Patagonia, Chile

A great day of hiking and sightseeing in Patagonia. The country—mountains, lakes, planes, fjords—is both rugged and supremely beautiful. We did a two-hour hike looking for puma, and found only Guanacos (llamas) and condors and eagles. All lovely. The guide set a fast pace so we covered five or six miles. My legs were feeling the burn by the end, but not bad. But now my back is sore.

Our view of the peaks was limited by low cloud cover, but that was the only minor disappointment. It was very windy in a couple of areas but we didn’t let that slow us down. We also got rained on briefly but we hardly noticed because there was so much to see and experience. Highlights were the cloud-shrouded peaks, the glacier, the waterfall, and a lunch served picnic style. We had a ball and it was more than partly because our guide Jamie, a real cutie, was so damn nice.

We spotted a small eruption on one of the many active volcanos here in Chile.

And some unusual ice formations on the flight down.

We’re staying at a great all-inclusive property with great views of the mountains of Torres del Paine.Evening: First night here the food was fantastic: pulpo appetizer with lamb shank. Tonight, in lue of St. Valentines Day, they had a buffet. It was fucking mediocre buffet food. I’m paying $600 per night and they have the gall to serve me fucking buffet food! 

Lots of guancos here.

Very windy hike to a waterfall connecting two large lakes in Torres del Paine.

Small drifting icebergs that broke from the glacier.

Our guide leading us towards the cold wind.

The Magallanes.