We truly felt we were at the end of the world. Both guides talked about how the people in this region feel apart from the rest of the continent. They don't really feel Chilean or Argentinian. They feel Patagonian. It is easy to see why. It takes hours and hours to get here, much effort to get around and the surrounding mountains, rivers, lakes and straits full of water really make you feel like you are cut off from the rest of the world.
The next five days involved glaciers, wild horses, hiking, and mountain biking with a vigilant eye on weather conditions. By the end, we really felt we had only sampled what Patagonia had to offer. And it was amazing.
Our first day, we were up early to eat breakfast and prepare a packed lunch. By 7:15 AM we were on the bus for a two hour drive to Grey Lake. It was supposed to be a day for kayaking on the lake up to the massive glaciers at the head of the lake. On the bus, Claudio kept saying he was keeping an eye on the weather. It was even windier than usual and he was concerned that not only might we not be able to kayak, he was concerned that the boat we needed to take to the head of the lake to see the glaciers might not even depart because of the wind. He told us what was to become a mantra: We always have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C - more if needed. As I stepped off the bus, the wind gusted and swirled sand in a mini vortex and completely filled my eyes with grit. I headed off to the restroom and got the contacts out and put my glasses on. I was already on my personal Plan B. We got lucky. The boat was not cancelled. We hiked about a mile to where the boat was docked, piled on and then headed up the lake for about an hour. Conditions were rough and choppy and some of my fellow travelers were a bit seasick. We did finally get up to the glaciers but kayaking was definitely out of the question. Onto Plan B. The boat was able to go up toward these huge glaciers. My pictures do not even begin to do justice for the massiveness of this pieces of ice. Earlier in the week, the largest chunk of ice ever calved off the main glacier, Perito Moreno. There was nowhere to see this because it had broken off behind where we were.
On Grey Lake with Perito Moreno on the left.
Try to imagine the size. On the right it is about 150 feet.
We spent about an hour going in and out the inlets and up to the glaciers with all of us taking pictures and video.
We ended the day by driving to the Cascade Trail and hiking for a couple of hours. The views were stunning - a postcard view in every direction. As Claudio kept saying as the wind battered us around a bit, "This is typical Patagonia weather."
Every night, we wound up back at EcoCamp in time for restorative yoga in the Yoga Dome. There is an actual yoga instructor who leads two classes every evening but we also had a fellow traveler Lynne on our tour who is a certified yoga instructor herself and led a private class one night. Lucky us. Three or 4 of our group took advantage of this offering daily and I really think it helped mitigate the effects of hours of hiking or biking. Each night we also got a briefing from the guides as we drank our complimentary drink of choice. Most nights I sipped a homemade Pisco Sour made from freshly squeezed juices. One of the highlights of the trip was the amazing food offered by EcoCamp. Every night we had a gourmet 3 course meal that was amazing. Our group was able to relax and share our stories with each other. It was a very diverse group by all measures with people coming from Atlanta, Seattle, Albuquerque, Tuscon, Denver and Martha's Vineyard from their 20's through Lou and me.
On Day Two a 45 minute bus ride took us out to the east side of Torres del Paine to hike and see the wild horses. A non-profit group called Patagonia Bagual leads tours through this area where the wild horses roam. It was late spring, almost summer and the horses had just foaled. This is a protected area and we all needed to sign into the park and get an orientation. Before we hiked we got to see a foal that our guides had rescued the prior trip. Apparently, the foal fell into a rocky creek and couldn't get out. Claudio and Alberto and a few others pulled the foal out. The main guide for Patagonia Bagual wasn't all that happy about the rescue because the foal is now being raised by the staff and can't be released back into the wild. His philosophy was to let nature take its course but I guess, in the moment, that was too hard for our nature-loving guides.
The rescued foal
We hiked for about 8 miles through meadows and up and over hills dotted with small groves of trees breaking at the mid-point to eat our packed lunch in the meadow. The weather was breezy but warm. At one point we saw the herd of wild horses with new foals galloping over a distant hill. Victor, the main Patagonia Bagual person said there were 105 horses plus additional foals in the herd. The scenery surrounding us was amazing. We could see the Paine Range, the Andes, the Masiff. At various vantage points we saw eagles, guarnacos, cattle and innumerable wild flowers. As we departed the area we also met one of the gauchos with his herding dogs working the livestock. We were back to EcoCamp by 7:30 for yoga, winding down with a Pisco Sour and having another amazing dinner with our group.
Lunch in the meadow
Headquarters of Patagonia Bagual
This day ended with beer, coffee, chocolate, dried hibiscus and trail mix back at the hut that serves as their "office." The nibbles and drinks were great after the hike. As always, the guides are amazing promoters of Patagonia.
