The days high point was to be a visit to the Grey's Lake Park center. There we hiked through the woods and across the long gravel spit to the island where the glacier viewing boat was docked. Hiking across the spit on the end of Greys Lake was an experience with the wind. One could barely stand up and not get blown over. Because of the wild wind, about half of our party decided against taking the 3 hour boat ride up Greys Lake to the face of Greys Glacier. Instead, we chose to hike the loop trail around the island, and eat our bag lunches in a sheltered spot in the trees on the island.
The next day we chose to do a morning tour to see many more of the incredible mountains, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. Then in the afternoon, we took a 3 hour horse back ride along the mountains from the hotel , across streams and finally along a lake before returning. It was the first time I had been on a horse in over 40 years !! On our last morning, with the weather not being very good, I had the good fortune to have a 2 hour guided tour of the huge organic garden and greenhouses that supply most of the produce for the hotel in season. They had hired a retired Australian 6 years earlier to set up and manage the composting and the organic gardens. It was a wonderful one on one experience for me to see how environmentally conscious their whole operation was. Then on our last afternoon, we were picked up by a bus for the 6 hour drive south to Puerto Natales, and then on to Punta Arenas to overnight. We had a wonderful dinner there. We continued by bus the next morning for the long, all day ride back north and then east to the ferry crossing of the Strait of Magellan. We then drove south along the entire east side of Tierra del Fuego to our last stop, Ushuaia. Here on the island, we saw many sheep grazing. We were told that there were over 2 million on Tierra del Fuego. It was amazing to go from the vast, dry, barren, windswept steppes into the tree covered mountains on the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. Suddenly, we seemed to be back in coastal Alaska. Ushuaia is the most southern town on the South American continent or any where in the world. It was the port for nearly all the cruise ships that tour Antarctica and was about 75,000 in size. It looked like Seward in Alaska.
Map showing route south from El Chalten to El Calafate to Cerro-Castillo and then Torres del Paine
Border crossing into Chile near Cerro Castillo
A road side stop and my 1st view of Torres del Paine and its towers
A herd of guanacos at roadside. There were many in the park.
Me inspecting a Rhea in our Hotel Las Torres.
My 2nd night in the hotel enjoying some fine Chilean wine and Guanaco steak !
1st morning view of the towers as we start our all day park tour. Las Torres Hotel can barely be seen in the center right of the photo
River and mountain view from a little further away from our hotel on our wonderful sunny day
Yours truly enjoying the grand view and wonderful weather.
Another herd of Guanacos right by the side of the road.
Our first view of the "Horns of Paine" as we head around to the west side of the park.
A better view of the "Horns" across one of the many lakes
One of the many lakes in the park, with some being isolated and somewhat saline. These saline lakes were summer homes for the flamingos, which I never expected to see so far south in South America.
We hiked up to a park view point, just above one of the big water falls with a great view of the "Horns of Paine"
An even better view of the stunning "Horns of Paine" with their interesting geology history
One of the many big waterfalls on the park streams.
Each view was more amazing during our wonderful all day park tour
View from a trail after a hike off the road.
It is hard to describe the almost surreal mountains. Here again are the "Horns of Paine"
A graphic explanation of their interesting geology.
A river crossing view of the "Horns of Paine" in the distance as we toured the west side of the park.
View from near the lodge at the end of Grey's Lake with the immense Grey's Glacier in back
Graphic of the protected deer that are native to the southern Andes
Hiking down to cross the windblown spit to Greys island and the boat landing. You can just barely make out people hiking across the spit. We crossed to the island and then decided not to take the 3 hour boat tour to the face of the glacier because of the wild wind and having seen the Moreno Glacier by boat near El Calafate. We then hiked the trails all the way around Grey's Island and had lunch in a protected area.
Trail scene while hiking on Greys Island
Taking a lunch break on Grey's Island out of the fierce wind.
Wild, wind swept scene of Grey's Lake with glacial ice floating in the lake.
Our guide and our little group of 5 viewing Greys Lake and the mountains from the island
Stunning view of the "Horns of Paine" across the wild, windswept lake
Scene from a protected lodge on the edge of another lake somewhat farther from the mountains.
Wild geese , native to this part of South America.
Surprisingly, a flock of large parakeets enjoying the summer here.
Wonderful view across Pehoe Lake towards the "Horns of Paine"
a friendly Guanaco at the side of the road
Two Rhea at roadside carefully extracting berries from the thorny El Calafate bush
Paine Falls from a view point that we stopped and hiked in to.
Another view of Paine Falls or cascade with the sign illustrating the falls area
Yours truly in the mountains on a horse for the 1st time in over 40 years !
Crossing a stream on horseback on our nearly 3 hour mountain ride.
Sebastian, one of our guides or a real Chilean gaucho !
Me , taking a short pause at the edge of the lake we rode along.
Two of our many imaginative and unique cocktails that the lodge bar was famous for
Big, sweet goose berries and strawberries that were grown in the huge organic gardens
Newly cultivated rows in the organic gardens. They had interns for the summer and the rows were strictly measured to standards and never walked on.
Lettuce and carrots growing in the well maintained organic out door gardens
A nearly ripe "Black" tomato growing inside one of the greenhouses. I brought back seeds to try in Alaska this summer !
My new Australian friend, the organic gardens manager, inside his lettuce greenhouse.
A view of the front entrance of the 80 room. wonderful Hotel Las Torres
The scene of the treeless, dry, windswept, Patagonian Steppes, stretching horizon to horizon as far as the eye could see, with the road being the only sign of human life in this vast area east of the Andes mountains.
Our ferry that took us across the Strait of Magellan to Tierra del Fuego. We crossed this famous water way as well as later, the Beagle Channel and the Drake Passage, the three waterways of fame at the southern tip of South America, not far from the Antarctic Peninsula itself farther south.
our "Bus-Sur" or Greyhound of Argentina and Chile, which took us from Punta Arenas all the way to Ushuaia on the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego.
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