On Friday, March 17, we got on the bus and headed north. Soon, we were in a semi-arid expanse of low, scant vegetation, with occasional herds of sheep--the Patagonian Steppe. After a while, the bus came to a sudden stop. The driver had noticed a flock of lesser rheas. The rhea is a much smaller relative of the ostrich.
Shortly thereafter, we saw our first, but certainly not our last, guanacos. Guanacos are related to camels, llamas and vicuñas and, like the last, cannot be domesticated.
As we passed Puerto Natales, there was a rainbow over the town.
As we approached the southern Andes and the Paine Massif, we saw more guanacos.
Finally, we arrived at Torres del Paine National Park and saw the Paine Massif up close. It is a small range of mountains detached from the southern Andes. Along the way, we found the bones of a guanaco.
After driving around to the south side of the massif, we got off the bus and went on a hike, into a stiff wind. The Almirante Nieto peak was to our right as we started out, and gradually fell toward our rear as we walked an hour-and-a-half or two hours.
We met the bus where the trail crossed the road, and went on to our very nice hotel, the Hotel Rio Serrano, just outside the national park. Out the rear was a panoramic view of the Paine Massif.
Dinner was good.
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