Torres del Paine NP, Chile
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Pampas Walk Torres del Paine NP, Chile |
March 17
This is the start of our four-day tour of Torres del Paine National Park. Our group of eight hikers plus guide and driver ride in a small bus from El Calafate, home of the nearest airport.
At the Argentina border, the wind is howling so hard and it is so cold outside that I don't even want to get out of the bus; but the usual checking of passports and scanning of luggage cannot be avoided. A mile or so later we encounter the Chile customs station, where the process must be repeated. Then a lunch break is in order.
The Argenina customs complex
After driving another hour, we get our first view of the park. David proclaims this the most amazing thing he has seen, which makes my day. Visiting this area was the primary motivation for traveling 9,000 miles from home.
The northern side of Torres del Paine National Park
Telephoto view of the famous Paine Towers
For the record, "Paine" is pronounced by the locals as "pine-ay".
Magnificent!
And the scenery is pretty nice as well
After paying $32 American each to enter the park and having been promised plentiful views of local fauna, we embark upon a walk across the pampas.
The ranger's horse
Condors overlooking a fresh kill
A gray fox has this one all to itself
Apparently the condors' beaks are designed such that they cannot rip meat
off a carcass, so they go for just certain organs such as eyes and other
easy-to-access goodies.
Guanacos resemble llamas, but are a bit smaller
Looking to the north
Quintessential Patagonia
Close-up of the big peak
In the distance the bus awaits us, as we pass by a herd of relatively unconcerned guanaco.
§: This was a nice introduction to the park. I finally
got to photograph some of the local animals.
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| Wildlife |  |
| Solitude | |
