Phenomenal Patagonia

We knew by the bird's eye preview on our flight from Santiago that the landscape was phenomenal. The skies were perfectly clear all the way from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas for seeing the glaciers, fjords, ice fields and sights of sights.....Mount Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine. With both mountains, the pilot tipped the left wing and did a semi circle of the mountains so we could capture them on film. Just wait til you see these pictures.....which we hope we can post later today! Our landing approach took us in over the Straights of Magellan with great views of the Straights and Terre del Fuego! The skies have been clear since we landed two days ago and are expected to be the same today for another adventuresome day at Explora in Torres del Paine. Roberto, our driver from Punta Arenas (we were the only two in the van) was most generous to stop on the five hour drive north to Torres del Paine National Park for photo opportunity after photo opportunity! We saw flamingos (how nice to see them on the shores and not the Parrot Jungle in Miami), condors (what a sight to see them soaring with their nine foot wing spans), gauchos on their horses, llamas, ostrich, and grey fox. The first ground sighting of Torres del Paine drew gasps! And then we arrived at the Explora Lodge to a warm welcome by the Vice President for Guest Relations Marcela Sigall and her incredible staff. Since this is the winter season, there are only 20 guests here for a lodge that accommodates 100, so we were upgraded to a Deluxe Suite with picture perfect views of the massif of Torres del Paine - it is incomparable in its magnificent beauty. The view from our window creates the same excitement I recall when seeing the Matterhorn and Mt. McKinley for the first time! The lodge is stunning, expansive and full of delightful staff who are spoiling us rotten! The extensive happy hours have provided wonderful opportunities to get to know the other 18 guests from Chile, Germany, Australia, New York, Spain, and St Louis. The guy from Germany heads one of the largest observatories in the world located in Santiago. You should see the size of his camera lenses- they give me lense envy! But glad I am not dragging them around on hikes!

Yesterday we took an all day 12K hike through ice packed trails to Grey Glacier. The hike was stunning and challenging with most of us falling and busting our asses at least once! We reached our destination about noon and were treated to a fabulous picnic which had been carried in the backpacks of our guides......Cristobal and Coca. The view of Grey Glacier with its stunning shades of blue and floating icebergs was awe inspiring. Today, we will do a morning hike to Lake Nordenskjold with its breathtaking views of the massif of Torres del Paine and then this afternoon after another gormet lunch, we will go horseback riding in the pampas! Oh, what a life in Heaven on Earth. If God is not a permanent resident of Torres del Paine, I am convinced He spends part of the year here!