Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 9 – Torres del Paine can be found here.
How is this already day 10? When we booked this trip, I thought it would last an eternity – but it’s racing past faster than I could have imagined.
Will I still feel this way at day 30? Day 80?
Horrifying thoughts, but well within the realm of plausibility.
But there’s little time for thinking today, because we’re up at the ignoble and detestable hour of 5:30 am so that we can make our 6 am breakfast and a 7 am departure.
On the bright side, we’ve finally hit our stride in terms of getting ready in the morning – just in time to depart the following day. Ah, well. Isn’t that the way it goes?
We finally get first crack at the breakfast, and it’s every bit as delicious as we’d hoped it would be – not to knock the late-morning breakfast, but to grab a plate of hot spiced sausages when they first come out of the kitchen? Heavenly.
The early morning departure has another surprise benefit – my son spots a grey fox on his way back to the domes. Here’s hoping that same luck carries over to our puma tracking…
Today we’re doing two of the “shorter” hikes – one to see the Aonikenk cave paintings, and the other to search for wildlife. Shorter is relative as one is roughly 8 km and the other close to 5 km, but we’ve done 20 km previously so we’re optimistic that today’s small treks won’t cause any problems.
More beautiful weather this morning, with lenticular clouds high above the park.
(Full credit to my son for remembering this bit of cloud trivia – my wife and I both drew blanks when it came time to write the post.)
Our children busy themselves with spotting shapes in the clouds as we set off to our first destination, once more near Sarmiento Lake. The drive should take around an hour, but could be longer if we spot wildlife along the way. Fingers crossed!
We don’t have long to wait before we come across a herd of guanacos:
We pause briefly at another photo stop:
And manage to spot some swans and their cygnet:
Our guides today are Eduardo and Javi – the same guide who took us on our private tour to the Cuernos. All the guides here have been great, so we trust Eduardo when he suggests we do the Aonikenk portion as a there-and-back trek instead of one-way as initially planned. This should help us minimize the time we spend in the roaring wind, while maximizing the scenic nature of the hike.
We arrive at our first stop just over an hour after we set out. We’re fortunate to be able to use bathrooms before we leave on the hike – as opposed to the always-available “facili-trees” – and we are soon tromping through some truly beautiful wilderness:
With the caves already visible in the distance, it’s a striking view:
We soon come across a meadow lark:
And a beetle!
There are some warnings about pumas:
But no sign of the big cats themselves. Staff have explained how elusive they are, so we’re keeping our expectations firmly in check.
The rock formations here are made of conglomerate, which effectively acts as a kind of cement binding together smaller rocks.
After perhaps an hour and a half of hiking, we reach the caves and the ancient cave paintings:
The view is spectacular:
We’re graced by a condor:
But it’s soon time to set off on the return trip.
We return to the van by around 11 am, roughly 4 hours after we first set off. We’re headed to Laguna Azul for lunch, though the hungrier among us start to pick at our boxed lunches during the drive. I avail myself of half a roast beef sandwich with brie and sourdough bread. Fabulous!
Another hour’s drive to our next destination. We already visited Laguna Azul on the way back from the estancia trek earlier this week, but it does give me the chance to take a few shots on my new camera:
Still figuring out the exposure settings – my wife tends to prefer the vivid colours of the iPhone, but I’m enjoying having the 200 mm (4x) optical zoom.
The winds are high, so we opt to eat in the van rather than deal with the blowing dust. But with the van door open we get the best of both worlds – a world-class view as seen through the open door, and comfortable seating.
We’re there for perhaps 20 minutes before we set off on the short drive to our hiking trail. We immediately see why Eduardo favours this spot for animal spotting:
We carry on up the mountain, through a forest where we spot some more birds:
What kind of birds? We’re not sure – twitchers we are not. But if you know, please post a comment!
Then pass through the remains of a forest fire that passed through the area in 2015:
The trees are growing back – slowly. The whipping wind means that it takes up to 60 years to reach their full size, so all we’ve got for now is these bushes.
We trek further on up the hill, and the views just keep getting better:
Down on the other side, where we spot a massive herd of guanacos:
There are so many that we have to pause for an extended period so they can cross the trail – but if you’re going to have problems on a wildlife safari, these are the problems to have.
And I manage a quick snap of a caracara in flight:
Then back down to the van. The kids are still doing great, but I’m struggling with the downhills – my quads are just shot after the long hike the other day. Ah well, never hurts to have a training goal for when we get back.
Victory! We return to the van, having finished our final hike at EcoCamp Patagonia. Celebratory beers, juices and sparkling waters all around.
Except we’re not quite done yet – one more stop at Cascada Rio Paine, which we also previously visited during the estancia trip. But it’s quite beautiful, so I don’t begrudge the extra 10-minute stop.
Plus, another excuse to try out the new camera:
I’m quite enjoying having a higher-grade camera this trip, but I’d never turn my nose up on anyone who prefers their phone instead. Most phones these days have incredible cameras, and it’s only wildlife and long-distance photography where I really notice any real difference.
Back to EcoCamp where it’s time to hand over the week’s tips and pack our bags. We’re getting more familiar with what goes where, so it doesn’t take us too long to get everything in order – though it’s still a process, particularly when it comes to making airplane weight limits.
We eventually get everything sorted, and even manage to squeeze in some more time on the patio:
But soon the welcome drinks are poured:
A virgin pina colada and some kind of peach-wine combo – not really selling it here, but it was tasty
And we settle in for our final briefing.
Ours is admittedly quite short – we just need to hear when our shuttle will be leaving the following day. And it’s… 9 am! An unbelievable windfall after hearing so many early-morning roller bags making their way up the boardwalk at 6am (or earlier – ugh).
Flushed with victory, we headed off for dinner. Here’s tonight’s menu:
We had the empanada for our appetizer:
And the sea bass with scallops for our main:
Ending with the puff pastry and cream for dessert:
While my son had the chocolate brownie:
All exceptional, once again.
There’s a small sense of sadness as we turn in for our final night, but also excitement.
We have outdone our wildest expectations for what we could accomplish as a family, having hiked an incredible 68 kilometers in just five short days. What options lay before us?
Our dinner companions mentioned a trek across Jordan, ending in Petra. Is that within our grasp? Or shall we return to EcoCamp once more, this time bound for the Lazo Weber and Towers Base Treks? Or maybe…. the full O loop?
So many possibilities lay ahead.
Continue reading Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 11 – Torres del Paine/San Jose de Maipo.