Torres del Paine, Patagonia

Once we arrived in Santiago we thought, well we made it this far lets got to the bottom of the continent. 1500 more miles and we were at our destination, Chilean Patagonia. A place I knew little about, Mark had dreamed for years of seeing this part of the world and trekking in the serene Torres del Paine National Park. A mecca for climbers and rated one of the most amazing parks in the world we were lucky enough to five days exploring. The park is huge and there are tons of hotels, hostals and campsites. You can see the park several ways from day trips on buses to catamaran rides to several different trails. We chose what was called the ¨W¨ loop. This hike can be done in 4 or 5 days. Each day we hiked about 4-6 hours to get to our campsite or hostal. The day we arrived at the park I was shocked at how cold and windy it was. As we waited for the catamaran to take us across the lake it started to rain and as I put on all my layers I thought, what did I get myself into? A short hour later we were on our way 11km to our first destination. With about 30 pounds on my back I was cold no more. The first day we were treated to walking through a beautiful snowstorm. The kind that melts as it hits the ground. Combined with the scenery, it was magnificent. On the way Mark suddenly made this yelpy noise. Not sure if he was hurt or what I rounded the corner to see a huge blue lake littered with icebergs. Beautiful!! If I included every detail it would be a novel and maybe we will write one someday, but for now please enjoy the pictures.