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Our trip to Patagonia started in Chile, arriving in Santiago, the capital. We had about 1/2 a day to wander about Santiago after our arrival, which we did, not really visiting any attractions as such besides a nice park or two. The main square was a nice place to be with the artists, fortune tellers, and cafes.

Pedestrians Tarot Card reader Niyati meditating in the park
The next day we started our long journey to Torres Del Paine National Park. It was a 4 hour flight South to Punta Arenas, and then about a 6 hour drive back North to Torres Del Paine National Park, where we would stay for the next 5 nights. We arrived late, at about 1:30 AM.

This National Park is spectacular. There are unique mountain ranges, glaciers, scrubland, wildlife, icebergs, beautiful lakes, everything. In all directions you look, almost no matter where you are, there is something of beauty. Weather....on the other hand must be contended with. The term "four seasons in one day" is heard daily, and it holds true, as the weather you are experiencing at one moment will likely be different than what you experience in 30 minutes. We had moderate luck with weather - it never really poured, but most days were cloudy and we were lucky to get short glimpses of the famous mountains. Wind was incessant, probably at around 30-40 miles per hour, with peaks up to 50 mph. And from what we've heard, its not uncommon for them to get to 100 mph.

Our hotel for 5 nights was situated right on Lago Grey, which is fed by the Grey Glacier and from our window we could see the icebergs that float away from the glacier. On the first day, we did a short, but demanding uphill hike for about two hours to get a view of a lot of the park. We then walked down to the sandbar, where we could sit at the edge of the lake and get a closeup view of the icebergs.

The view from our hotel room Climbing up Mount Ferrier Climbing up Mount Ferrier View of the icebergs from the top On the sandbar On the sandbar Niyati meditating towards sunset Niyati meditating Cuernos in back Iceberg closeup Iceberg closeup

On the second day, we woke up to the view of a rainbow over the icebergs. We could see it from our room window. This day we did a driving tour of the park, with a short hike past a raging waterfall, and to the edge of a Lake from where you could get very close to the famous Cuernos (horns). Weather was brutal, but we did get some glimpses. We were also lucky enough to see a Red Fox and an Andean deer (Humeul), of which there are only about 120 left.

Rainbow Rainbow A red rox Niyati at the Explora hotel The Salto Grande waterfall closeup Niyati in the wind Battling the wind Battling the wind some more Us in front of the Cuernos The Cuernos The Cuernos The Cuernos The Cuernos A Cuerno Ostrich

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