, Mario Echeverria Baleta, is also a world-renowned author on the subject and has published over 20 books on the subject!  After he gave us a personal guided tour of the artifacts and exhibits, he gifted us with one of his books!  We wanted to say ‘no’ because it was too generous, but you simply cannot do it.  The property is not just a ranch in name only; it is also a working ranch.  They have a corral of horses and they raise cows and sheep.  One cow with a baby calf had died, so they were bottle-feeding it twice a day (see pic).  The calf could drink an entire baby bottle of milk in about five seconds!

There are quite simply no words that can do the Perito Moreno Glacier justice.  It is so enormous our minds simply could not take it all in.  To give you an idea, here it is by the numbers…the glacier is 19 miles in length and covers almost 100 square miles; the front of the glacier is over 3 miles wide and has an average height of 240 feet!  Unlike most glaciers on Earth, it is actually in equilibrium, neither growing nor retreating (nobody knows why).  One of the best things about Perito Moreno Glacier is that it is constantly calving.  This is when truly gigantic chunks of ice break off from the glacier and fall into the lake, throwing up great plumes of water.  Afterwards, these chunks can be seen floating in the lakes as icebergs where they can survive for months (the water is a bit chilly).  And the entire time you are there you can hear the ice cracking and creaking as the glacier moves forward.  We brought chairs and set up “camp” so we could see as much calving as possible.  We were not disappointed!  After an entire day at this incredible glacier, we both agreed it still seemed like an unreal experience.

Chris & Sharon