Los Cuernos and much more
So what to do with our next day and last day of car rental? We thought about the French valley tour (also part of the W) but this is longer than the base camp trail and also steep. We felt like something easier this day, we were quite sore from the day before. J didn't think he evered walked so far in his life.
So thanks Google we found some easier day hikes to take on during the day. Our navigator (J...) for the day (and all other days) made some minor mistakes that made us worry about gas and had us enter a different entrance than we imagined. Although the other entrance was a lucky mistake because the scenery to go there was breathtaking. But also so windy. The wind picked up day by day. At the end of our base hike we had very strong winds and today they were evident already at the morning. Although this part of the park was supposed to be more windy.
We took it easier today and when we reached our first mirador (look-out point) we stayed there and enjoyed the wind free place for probably an hour or so. Very chill. This mirador went through quite the wind tunnel though but it changed during the trail, less than an hour of walking and very easy for such a reward in the end, Los Cuernos. J liked these ones so much more than the towers. I must agree, they are stunning, more majestic. Different colors with magma on the top.
From here we drove once again to the Amarga entrance point, familiar views but from the other direction. Gravel all the way since the morning. We decided to continue to the blue lake that could only be reach with a rented car. It's also here you are most likely to see a puma if looking for them, although usually in morning or the evening. I'd love to see a puma but only from the security of the car. None of us felt like meeting one of the way. The advice if that was to happen was to remain calm, stretch yourself to look big and look the animal in the eyes while making loud noise.
We were a bit worried about gas now but reached the lake with well enough to get us back home. It was late in the evening and we've seen so much on the way and during the short hike that we just strolled around outside the car but decided to skip the hike since it was getting late. We'd seen a car upside down in the beginning of the day so one should be fresh for driving...
The lake itself was nice but nothing compared to our earlier experiences. A lot of animals here though. Guanacos especially, saw none of them on our way to the torres. We also had a strange encounter with a ranger here (you go outside the park for a while so they wanna see your ticket again). Everyone else was very professional and never made any closer contact but this guy kissed me on the cheek after checking our tickets and giving us some information about the place. Very weird and not pleasant. As for tickets we payed 21 000 CLP and as long as you stamped them you could use the same ticket for three days. Quite good after all. And yes foreigner price.
So after the blue lake it was time to head back to Puerto Natales once again. But the nature experiences hadn't come to an end just yet...
Because guess what we stumbled upon on the road back? The road that connects to the highway some time before Amarga entrance (much more popular) and with few cars. I yelled ostriches and slowed down the speed while J took photos and videos. Later we learned (thanks to J) that this was not at all ostriches but a rare species (very similar to an ostrich in my defence) named lesser rhea. The population has declined and subspecies in the north are endangered so this was a lucky encounter!
After this lucky evening we drove back to Puerto Natales to return the car. Well in time but unfortunately in time for traffic chaos. And our rental company was located on a very busy street. Let's sum this up as a chaotic return with a lot of misunderstanding due to language miscommunication. We didn't find any parking spot and thought the rental company guy wouldn't let us park somewhere else and the rental firm thought we weren't going to return it. Apparently they are very surprised when arriving some hours early. Thanks to some help from our hostel staff everything turned out fine though. But believe me it was not fun before we sorted it out, so many one way streets in Chile and especially in Puerto Natales. And they are not clearly marked so a GPS is deeply appreciated.
After sorting things out we returned to our hostel, cleaned up and went out for one last supper. We ended up at our regular place since we had bad luck before and it was getting late as usual. We celebrated our time at this beautiful surreal place on earth (Torres del Paine) with a glass of wine. It's like going back in time coming here. So so recommended!
Ciao,
S
So thanks Google we found some easier day hikes to take on during the day. Our navigator (J...) for the day (and all other days) made some minor mistakes that made us worry about gas and had us enter a different entrance than we imagined. Although the other entrance was a lucky mistake because the scenery to go there was breathtaking. But also so windy. The wind picked up day by day. At the end of our base hike we had very strong winds and today they were evident already at the morning. Although this part of the park was supposed to be more windy.
 |
| Lago grey (Grey lake) |
We took it easier today and when we reached our first mirador (look-out point) we stayed there and enjoyed the wind free place for probably an hour or so. Very chill. This mirador went through quite the wind tunnel though but it changed during the trail, less than an hour of walking and very easy for such a reward in the end, Los Cuernos. J liked these ones so much more than the towers. I must agree, they are stunning, more majestic. Different colors with magma on the top.
 |
| Siesta |
From here we drove once again to the Amarga entrance point, familiar views but from the other direction. Gravel all the way since the morning. We decided to continue to the blue lake that could only be reach with a rented car. It's also here you are most likely to see a puma if looking for them, although usually in morning or the evening. I'd love to see a puma but only from the security of the car. None of us felt like meeting one of the way. The advice if that was to happen was to remain calm, stretch yourself to look big and look the animal in the eyes while making loud noise.
We were a bit worried about gas now but reached the lake with well enough to get us back home. It was late in the evening and we've seen so much on the way and during the short hike that we just strolled around outside the car but decided to skip the hike since it was getting late. We'd seen a car upside down in the beginning of the day so one should be fresh for driving...
The lake itself was nice but nothing compared to our earlier experiences. A lot of animals here though. Guanacos especially, saw none of them on our way to the torres. We also had a strange encounter with a ranger here (you go outside the park for a while so they wanna see your ticket again). Everyone else was very professional and never made any closer contact but this guy kissed me on the cheek after checking our tickets and giving us some information about the place. Very weird and not pleasant. As for tickets we payed 21 000 CLP and as long as you stamped them you could use the same ticket for three days. Quite good after all. And yes foreigner price.
So after the blue lake it was time to head back to Puerto Natales once again. But the nature experiences hadn't come to an end just yet...
Because guess what we stumbled upon on the road back? The road that connects to the highway some time before Amarga entrance (much more popular) and with few cars. I yelled ostriches and slowed down the speed while J took photos and videos. Later we learned (thanks to J) that this was not at all ostriches but a rare species (very similar to an ostrich in my defence) named lesser rhea. The population has declined and subspecies in the north are endangered so this was a lucky encounter!
After this lucky evening we drove back to Puerto Natales to return the car. Well in time but unfortunately in time for traffic chaos. And our rental company was located on a very busy street. Let's sum this up as a chaotic return with a lot of misunderstanding due to language miscommunication. We didn't find any parking spot and thought the rental company guy wouldn't let us park somewhere else and the rental firm thought we weren't going to return it. Apparently they are very surprised when arriving some hours early. Thanks to some help from our hostel staff everything turned out fine though. But believe me it was not fun before we sorted it out, so many one way streets in Chile and especially in Puerto Natales. And they are not clearly marked so a GPS is deeply appreciated.
After sorting things out we returned to our hostel, cleaned up and went out for one last supper. We ended up at our regular place since we had bad luck before and it was getting late as usual. We celebrated our time at this beautiful surreal place on earth (Torres del Paine) with a glass of wine. It's like going back in time coming here. So so recommended!
Ciao,
S
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