En route from Torres del Paine National Park back to El Calafate – it’s quite a slog. We are definitely one of a very small handful of people who take this route. Most people come from Puerto Natales (Chile), which is much closer. And even more rare seems to be renting a car; we saw so few private cars in the park. (Kind of nice I guess, when you compare it to some of our national parks in the US that have become overrun with traffic.)
In addition, the roads in the park are bumpy and rutted enough that an SUV would definitely have been a better option. Our low-sitting Chevy Corsa ended up with a flat tire yesterday afternoon. It’s fortunate Noah is so even-keeled and handy. He changed the tire in 15 minutes, while the girls and I walked to an impressive waterfall (Salto Chico – which was not that chico!).
We were right by the Explora Hotel, so we popped in to ogle at their impressive spa: indoor lap pool and 3 outdoor jacuzzis right on Lago Pehoe. It was so warm that several guests were sitting outside in their bathing suits sipping champagne in the bright sun. ‘Good living,’ as Noah would say! Sierra decided we should stay there the next time we come to Patagonia. Sounds good to me — if she’s paying 🙂
All this happened on our way back from Lago Grey, which is where we had spent the day. We did a 3-hour boat trip to see Glacier Gray, which was pretty amazing, though it only peaked the girls’ interest for the first 15 or 20 minutes of glacier viewing.
I thought it might be good to capture below a ranking of what seems to interest them, from most to least.
- Any kind of treat
- Collecting rocks (extra points if there are shells)
- Getting to pet local dogs or cats
- Seeing wildlife (though guanacos got old fast)
- Playing by a stream or lake
- Family games of ‘Go Fish’
- Boat rides (though Cassidy is apparently not a big fan)
- Waterfalls
- Glaciers
- Beautiful mountain and lake vistas
That said, Noah and I thoroughly enjoyed the glacier views, and the weather was once again spectacular. The cost of the boat ride was a pretty big rip off — guess that’s what happens when one hotel has a monopoly on the only accessible glacier in the park. [Which – by the way – is apparently melting at a rate of 90 meters a year. Is that possible? Need to look this up to verify…]
I was so glad it was sunny, as it made for great photos (see below). Under the bright blue sky, parts of the glaciers appeared an intense cobalt blue. I asked why this was, and apparently it’s the older ice that is somehow more dense…or something (?) [Boy do I wish my parents had come on this trip – they would have loved it, and my dad would have excelled at answering all these geological questions!]
In any case, it was a good – but long – day yesterday, and today is shaping up to be quite a long one as well. We already made an unintended long detour en route back to Argentina, learning two things in the process. First, the map the rental car agency gave us definitely doesn’t have all the local roads on it. Second, while the signs within the park were excellent, the signs once you leave are pretty useless. There was not a single sign indicating which way to go for the border crossing to Argentina until we were almost on top of it! So we went a good 40 minutes in the wrong direction before realizing we needed to turn around. At least our detour allowed us to meet Milo the lamb at (supposedly) the largest sheep ranch in Chilean Patagonia!
The trouble continued at the border, where we spent 2 hours trying to get back into Argentina. Not sure I have the stamina to recount the details now…maybe Noah will capture in his next post. The bottom line is that the Argentinian border crossing at Cancha Carrera is pretty darn backward for a middle income country. There was trash everywhere, no running water, and the customs guy was wearing a dirty T-shirt and jeans. Not what I would have expected, and not a fun place to spend 2 hours. We are now less than an hour from El Calafate…fingers crossed for a smooth ride.
La Portavoz