A Chile Day

Today was spent primarily on the bus. Because of a lack of paved roads and cell phone signals in this part of the world, we had to take a circuitous route in order to travel in safety. It was a long ride, but as usual, OAT did an excellent job of breaking things up and keeping it interesting.

Sylvia, the local guide told several stories about the area we were traveling through, which were both informative and entertaining. Among her tales was the saga of two young men from California who traveled to Patagonia in 1968, when there was little more than a dirt road labeled “Highway 40” in the way of infrastructure. Their goal was to climb Fitzroy, also known as Cerro Chaltén, in the Andes near El Calafate (a peak which we were able to view clearly from an overlook almost 200 miles away).

Mt. Fitzroy is the tall peak on the horizon, 200 miles distant!

They did. In fact, they were the first to do so on the “north face” of the rock. But they found themselves handicapped by the lack of appropriate clothing and gear. So upon returning to California they started a business to provide outdoor clothing to others — first as partners, then as competitors in rival companies: Patagonia and North Face. Although most of the clothing is made in China, both men were active in conservation issues in Patagonia and continued to promote the area.

We were also introduced to some wildlife, including a number of Guanacos (smaller cousins to the llama) and a Patagonian Grey Fox.

At the border we had to get off the bus and line up to present our passports one by one to Argentine authorities. They were far more careful about our leaving Argentina than they had been about our entry. A kilometer or so down the road we had to get into an even longer line to present our passport to Chilean officials. We also had to bring our luggage, which was scanned for contraband fresh food items. Chile is very concerned about protecting its agriculture from outside diseases.

Across the border we had a new bus (and it really was brand new!), new driver, and new local guide. But as soon as we stowed our luggage on the new bus, the first order of business was to enjoy lunch — a very interesting, delicious, and filling traditional chicken soup. Then we were off to Torres del Paine National Park, the park on the Chilean side that borders Los Glaciares National Park on the Argentinian side.

The "Towers" (Torres) of Torres de Paine

There was lots of summer road construction in Chile, and once inside the national park there was no pavement at all. We drove nearly the entire width of the park on winding gravel, stopping several times to take in the spectacular views. The temperature wasn’t bad, but the wind here is even stronger than on the other side of the Andes.

peaking of spectacular views, have I mentioned our hotel? It’s beautiful, and right on the shore of Lago Grey. Dinner here was very good, and we were glad for such nice accommodations after a long day.

Panoramic view from the hotel lobby/restaurant