We had changed out our bags and checked the Antarctica bags for our return to the W on Sunday. We packed hiking clothes appropriate for the high 50's and low 60's. After our three hour flight, we took our places in the Tierra Patagonia van for the four hour drive to the lodge. Since we stopped along the way for a lovely lunch at a roadside cafe sporting a Coca-Cola flag, it was actually five hours.
We arrived during the dinner hour (8:00 to 10:00), checked into our room which had a spectacular view of the Torres del Paine mountains, and returned to the dining room for dinner and a meeting with one of the guides to sign up for the next day excursions. We chose two: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
We learned that the lodge was on private property, just outside of the boundaries of the national park. This meant that we took a van ride to the start of all the hikes (30 to 45 minutes). We also learned that the lodge was near capacity with 70 guest and that many fewer of the guests were Americans than we would have guessed.
We also learned that the National Park suffered two tourist induced forest fires, one in 2003 and the other in 2011, that wiped out vast acres of park vegetation and impacted the wildlife which included panthers, although we never saw one, guanaco, Darwin's Rea and numerous other birds. Vicunas were also present but not in the section of the park where most of our hikes occurred.
The park is dotted with many lakes. If the lake is fed from a stream or other source, it is called a Lac. If it is only supplied by rain, it is called a Laguna.
On Thursday morning, we joined Monica and seven other North American guests for a van tour of Laguna Azul. Along the way, we stopped to see Laguna Amarga and walked along its volcanic shores. We learned that many of the lakes have no plant life since they are too dark for active photosynthesis.
Along the horizon sat the beautiful Torres del Paine mountain range. From our new vantage point we were able to see all three of the famous Towers. We also saw a dozen Condors soaring overhead. We learned that Laguna Azul ends in a dramatic waterfall, the Cascada Paine. After a four hour tour, we returned to the lodge for lunch.
Following lunch, we joined Valentina and six other tourists for a 2 km hike of the Mirador Cuernos, a relatively easy, mostly paved walkway hike. Our only real challenge was the wind which was blowing in the 30 mph range with occasional gusts in the 50's. At times, it was almost impossible to keep standing.
At the top of the trail, we lingered to take photos and got separated from the group. We thought we saw them returning the same way we came, so we followed, but at a distance. By the time the group ahead of us got to the parking lot, we realized they were boarding a bus for another hotel--not ours. We looked for our van and, finding it, walked over to it, to discover that the Spanish speaking driver was in it but no one else. We did our best to explain how and why we had returned alone. She tried to raise the guide by walkie-talkie but to no avail.
She suggested we hike to the nearby waterfall, which we did. Upon returning, others from our group started showing up. The guide said she knew we were missing but she also knew that all trails led to the parking lot. She felt that we would turn up sooner or later. Everyone was very calm, including us. Nonetheless, we resolved to stay closer to the group in the future. Back at the lodge, we took a refreshing swim before dinner.
On Friday morning, we hiked the 5km Origins of Life trail with Paula. This was not a marked trail and came complete with a sharp downhill and a scramble of boulders along Lac Sarmenito. We saw Flamingos, Royal Ducks, Austral Sparrows and Grebes along the shore. We walked for about three hours, returning to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, we joined Gonzalo for a 2 km Birdwatching hike where we saw quite a few birds: Upland Geese, Coots, Cahuil Gulls, Carrara Eagles, Chimanj's Cara Cara, White Grebes, Royal Ducks, Rufus Tail Sparrow, White Crown Sparrow, Stripped Sparrow, Swallows, Southern Lapwing, Avecisinus with a Gray Fox for good measure.
Near the end of the hike, I twisted my knee descending an embankment. I hobbled back to the van and returned to the hotel for a rest and dinner, At dinner, we had a new waiter, Jonathan, who, for the first time in Patagonia, truly understood what a gluten-free diet was and became a great assistance to John.
My knee was not much better on Saturday and was quite swollen, so John hiked the 6.5km Hunter's Trail while I got a massage in the lodge spa. Since it was Valentine's Day, we answered the 36 question quiz in the NY Times that is meant to establish intimacy and trust between two people. We began it over lunch and extended the conversation through the afternoon and into dinner where we enjoyed Chilean sparkling wine and duck.
On Sunday, we returned to Punta Arenas and took a flight back to Santiago where Edmundo and Juanito were awaiting. We returned to the W Hotel, recovered our Antarctica luggage and once again sorted everything for our final few days in the Chilean wine country.
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