Our Patagonia Adventure

Patagonia has intrigued me for some time now.  My first impression was that everyone leaves Patagonia with professional-quality photos.  The Torres del Paine, the towering rock formations that give the name to the national park, in particular are made for National Geographic.  To see the photos is stunning, but I wondered what the scenery was like in person.

When Julia sent me an email with the subject "DONE!" and her attached travel plans to visit me in Chile, I began brainstorming Chilean destinations, and at the top of the list was a trip to capture our own Patagonia photos and adventures.  As I researched Patagonia - talking with friends, searching websites, travel-logs, and histories - more than just the photos left an impression.  Patagonia seems to be a rugged land, far removed from the rest of Chile and the world.  The wild-west of South America.

Indeed Patagonia is far, and the journey there was part of the adventure.  Julia arrived on Saturday. On Sunday we traveled to Punta Arenas by plane, and Puerto Natales by bus.  On Monday we entered the Parque Nacional (National Park) Torres del Paine by bus and then by catamaran.  Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday morning we trekked by foot through the park, meeting the bus out of the park on Wednesday afternoon, and returning to Punta Arenas.  Thursday we flew home to Santiago.

View from the catamaran

Cousin self-timer photo!

Our nomadic adventure took us from Santiago (latitude 33 degrees south) to Punta Arenas (latitude 53 degrees south) to Puerto Natales (latitude 51 degrees south) to Torres del Paine.  We spent one night in a hostel in Puerto Natales, one night camping in the park (thankfully the tent was water- and wind-proof), one night in a park refugio, and one night in a stylish B&B in Punta Arenas.  We experienced sun, rain followed by the most stunning rainbow, snow, wind that forced us to sit down and take it all in.  Landscapes included lakes, green rolling hills, wildfire-damaged woods, glaciers, jagged cliffs.  Sometimes we forgot we were in Chile, and mistook the landscapes for west-Texas, Yellowstone, Ireland, Norway.

We made it!  But from here we didn't see the torres through the clouds. 

Blown away by the scenery, blown over by the wind.

Here are the links to our combined photo collection (two albums). Hopefully you will enjoy them, but even more I hope they will inspire you to embark on your own Patagonia adventure.  There is something for everyone, all ages and ability, whether you want a rugged trek or a relaxing getaway.  What I realized is that Patagonia is more than the Torres del Paine (although they often dominate the landscapes, and perhaps our photo collection).  The journey to see the torres is as stunning as the torres themselves, as long as you keep your eyes and your heart open along the way, and you share the experience with people you love (thanks Julia for a wonderful adventure!).

Picturesque southern Chile