The "Q" at Torres del Paine

Today is a recuperation day in Puerto Natales, Chile. We returned to our hospedaje, Alma Gaucha, last night in time to get pizza with some friends in town. We finished a 96-mile circuit in one of Chile´s most beautiful and busy national parks. After trekking in the park, we can easily see why. Never before have we experienced so many fantastic views in one setting. We hiked in and around glaciers, climbed mountains, stomped through mud, sat beside gorgeous azure rivers and lakes, and watched magnificent Andean Condors fly below us.

On the first day of hiking we saw our first gaucho. He was running a group of horses across the windy patagonian steppe. The gauchos take pride in their culture by wearing brightly colored scarves and chaps unlike the cowboys of the American West. In the park, the gauchos supply the refugios with food and other things as well as some tourists with transportation.

Along this trek and many others all over the continent there are what they call refugios. These refugios offer a myriad of services to trekkers and visitors. Sometimes, miles away from everything, you can buy your dinner. You can also buy wine, beer, all kinds of food, rent a tent if you don´t want to carry one, and even rent a room for the night. It really democratizes trekking by allowing more people to access beautiful places. Some are really crazy in terms of people and others are a little more low key. Here is a picture of one of the crazy ones.

We woke up early a few mornings to catch the sunrise on the mountains, which was well worth it. Here are a few pictures.

Our favorite part of this adventure was exploring some ice caves in Glacier Grey. We took a rest day to make time to explore around the glacier. A river running into it allowed us access into a glacier blue room complete with waterfall. It was spectacular, and easily one the the most amazing natural wonders we have ever seen. I was taking all kinds of pictures and forgot that the camera was in incandescent setting so we call the picture with Beth and I in it a part of my Blue Period.

All in all, this was our most favorite trek that we have ever done. Tomorrow we will head further south to Ushuaia, Argentina to prepare for another trek called the Dientes Circuit which is the southernmost trek in the world. It will be cold and windy. After that, I suppose we will head north. Mostly because there will be no more south to explore. We hope everyone is well, please feel free to send us emails and comment if you want.

And finally, a disfunctional self portrait.