Chile ~ Southern Patagonia

                            

Time to flip turn; Tierra del Fuego is as far south as we go! I believe we have earned our 53.3 degree south latitude honor badge for brrr-ass cold traveling even if it is the height of summer here.

         

 

We put one foot in the Strait of Magellan, hiked the glaciers of the Southern Ice Field and sat bundled up watching King Penguins in Tierra del Fuego for hours and it was worth it..... minus the cold foot and marathon trek on the glacier.  

                             

The glacier was great but the macho tour guide (which was mandatory) had his own agenda which didn't leave us any time to pause and enjoy the quiet wonder of the glacier. 

       

           

It was an entire glacial environment with lakes, rivers, water slides and ice dunes that resembled frozen whipped cream.

  

The translucent and rich hues of blue were incredible; it was a majestic living sculpture. 

Fortunately we managed to take a few photos at the cost of slipping and landing on our butts a few times as we scurried to catch up with the tour. 

Most of Southern Patagonia is miles and miles of very dry, desolate and extremely windy terrain that has been over grazed from generations of the tiny hooves of millions of sheep with voracious appetites. Not a tree in sight. 

      

We thought we might be hallucinating when we passed a mud flat in the middle of a sheep pasture and saw flamingos! Hit the brakes! 

                          

After jumping the fences and doing our best sheep imitation we tried to sneak up on the flamingos. I don’t think we fooled them but we did enjoy the show for rest of the afternoon. 

                         



The final and penultimate destination in our southern journey was to see the King Penguins. 

                           

                 

Nesting in the much warmer and friendlier environment of Tierra del Fuego than the ice of Antarctica these slightly smaller cousins of the famed Emperor Penguins have it figured out. 

                             



        


          

Like watching a ‘telenovela’ (spanish soap opera) we were glued to the inter-pingüino dynamics of the community all day.It was a spectacular albeit brutally cold day for these Hawaiians as we watched the pingüinos sunbathe.

                                    

Chile ~ Northern Patagonia

  

If you happen to be in need of a new screen saver to help you dream of travel in beautiful remote places, here’s your chance, take your pick! Everywhere we look we see 360 degrees of panoramic “Buena Vistas” here in Northern Patagonia with nary a soul in sight. 

                              

                   

The occasional exception being those few intrepid cyclists making their heroic journey across this huge and mountainous terrain.

                           

‘Aplauso Fuerte’, Indeed! Our vehicle of choice however has been a rented diesel 4 x 4 truck, it suits us better. 

                                      

                         

Who would have known that Patagonia in Chile is so overwhelmingly beautiful? Not many obviously since we have more often than not been the only one on the road. 

                         

                          

Once we got over the ‘Wow’ at every turn, and the ‘wow’ of the aquamarine color of the glacier fed rivers and lakes we started to see more of the details. 

                              

            

           

                           

Marble that was formed by glaciers a millennium or two ago. We would have loved to swim in these marble caves, the water was so clear and 'looked' so inviting.....but we would have needed full body wet suits and strong whiskey! 

Really Cold Feet!

                  

Instead we chose to enjoy the cool pure glacier water by drinking it or adding it to some whiskey!

     

 

It's a land of subtleties and extremes and the every changing quality of light, color and texture is spectacular.

 

  

Being able to go off the beaten path  has it's surprises, from spotting flamingos and guanacos to finding a cherry tree needing to be picked.



                         

                               

Sadly this screen saver may be gone in a few years due to a proposed hydroelectric dam which will carry electricity back thousands of miles up to Santiago. The dam will swallow this beautiful river but the real damage to the environment will be the 30 meter high electric poles spanning the distance putting scar across this pristine terrain.  Very sad, not only will the people of Patagonia not receive any of this electricity there will be 30% loss of the electricity before it even arrives in Santiago.  

 

"Our beautiful Patagonia ¿What wilderness will this be? It will be Hydro-Aysén. Patagonia !Without Dams!" Needless to say no one here wants the dam to be built.