......although it ended up being a seventeen-hour bus tour with a lot of sore, stiff people. Patagonia has always been one of those mystical places that you hear about and see pictures of yet is so distant and remote few have been there. (NOTE: I was on the bus all day yesterday so my Antarctica pictures are on the post below this one.)
On the way up, we stopped at Puerto Notales--a small town that is right on the border of Argentina. We talked the border guards into letting us take photos, so here's one of me as an undocumented visitor inside Argentina:
It was about a 3 1/2 hour trip to the Torres del Paine national park entrance and we basically made a circular tour around the entire park.
The circular tour pretty much speaks for itself so I'll just post pictures:
We saw lots of wildlife--obviously sheep and cattle because they are both an industry here--but also lots of llama-like animals that are actually closer to deer than the Peruvian type llama or alpaca.
We also saw condors, and a lot of wild ostriches--kind of surprised me but they're very adaptable to this locale and climate.
We stopped for lunch mid-afternoon at a lodge overlooking one of the many lakes. Good lunch, but the views really made it special.
The rest of the afternoon was just vista after vista......
Today is the last day and the group is leaving at various times to catch their flights. I booked a midnight flight to give me an extra day here and am trying to book a tour along the Strait of Magellan to the old historic sites where the early sea explorers landed. If I connect my flights, I should arrive in Houston with just enough time to drive to the stadium and catch the Dynamo home opener. I'll slow down when I actually do get home......
On the way up, we stopped at Puerto Notales--a small town that is right on the border of Argentina. We talked the border guards into letting us take photos, so here's one of me as an undocumented visitor inside Argentina:
It was about a 3 1/2 hour trip to the Torres del Paine national park entrance and we basically made a circular tour around the entire park.
The circular tour pretty much speaks for itself so I'll just post pictures:
We saw lots of wildlife--obviously sheep and cattle because they are both an industry here--but also lots of llama-like animals that are actually closer to deer than the Peruvian type llama or alpaca.
We also saw condors, and a lot of wild ostriches--kind of surprised me but they're very adaptable to this locale and climate.
We stopped for lunch mid-afternoon at a lodge overlooking one of the many lakes. Good lunch, but the views really made it special.
The rest of the afternoon was just vista after vista......
Today is the last day and the group is leaving at various times to catch their flights. I booked a midnight flight to give me an extra day here and am trying to book a tour along the Strait of Magellan to the old historic sites where the early sea explorers landed. If I connect my flights, I should arrive in Houston with just enough time to drive to the stadium and catch the Dynamo home opener. I'll slow down when I actually do get home......
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