Mirador Ferrier to start, then backpacking, then animals

This area is amazing. While quite a short hike, only about 2km, it has an elevation gain of about 730m. The view from the top covers pretty much the entirety of the accessible areas of the park that can be seen by car. It is not a very popular hike because it is a bit more difficult to get to and usually when people come here it is for the Navigation of Lago Grey to the Grey Glacier. Here is a panorama view from the top.

On the far right you can make out the Grey Glacier. In front is Lago Grey, then further behind and bluer is Lago Pehoe, which means turquoise in Tehuelche, the native tongue.

We took a five day backpacking trip into the park awhile ago and have not written or posted anything about it but here are a few pictures. We went with the idea of a three day trip and found the nicest weather since our voyage had begun so we stayed five. 

Taking the Catamaran across Lago Pehoe to the beginning of or trek. After arriving here I realized that all of the clothes I packed are either grey or black.

This little guy is called Chuncho. He is a type of pocket owl.

This is from an area called Valle de Frances. Another attempt at panorama that lets you see the strings but you get the idea.

We had a dandy of a time and got to the shores of Lago Nordenskjold on the clamest day ever recorded and decided to treat ourselves. All of the backpacking in the park requires that you stay at designated camping areas. These spots are usually in more protected areas and have designated cooking quarters to reduce fire hazards. All of them also have small store which sell goods for an insane markup which I originally thought was awful and totally destroyed the true feeling of camping but in turn I found them to be very useful as Kelly and I were able to purchase this little gem. Notice the varietal.

At this point we actually got in an argument about how nice the day was.

We spent a pleasant night in our tent and upon waking to another perfect day decided to stay out for more. We had packed enough food to get us around for one more day easily. Also we had the added benefit of awaking to extra food. I left my shoes outside the tent but within the vestibule when we slept to save us from a bit of the stink but keep them dry should we get a spot of rain. When I woke up this morning I gave one a shake to get out yesterdays tag-along pebbles and found a maraca instead of a shoe. Upon further investigation there were four almonds at the toe. Odd..Part two, I grabbed my other shoe to find a dried good store with enough almonds to keep you alive on the Oregon trail for another turn. At least 40 nuts came tumbling out as I shook the zapato like a rainstick. Never have we received an answer or a reason. We will leave it at that.

We stayed the next night at the base of Paine Grande. At over 3000 meters high, the mountain is perpetually snow capped and along with the sharp decline and heavy snowload this provided us with endless entertainment. Throughout the night and day there are constant avalanches causing a thundering boom that will wake even the heaviest of Kelly's wide eyed slumbers.

We lumbered on for a fourth day to the tune of "Out of food, gonna pay through the nose at the Camp but its too nice to go home". You all know that  little ditty. We headed for Glacier Grey and found it stupendous. Mira mira!

In the foreground, an elusive Andy. In the background a MONSTROUS Glacier Grey.

All in all not a bad trip.

Also wanted to add in a couple of photos of the Guanaco, our local camelid. Looks alot like a llama. They are EVERYWHERE. Also we have many Nandu. They pretty much look like smaller ostriches.

So we are pretty caught up. Kelly and I are doing very well here. We will be sticking around til the end of April and the end of the season. Hopefully you will all be able to see these photos. Sorry about the last ones, we can't figure out how to fix it.

El Dia Filete

A week ago we scouted a new excursion for the hotel.  We were accompanied by the manager of the hotel and three other guides, Poroto, Isi, and Natalia.  Poroto’s real name is Jose but is nicknamed Poroto because it means bean and he is like the size of a little bean.

The day started off by stopping at our neighboring estancia to get the key for a gated road we needed to cross in order to arrive at the estancia where we would start the hike. Part of Latin American culture is to converse with your neighbor and ask how every member of the family is doing.   The manager talked business with him while the rest of us stayed outside entertained by the two puppies playing on old ranch tools that are now decoration. Before leaving, we got a tour of the estancia owner’s house.  The old ranch house was humbly decorated and filled with an aroma of a typical Chilean dish.

Kitchen at the estancia

As we made our way to Estancia Las Chinas, we weaved through roads and countless gates in order to arrive at a barn with a bright orange roof and weathered tin walls.   We started the hike from here and climbed for about two hours until reaching a rock field filled with prehistoric rock formations.  The view to the west displayed the Paine Massif with the towers, the view to the south showed the massive expanse of pampa, and to the east we saw the Baguales mountain range resembling the hair of Bart Simpson.  We spent two hours having lunch, climbing on the rocks, and watching the condors glide above us. Andy played dead an on the top of a rock they started circling him.  

Andy and the Bean

Can you find Andy and Poroto on the top of the rocks?

Upon returning to the estancia we had tea or once (pronounced like the number eleven in Spanish) with Jorge, the gaucho of the estancia, and his wife, Maria.  We all sat around their large dining table and enjoyed yerba mate, bread, and homemade jam.  The house had all kinds of treasures including a puma skull, a variety of fossils from the nearby land, a Jeffrey cat skin where Jorge kept his yerba mate, and four kittens of about two weeks old.  They also proudly showed us a photo the appeared to have a UFO but after looking closer, we discovered there was a fly on the lens.  No one had the heart to tell them.

Estancia Las Chinas.

We returned a different way than we came on a huella, which is a “dirt road” but really it just looks like a few cars have passed through and left behind tire marks.  It took about 2.5 hours to make it back to the hotel due to a few detours.  1) We stopped at estancia where they happened to be branding horses, 2) crossed a river in 4runners, 3) caught an armadillo, 4) had a photo shoot in the middle of the pampa. In Chile, to describe something that is the best you can say, “el filete”, this literally means the filet mignon.   By the time we made it back, we all agreed it was one of the best days at “work” we’ve had or “el dia filete”.

Horse Branding - they hold back the ears of the horse to distract it.  They say its like getting its ears pierced but I'm not sure the horses feel the same way.

Gauchos rounding up the horses

River Crossing

Armadillo Catch

Carrera at Cerro Guido

We were prepping to head in to the park again for some more backpacking and needed to get supplies in Puerto Natales before, but caught wind of a Gaucho Carrera (race) at Estancia Cerro Guido that afternoon. We caught a ride with the manager’s girlfriend and the head of food and beverage at the hotel. When we arrived it was a little different than expected. We had been told it was a huge party and a once yearly sort of thing but there were probably only about 70 people there. What there were plenty of was horses, and not just normal horses either. All of the grand steeds we could see were very large and lean. They were bristling with the approach of anyone and none of them seemed like the petting zoo type. Much unlike an event like this in the states, there wasn’t a horse trailer to be seen.  We asked Kineret, who is one of our fellow guides, how all of the horses had gotten there. She responded that they had all been riden of course. Now keep in mind we are about 15 miles from the next closest Estancia and there were about 30 horses with a wild side so everyone who had intended on riding had come that morning on horseback with horses in tow to do some serious bareback riding and also drop some serious money on all of the betting involved. With about 15 of the people present being official gauchos with the proper attire and demeanor the fun had already begun. A 200 meter stretch of earth with a slight uphill had been cut down to just dirt so we had what appeared to be a very short runway in front of us with people milling about making bets and buying cheap cervesas from a gaggle of 10 year olds in the back of a jeep.

 When the time came, two gauchos would politely challenge each other and hop on the backs of their mighty steeds often times with the assistance of a friend as these horses were much closer to their wilder roots and recoiled at the idea that they should be anyone’s mount. The two of them would then walk and canter to the end of the runway and after several false starts to get the right idea into the head of the horses they would set tearing off up the slight incline towards all of us with cameras flashing and shouting like the crescendo of any great Latin mariachi tune. With the greatest skill and speed these two brave Gauchos would fly up the track with horses foaming and straining every last muscle for victory. As they passed the final pole it was as simple as a winner and a loser and the disappointment was as obvious on the face of the losing rider as it was on the face of the beast. The winner would receive nothing more than accolades, small applause, and of course his wager. The strain horses at this point was most obvious through the incredible maze of veins like the roots of their hearts spread under a thin layer of flesh ready to burst with every beat. The rider would dismount and re-tether the animal to a long fence, careful to keep proper distance between them all and re-join his group of amigos. Most of the riders attending would only ride once during the whole event but after the event everyone present would enjoy an evening of partying and a large lamb asado Patagonian style. 

 I took the time between these islands of frenetic seconds to look around and try to get some semblance of a feeling of what was going on around us. This place is too big to describe. You can see for 100 miles clearly in every direction, and more towards the border of Argentina as the flat rolling pampa continues on until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Los Torres de Paine glistens under the cover of freshly fallen snow from the night before in the other direction. Andean condors circle overhead as there are most certainly fresh remnants of sheep or guanaco within several kilometers from the work of the pumas the night before. Behind us is a border range called Baguales or “Wild horses.” It fits. With the foaming beasts straining at their tethers, the carancho hawks stoically standing atop the miles of fence posts, Ñandu milling around the mata barrosa, this whole place is supremely wild.  

Baguales and Baguales

Hey folks, Kelly and I just got back from a five day backpacking trek through Los Torres del Paine National Park and will be posting a bit about that later but before we get ahead of ourselves I wanted to tell about a hitchhiking experience that took place before we left.

We were going to take some free days away, but needed to go to the nearest town, Puerto Natales, in order to stock up our backpacking supplies. Getting to town though is no easy matter. There are no consistent transports from the hotel to town and the daily transports that run to and from the park don't run on Sunday. Guess what day we were trying to get there. So as everyone else does, we used the finger.....or thumb. Hitchhiking is the best and most consistent way to get around when you're halfway between a hugely popular national park and a Podunk little burg on the only road that takes you anywhere. So we stood out front of the little estancia we live next to and thumbed it. It took about twenty minutes to even see a car going in our direction, but that one didn't even slow so we thought we had a problem on our hands. That is until the most interesting ramshackle piece of machinery I've seen since I threw out my Erector Set came rolling to a stop in front of us. It appeared to be a "roach coach" circa 1903. The driver appeared to be this guy-



All I said was "Vamos a Natales." He nodded and we got in. Upon entering it took a moment to get situated but once we began driving again I had a chance to take in my surroundings. This is the sort of vehicle that you look at and have a hard time imagining it was ever new. At some point in time someone looked at this through and through, and decided with no reservations that yes in fact, this vehicle was ready to be sold. The roads for the next 40 k in any direction from the modulos are very unpaved, to the tune of changing the tires on the transport vans every 10000 miles. Just thinking about every screw and rivet being rattled so violently for so long so regularly is enough to give you dry mouth. There really was nothing holding this old girl together but the determination of the driver and a steadfast desire not to imagine all of the things going wrong. Some rudimentary system of checks and balances was all that stood between us and a cartoonish collapse of each piece of the truck perfectly in every direction. We made it to town though and that truck rambled off to save the day for someone else.