Day 7 (Feb 26) - Torres del Paine

We woke up around 6 am to get ready for our daylong journey to Torres del Paine. We got to the bus station by taxi a little before 7 am and bought tickets for the 7:30 am bus.

The first bus took about an hour and dropped us off at the entrance of Torres del Paine to fill out some paperwork. After about an hour, we boarded a second bus that brought us to Pudeto (inside Torres del Paine) after a two hour ride. Thus we arrived in Pudeto around 11:20 am.

On the bus leaving Puerto Natales.

Mountain views while on the bus heading to Torres del Paine.

More mountain views from the bus.

Guanacos!

Mountains across a little lake, as seen from the bus.

Mountains and a lake, also seen from the bus.

We bought some sandwiches while we waited for the ferry to take us across Lake Pehoé to the area where our trail to Lago Grey would begin. While waiting, we encountered an armadillo that wandered around the tourists looking for food.

Our little armadillo friend at Pudeto in Torres del Paine.

After the ferry ride from 12:00 pm to 12:40 pm, we finally were able to start our hike to Lago Grey. We knew we wouldn't be able to go the entire route in a single day, so we aimed for the main lookouts that would make our trip about 7 miles round trip. That allowed us to get back in time to catch the last ferry and the last bus back to Puerto Natales.

The beginning of the trail to Lago Grey.

Me heading up the trail to Lago Grey.

Mountain!

Lago de los Patos (Lake of the Ducks).

We reached the first lookout on Lago Grey at around 2:30 pm. From there, we could see several icebergs and the very large glacier on the north side of the lake. It was quite a view!

Sof heading towards Lago Grey itself.

Lago Grey, with icebergs on the left.

The Lago Grey glacier!

A closeup of the right side of the glacier.

A closeup of the left side of the glacier.

A closer closeup of the glacier's left side.

Large iceberg floating around the middle of Lago Grey.

Flowers along the trail.

At 3:30 pm we turned around and began our descent back toward the ferry. Even though the sky was darkening with clouds, we were still taking pictures of all the scenery (and the glaciers again!).

Mountains!

Looking back at the glacier on our way back down.

Some more icebergs we spotted in Lago Grey on our way back.

Cool trees and rock formations.

Lago Pehoé, where we ferried back to Pudeto.

Me waiting in line for the ferry to return.

We arrived back to Puerto Natales at 10 pm and were quite tired from our day-long journey and hike. It took roughly 5 hours to get there, 5.5 hours to hike, and 4 hours to return to Puerto Natales. Overall, it was a very successful expedition and well worth all the bus/ferry rides!

Day 6 (Feb 25) - Horseback riding at Laguna Sofia

We slept in too late to eat breakfast at the hotel, so we decided to taxi to Puerto Natales to eat and inquire about horseback riding tours in Laguna Sofia. We arranged for the tour van to pick us up and had plenty of time to find a nearby restaurant for lunch.

The hamburguesas for lunch were huuuuge!

After lunch, we met with Christa and her friend at the tour van and rode north for about half an hour before reaching where the horses are kept. I got a horse named Araucana, Sof got one named Estampa, and Christa got one named Guida.

Estancia Pingo Salvaje - the ranch where the horses were kept!

Me and Araucana, Sof and Estampa, and Christa and Guida.

Everybody's taking pictures of the scenery at the top of the ridge.

Here's the view of the fjord from above.

I'm on a horse!

Sof and I overlooking the fjord.

Sof bringing her horse back to the corral.

The three of us after our ride.

"He's just a little puppy!"

After we got back to Puerto Natales, Christa, Sof, and I went to a traditional-style cordero (lamb) restaurant and got two large plates of lamb and a bottle of local wine. It was great!

Slowly cooking cordero.

Tasty cordero!

By the time we finished our meals, we were exhausted. But Sof and I knew the next morning we would have to wake up around 6 am to start our journey to Torres del Paine, the scenic national park known for its great hikes and even greater views!

Day 5 (Feb 24) - Bus ride from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales

We ate breakfast at the hotel before checking out at 11 am. Since we had some down time before catching our 12:30 pm bus to Puerto Natales, we wandered around Punta Arenas a bit and got a small lapis lazuli and marble penguin as a souvenir. The world's primary lapis lazuli mines are in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Andes in Chile!

Some wool penguin blankets! Patagonia has quite a bit of wool due to the booming sheep farming industry that began in Patagonia in the mid 1800s.

We then rode the bus to Puerto Natales for 3 hours. Along the way, we saw several classic Patagonian animals!

Horses!

Guanaco (relative of the domesticated llamas)

Chilean flamingos!!!!!

Sheep! Baaaaa

Cows!

Patagonian Darwin's rhea, which can grow up to 3.25 ft tall!

Puerto Natales from afar.

Once we arrived, we wandered from the bus station to a restaurant called "Raices de Chiloé," where we ate Chiloé-style seafood.

Raices de Chiloé in Puerto Natales.

Sof and I eating seafood in Raices de Chiloé.

Cerveza Austral Calafate Ale, a Patagonian beer that has some juice from Calafate berries in it.

Cebiche (that's how the restaurant spelled it).

After delicious food, we took a taxi to La Cueva del Milodón (the Cave of the Mylodon) north of Puerto Natales. The mylodon was a 5000 pound herbivorous bear/sloth-like animal that lived in the area about 10,000 years ago. This cave is where some of its remains were discovered.

Entrance to the area containing the Cueva del Milodón.

The pathway leading toward the Cueva del Milodón.

Entrance to the cave.

Short video showing the inside of the cave and dripping water that contributes to stalactite development.

Life-size statue of the mylodon.

After viewing the mylodon and the cave, we taxied to our hotel and signed in. It was about 3 miles north of Puerto Natales and was close to the water.

View from our hotel room.

We coordinated with my sister Christa, who had just taken a 26 hour bus ride through Argentina to meet us in Puerto Natales, and we made plans to go horseback riding. We finally had a chance to catch up on some much needed rest so the next day we could make arrangements for our horse riding adventures.