Hey everyone... we are now in our Covid lockdown # 6 down here in Melbourne. Having to spend so much of the last two years locked up means I've resorted to porn to get through the seemingly endless days... yes, walking porn. This retro post is a classic example of the porn that I've been enjoying - for some instant gratification I present Torres del Paine National Park in Chile :)
Paine Grande
Salto Grande
Salto Grande - this is a very powerful waterfall.
Our visit to Torrres del Paine featured a short walk to the spectacular Salto Grande as we made our way up to Refugio Las Torres to start our trek. Salto Grande is a waterfall that drains Lago Nordenenskjöld into Lago Pehoé and the sheer power of the water here took me breath away, over the years I've seen a lot of waterfalls, some much higher than Salto Grande although I've never felt a waterfall as powerful as this one.
Guanaco
We were lucky to have some nice weather for our cruise on Lago Grey.
Cerro Catedral from Lago Grey.
We'd crossed over that range on foot at the low point (John Garner Pass) a few days earlier.
After finishing our trek (which I'll publish one day) we were lucky enough to enjoy a short cruise on Lago Grey up to check out Glaciar Grey. A few days earlier we had crossed over John Garner Pass in beautiful weather and had Glaciar Grey reveal itself as a frozen river of ice below us, the glacier stretching into the distance both up and down the valley. After crossing John Garner Pass in the morning we'd spent the next 8 hours contouring along, high up on the sides of the valley as we made our way down to Refugio Grey at the nose of the glacier - yes, this is a big lump of ice. Glaciar Grey actually flows from the Southern Patagonian Icefield which is the largest sheet of ice in the southern hemisphere apart from Antarctica.
Glaciar Grey with Cerro Cóndor in the distance.
Glacier Grey.
Glacier Grey.
Glacier Grey.
Glacier Grey.
Glacier Grey.
Glaciar Grey. That's John Garner Pass again above the ice.
Reaching the glacier by boat was certainly easier than trekking along above it though and it wasn't long before the little boat was gently making its way through the little bergy bits that had calved off the glacier. After safely negotiating the ice our captain pulled us up next to one of the bigger bergs and chipped of a chunk of the blue ice which we were then able to enjoy with some local whisky, yes I was doing it tough! Unfortunately, as is the case with most glaciers around the world Glacier Grey is in a fairly fast retreat now as climate change does its work.
Glaciar Grey.
Glaciar Grey.
Glaciar Grey.
Glaciar Grey.
Bergy Bits in Lago Grey.
Cerro Catedral from Lago Grey.
Icebergs on Lago Grey.
Icebergs on Lago Grey.
Icebergs on Lago Grey.
Glaciar Grey Fromm Lago Grey.
After our little navigation on Lago Grey we jumped back on our little bus and headed for a night at a local estancia (more commonly known as a cattle station in Australia). The advantage of our little drive this afternoon was that we got another good look at the park, particularly the south and western side of the national park, another advantage was that after 100 kilometres of trekking we got to enjoy the scenery sitting on our bums this afternoon.
Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres del Paine National Park.
Looking across Lago Pehoé towards Paine Grande. Salto Grande can be seen draining Lago Nordenskjöld into Lago Pehoé on the left.
The Dirt.
At around 240,000 hectares Torres del Paine National Park is a big chunk of land. Patagonia is a funny place in that when you think of it you normally visualise lots of ice and snow, however there is a lot of arid looking grassland down on the steppes which makes for good cattle country. The people, the way of life, and indeed a lot of the landscape remind me a lot of our outback in Australia - lots of big sky views, dust and rough roads and no nonsense but friendly locals. Now it's been awhile since I've been down in Patagonia however there were a couple of things that struck me, the first thing that I noticed touring around down there was the distance between facilities here, which along with there rough roads once again reminded me of the outback. The second thing was that when we did arrive at a small settlement then there was some very flash hotels (of which I didn't stay unfortunately) so if people do make the effort to get here it is possible to enjoy the park in comfort if not outright luxury.
Relevant Posts.
Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres del Paine National Park. These dusty roads and desolate landscapes remind me a bit of our outback here in Australia.
Another rough and dusty road down in Patagonia.
We dropped into the small Lago Azul Ranger Outstation to get some directions at one stage.
Lago Azul.
Wonderful photos, they bought back some great memories for us too. Can't wait to get back to the wild places of the world again! All the best in Melbourne, so frustrating we can't even get over there either! X zara & simon
ReplyDeleteHey Zara, it's great to hear from you guys. I hope you guys are getting through this Covid stuff OK over there. I'm thinking early to middle next year to get in and out of OZ with any certainty (not sure how much the flights will cost though!). I'm still checking out your great blog when the emails come through:) I'm really missing travel too, the walks in the local park aren't really still cutting it 18 months into it! ...stay safe xo
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