Torres del Paine National Park

Today was my first full in Puerto Natales and I headed into Torres del Paine (TdP) National Park. This is 'the' place everyone goes to when they travel to part of the country. Many people hike/camp for multiple days on various trails. Not me. I have opted for day trips and sleeping in the comfort of my hotel and enjoying the hot tub at the end of the day.

I headed out early this morning with Polo Sur Patagonia company for a full day tour of TdP. TdP is known for its mountains, lakes, rivers and bright blue icebergs that can break off (cleave) from glaciers. Interesting wildlife all around like llama-like guanacos. It was necessary to purchase a National Park Pass before hand for easy access at the check in point once you are inside the park. I bought mine before leaving home for this trip. I think the cost was about $40.

The weather today I thought was going to be a factor as the forecast was calling for 90% rain...but I guess that depended where you were in the park...although it was cloudy for most of the day, we did not get any rain but we did get some crazy ass wind!

Our first stop was Cueva del Milodon - huge cave made from glacier erosion - very cool inside. Fossils of extinct animals have been found in the area. Our itinerary continued with various stops at all the main viewpoints and attractions along the way:
> Villa Cerro Castillo
> view of Lago Sarmiento (the largest lake in the park)
> Rio Paine waterfall was very cool
> Lago Pehoe and Lago Nordenskjold were my favourite lakes that we were able to go to
> we even got to walk on Grey Beach and see the Grey Glacier in the distance with a bright blue iceberg floating in the water
Did mention that today was crazy windy?
So windy in fact that one of the trails we were going to hike to a lookout point for the Grand Salto waterfall was closed due to high winds. But we were able to drive around and see it from across the lake. Not as impressive from the distance, but we could still see it.

We also had a stop for lunch which was rather busy because there were lots of other tour buses and people that converged at this restaurant around the same time. Our tour guide, Carla, was fantastic - she made the trip fun and informative at the same time. I met some more great fellow travellers from the U.K. and the States.

I met up with Ruth and Q from B.C. (Vancouver Island) after we all returned from our day's excursion and had another delicious dinner with some yummy cocktails once again. It has been great having some fellow Canadians to swap travel stories with...and have some laughs! They were leaving the next day, so we said "see ya later" at the end of the evening...

I took a ton of photos...shocking, I know! And considering I thought today was going to be a washout with the weather...I remained optimistic and got to see some of the most amazing quintessential sights of Torres del Paine. GREAT DAY! If I had had only one day in TdP, I would have been extremely satisfied with the places I saw. Absolutely breathtaking - even with the crazy ass wind! And I get to do it all again tomorrow!