Chile: More Patagonia Adventures

THROMBOLITES & GLACIERS

Yesterday I took a day off, sort of. The Chief Penguin went on the 10 hour excursion to see the Grey Glacier. It involved an hour and a half by van over bumpy unpaved roads, followed by walking over a swinging suspension bridge over water, and then about 30 minutes trudging on the beach to a boat. It wasn’t super windy, but not placid waters either, as the boat took an hour to get to the glacier and then spent an hour observing the glacier, and then an hour back to shore to repeat all the previous steps—with a barbecue lunch (steak) and whiskey in ancient ice sandwiched in!  He had a wonderful day, took hundreds more photos, and was led by super guide Javier and accompanied by the two Japanese and a delightful couple from Britain.

  
So, what did I do? After breakfast, I walked the trail behind the hotel which goes down to the foot of the lake, Lago Sarmiento, that is. The trail is very sensibly marked with bright red stakes that stand above the low plants. The distance to the lake is deceptive; it looks very short, but there’s a slight rise and then a dip that you don’t see before you reach the water.  Of course, it was windy, windy!  That’s the ongoing theme here, but not as windy as when the C.P. and I went out late afternoon the day we arrived and it was so blowy, we turned back almost immediately. Today’s walk was worth it.

This is an area without trees, a steppe, and scattered about are grasses, herbs, and small woody shrubs. There are calafate bushes and some teeny tiny purple flowers as well as white ones.

And, when you really arrive at the lakefront, there are large whitish outcroppings on the beach that look like stones, but are actually thrombolites. These ancient formations are made of a specific type of bacteria, aragonite shells of gastropods, and sand, all enclosed by a structure of calcite magnesium. Thrombolites are similar to coral and are only found in Mexico, Australia and at this lake. What I saw, touched and even photographed are millions of years old!

Lake Sarmiento is a lovely blue color and is 4 miles wide, 14 miles long, and more than 1,000 feet deep. Standing looking at the lake, you get beautiful views of the Paine Massif, a set of mostly snow-capped mountain peaks.

ANOTHER EXCURSION
Today Javier took just the Chief Penguin and me with a driver further west in the park to a couple of lookout spots and to see Lago Nordenskjöld (header photo), Salto Grande (waterfall), and some great views of three jagged peaks that are the Cuernos or Horns.  On the way we saw a number of herds of guanaco plus a mother Lesser Rhea (ostrich relative) and her brood of baby chicks.

Unlike the previous days, it was sunny, warm, and not windy!  So much so that we began to shed layers of outerwear and didn’t need hat or gloves!  It was a lovely morning’s outing, and as always, Javier was the perfect guide.  He even brought cookies and scones and some tasty hot chocolate for our last stop!

This hotel (Tierra Patagonia) and its guides go out of their way to ensure the comfort and safety of the guests, but also to make sure they have a good time!  Basilio, the head of the guides, checked in with us at lunch to see how our morning went, and the hotel manager pops up everywhere chatting with guests and inquiring if everything is to their liking. A super place!

The food here has been excellent also (we’re eating too much) and sampling, some of us, all the specialty drinks.  My compatriot and I have both tried the pisco sours and the calafate sours, but he’s gone me two better tasting the Patagonia sour and a mate sour (bright orange in color) that is very herby and supposed to give you energy.

Tonight we will enjoy our last dinner gazing at the lake. Tomorrow morning, we leave at the unhealthy hour of 4:30 am for the four hour ride to the Punta Arenas airport. LATAM Airlines cancelled our afternoon flight to Santiago so we are now on one mid-morning.

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).