Christmas Break Patagonia Style: Milodon & Penguins (Part III of Our Chile Visit)

We slept in and woke up to a sunny day.  This was slightly disappointing, since we knew we had to leave before the afternoon.  Luckily we had some additional fun activities planned for the day which made the departure somewhat bearable. 

Here is our breakfast view at Hotel Lago de Toro.  Even without a kitchen staff they were able to provide guests breakfast each morning.  Javier mocks my stubborn USA mindset regarding breakfast in other countries.  I think I am fairly open-minded in our travels, but breakfast in South America tends to include toast, yogurt and some sort of granola (with coffee and juice).  Rarely do we find eggs at breakfast (a pretty standard addition to this meal in the USA).  I'll admit that I have a bit of a love affair with scrambled eggs and was complaining by the end of our trip about how I couldn't wait to fix them when we arrived home.  (Who in their right mind could be complaining at breakfast with a view like this one?)

We took one last walk around the little community of hotels just outside of the park to bid adieu to the glorious view.  Then we hopped in the car and headed back towards Punta Arenas.  Now...you've seen all of our amazing pictures from the trip (including the one above), but Javier swears his favorite part of the trip occurred on our way out.  We stopped at a little lookout for some last pictures of the park and saw a CONDOR!  Now I know they're rare and that this sighting was lucky to say the least, but favorite part?  I don't think so.  Regardless, the surprise and shock of the condor means we have no photographic evidence to prove it, just the twinkle in Javier's eye when he recounts the tale.

Our drive out of the park was muuuuuuch sunnier and clearer than our drive in, so we stopped regularly to try to document some of the teal waters and snow-covered mountains.  The views were pretty unbelievable.

We had also been warned about the crazy winds that covered the area during the summer.  Miraculously, we really hadn't had to deal with much wind, but the drive out was an exception.  Our (rented) car door almost flew off the hinges when I accidentally flung it open mid-gust.  This didn't, however, stop me from asking Javier to get out at every lookout to attempt a 'better' picture of us with the view. (If nothing else, I'm certainly relentless.) 

First stop on our 'Still Fun to be Had' list in Patagonia was the Milodon cave. 

What is a milodon you ask?  Fair question because the milodon has been extinct for thousands of years.  I am familiar with the milodon only because the Cabezas household includes a clay figure of the milodon in their dining room table nativity every year.  I know it was purchased in Chile and has some sort of sentimental value, but past that the story evades me.  Needless to say, I was curious to learn more about the fascinating yet insignificant creature at one of its original habitats right here in Patagonia.

Here we are with the milodon.  Terrifying isn't it? 

The cave was ginormous though (can you see Javier standing in the center of my photo for reference?).  Scientists have discovered that the milodon inhabited the cave prior to an increase in temperature that brought green plants and the extinction of the milodon in the area.

A view of the mountains from inside of the cave.

We made it back to Punta Arenas for lunch.  We were a bit rushed our first time through, but this time I took a second to notice and appreciate the black-necked swans swimming around the lake.

As lame as it may be, we decided to go back to the same restaurant we went to the first time through: an adorable creperie.

I loved their big coffee poster that illustrated the different brews customers could order (including a few with rum, baileys, or whiskey!!).

If you're stopping through Puerto Natales, the Cabezas would call this a must-stop spot.

After lunch we had to quickly get back on the road in order to make our next fun planned event.  Along the way we were frantically scanning the horizon for the last Patagonian animal I had yet to see: the nandu.  Javier remembered seeing bunches of them during his trip almost 10 years earlier, but their camouflaged feathers sometimes made it difficult to spot them grazing in open fields (darn nature...).  Regardless, we got lucky and were able to spot a few close to the road so that I could brave the wind (yet again) and snap a few photos!  Can you spot the nandu?

Our last fun stop was to see.....PENGUINS!!  Javier was so excited to show me the penguin reserve located just outside of Punta Arenas when we arrived on Christmas Eve, so we were insanely disappointed to learn that it was closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  However...this meant we could end our Patagonia adventure (instead of starting it) with these furry friends.

Megellanic Penguins are nicknamed Jack@$$ Penguins because of their call.  They throw their heads back (as the penguin in the back of this picture is doing) and make this honking noise to attract other penguins.  They did perform this ritual several times while we were watching, but it didn't detract from their adorableness in my opinion.

The reserve was very windy and included roped off areas of beach and the surrounding grasslands where the penguins had made their nests.

We were surprised to find that they often traveled in lines, moving from the ocean to their nests and back.

Please tell me that this penguin butt is not the cutest thing you've ever seen.

Here we are with the penguins (they seem far away in the picture, but they felt quite close while we were watching!)

His little face and tuxedo coloring....I can't.

It was super interesting to watch them on the beach, especially those coming out of the water from hunting.  I was surprised at the number that were lying down (we assumed to sunbathe and dry off from their ocean swims?).

My pictures can't illustrate their little waddle walks, but if I could have scooped one up to bring home with us, I 100% would have.

Penguin-covered beach, no biggie.

It's easy to personify adorable animals, but how could you not imagine they are holding hands in this little group circle?

Or giving sweet cheek kisses to their sweethearts? Javier knew I'd love seeing these little guys and the experience (once again) did not disappoint.  After such amazing scenery, it was cool to see some shockingly special animals.

We stayed the night a few hours at this adorable little hostel before our super early flight back to Santiago.  Our eventful and fun-filled trip back made our departure a bit more bearable.  Plus, I had the sunny beaches of Vina del Mar to look forward to on the trip.  (If you ever need to pull me away from a good time, the temptation of a beach is always a good place to start!)

Christmas Break Patagonia Style: Base de las Torres and Mirador Frances (Part II of Our Chile Visit)

We woke up to a perfectly clear and bright day.  We packed up and checked out of our hotel early because we knew the hike we had planned might be difficult and take some time.  For availability reasons, we had to switch hotels mid-stay (although this turned out to be a lovely blessing).  We were ecstatic to see the beautiful day that greeted us since we had our big hike planned. 

I had to take this picture to show you the view we had as we drove into the park.  Our hike this day was to Base de las Torres (if you're keeping track, this hike covers most of the right/northeast portion of the famous W hike in Patagonia).

The sign says only two people on the bridge at a time...yikes!

The first part of the hike was a gradual hill (which is why my face is a bit red), but not so bad as to keep me from obliging this tree's request.

After the first hour of a rocky, uphill path, we circled around the mountain to see the trail stretch out between the sloping mountains and babbling brook below.

You can see the trail cut along the mountainside.

It was a truly breathtaking view along this stretch of the hike.

The sound of the brook came and went as we'd cross its path periodically along the way.

While I've never actually been to Colorado, I kept saying that the babbling brook and lightly snow-dusted hills made me think of what hikes in Colorado must look like.  (I'll blame one too many Coors Light commercials. complete with snowy mountains and fresh running streams.)

This was what the last part of our hike looked like...lots of huge rocks, very dusty, and distinctively in the upward direction.

Our first sighting of the Torres bolstered my resolve and helped me finish the last of our hike.   

The trail is incredibly well kept (although very muddy after the snow on Christmas Day) and included these signs periodically to mark our distance and elevation.  This one shows the elevation of the last 1 kilometer of our walk.

We had arrived!

I had done surprisingly little research prior to our trip (not typical for me) and had no idea of the view waiting for us at Base de la Torres.  It was pretty unbelievable, complete with lake and jagged cliffs.

It was funny to find this little community of groups that had made it up the long trek and were camping around the lake for a little break.  We found a spot on a large rock to enjoy the last of our snacks and take in the view.

Again...what a view.

The view on the way down was pretty beautiful too.  The snow-covered mountains create constant waterfalls that cascade down the hillsides.

We had to drive about an hour within the park to get to our starting place for this hike.  On the drive back I took some pictures of the Torres peaking out from around the mountain.

While the park was gorgeous every day that we visited, it was incredibly hard to top this sunny day.  This made the drive more than tolerable, and I found myself snapping pictures through much of it.

Including this one of a guanaco, having a snack on the side of the road.

It's a bit sunny (not that I'm complaining) but we stopped on the way home to show you the little community just outside of the park where both of our hotels were nestled.  It provided great access to the park and beautiful views of its own.

Here are some buildings within the community.  The mountains are just towering in the distance.

I've said it to many people that have asked about our trip, but I'll tell you readers as well...I just didn't realize there were places like this on Earth.  Seeing them in person was surreal.

We checked into our second hotel, Hotel Lago del Toro which was just about the most adorable hostel ever.  It wasn't super convenient to move hotels mid-stay, but I was so happy we got the chance to stay at this place.

We had one of the two rooms upstairs.  It was HUGE and completely perfect.

Javier's Grandma Pat once told us that she and Javier's Grandpa Tom used to take pictures out of the windows of the places they stayed to remember their views (good or bad).  It's a tradition that we have picked up on our travels and this one seemed well worth documenting.

The only complaint we had about Lago del Toro was that the kitchen staff never showed up, so we couldn't eat dinner at the hotel.  Instead we walked across the street to a little restaurant.  The food wasn't worth writing about, but the sunset we were able to watch from it was.

It was amazing to watch the colors change over the snowy mountains.

The mountains in the park were the last places around to catch the light.

And then it almost appeared as if they caught fire.

Unbelievable.

Here was our little hostel with setting sun and mountains in the background.

We were a bit disappointed the next morning to see clouds and a bit of rain greeting us.  (Although it did create this lovely rainbow!) We had planned a trek to the French lookout located between Campo Italiano and Campo Britannico.  It cuts through the French Valley along the W hike.  The plan was to make it to the lookout and assess if we wanted to keep going all the way to Camp Britannico.  The hike to Mirador de Frances was the same distance as the hike to Base de la Torres, but much flatter overall. 

We had to take a ferry across the lake to start our hike. (This also meant we had to return to the ferry in time to catch it back which played a part in our planning of the day...).  The start of the hike was greener than our others and offered some interesting flora sightings.  The berries above are calafate.  They are native to Patagonia and flavored many of the beers we tried during our stay.

Little bell flowers lined the path.

More purple flowers reminding me of my Nana.

Pink little plants that looked like wheat were everywhere.

It was very cloudy, but every now and then the towering cliffs overhead would make an appearance.  Per usual (or at least our new usual), waterfalls were everywhere and fed down into streams and brooks that crossed our path.

Here is an example of said brooks, and one where Javier stopped to refill our bottles with glacier cold water.

We crossed a wide stream and caught our first glimpse of the glaciers that surround the lookout we were heading for.  This picture doesn't do them justice as they seemed huge; larger-than-life.

The hike through the French Valley provided some beautiful views of the park across the lake.

And lucky for us, the weather continued to improve so we could enjoy the views surrounding us on all sides.

A bit misty, but amazing scene of the teal lakes down below.

Before we reached the mirador we were stopped by the echoing sounds of an avalanche.  We had heard these sounds the day prior, sitting by the lake of Base de la Torres.  It was crazy how the lake and cliffs amplified the sounds of tiny rocks rolling down the hills and into the lake.  This avalanche, while still very far away, also created a loud enough crash to cause us to stop our walk and scan the glacier until we found its source.  A video might have been better, but I think you can still see the little downfalls of snow falling from the glacier.

Getting closer.

We arrived at the Mirador and were surrounded (although from afar) by thick glaciers hanging on to the mountain side.

I'm disappointed in my photos (again...per usual), but I wanted to try to show you the thickness and vastness of the glaciers.

It was raining a bit again, but we stopped for a snack and a few photos.

Maybe this gives a better picture of the frozen rivers cascading down the mountains.

While a sunny day might have made for some better views, the cloud cover gave a mysterious and kind of cold view looking up at the mountain.

Javier attempted to take a few panoramic photos that more or less provide a feel for the lookout.

I snapped this one as we were hiking back down and it ended up being my favorite from the day.  We were continually looking back as we walked away, trying to grab last glimpses of the gorgeous snow.

After we walked out of the valley, the weather improved and some of the mountains came into view.  This picture also shows some of the bare and twisted trees that we walked through along the path.

Here is a view of the mountain and lake we were walking along.

The lake was pretty beautiful itself, and completely untouched.

We made it back to the campsite where we were going to catch the ferry back in time for some beers.  The beers were delicious after such a long walk and the view we had while we drank was still pretty spectacular. 

I mentioned that we were debating walking all the way to Campo Britannico after Mirador Frances, but once we saw the beautiful sights (and had walked so far) we decided it wasn't worth it to push our timing with the ferry.  We overheard a somewhat funny conversation at the Mirador.  A group of guys arrived and were looking at a map, debating if they were going to continue to walk all the way to Campo Britannico.  One basically summarized it this way, 'Look, are we hiking the W just to say we've hiked the W or are we hiking the W to see cool stuff?'  While a part of me would have liked to be able to brag our completion of the W, I believe that we saw some of the best parts of it.  Personally, I think we found a great combination of taking advantage of the park and seeing a lot, while returning to a warm bed and hot shower each day (important qualification for any 'vacation' in my mind).  As we started the trip, I was so nervous it wouldn't meet my growing expectations.  As I'm sure you can see from our pictures, the experience was well above and beyond.