NEC Patagonia

Day #3: January 6th, 2020 - Last Hope Fjord, Patagonia, Chile

Today was one of those days that, upon reflection, seems much longer than merely one day! We began in the city of Puerto Natales at our hotel located on the fjord:

We enjoyed a traditional American-style buffet breakfast that also features a few unfamiliar fruits and some wonderful baked goods:

Fortified with Patagonian coffee, we loaded our bags into the bus, put on our warm layers, and headed toward the fjord that would enthrall us for the next 6 hours:

We boarded a large catamaran that held about 40 people. Our group took over the room on the top deck.

We set off for a 2.5 hour ride up the fjord. The day was overcast and fairly cold. But the predominant weather factor in Patagonia is the wind. It blew incessantly and with great urgency. At times it howled so hard that I worried about me or my possessions being blown away!

The views were stunning, with dark green water, cliffs that begin with green vegetation toward the bottom giving way to multicolored bands of rock higher up, cloudy skies with the occasional patch of brilliant blue, and large birds swooping overhead. 

At the end of the fjord, we left the boat for a hike toward the Serrano Glacier. We hiked for 20 minutes or so along a large lagoon with a glacier spilling into it:

The glacier was in view the whole time, beckoning us forward, until we finally reached the end of the trail, where the glacier spills into the fjord. We all gaped in awe for quite a while, admiring the deep blue color of the ancient ice:

It was a singularly beautiful and impressive sight, so please excuse me if I share a few too many photos!

This photo gives you a good sense of scale if you view the people toward the bottom left corner:

After so much anticipation, planning, waiting, and traveling, to finally be in the presence of this massive ancient beast proved to be awe-inspiring. None of us wanted to leave.

We hiked back along the lagoon, stopping at a few more vantage points to take one last look:

We returned to the boat and chugged back into town. The ride back was with the wind, so it was not nearly as rough and choppy. We enjoyed box lunches (rice, locally farmed salmon, fruit, bars, water) on the way:

Upon arrival back on the dock, we were met by our driver Pato. He brought us into the town of Puerto Natales where we exchanged US dollars for Chilean pesos (1:750), stocked up on water, and indulged in my tradition of treating all the students to local ice cream (which was basically like American ice cream, but with some exotic flavors such as one that was interpreted to us only as "sky" flavor):

Having indulged, we drove about an hour north to a national park called the Milodon Cave. This large, wide cave was carved into a mountainside by an ancient sea. It is named for the 6' prehistoric sloths that roamed the area (and became extinct about 10,000 years ago, about 1,000 years after the arrival of people). We followed a trail through the impressively large cavern filled with interesting conglomerate rock formations:

The giant sloth serves as the mascot for this region of Patagonia and its likeness can be frequently found. The professors couldn't help but pose with this life-sized statue:

Having completed our primary adventures for the day, we loaded on the bus and drove two hours north into Torres del Paines National Park - the heart of Patagonia. We made our way along twisting bumpy roads to the Hotel Lago Gray within the park. We checked into our rooms and then gathered in the dining room, which features spectacular views of the mountains, water, and glacial icebergs. Tune in to tomorrow's blog for photos from this hotel!

We had a late dinner (around 9PM) of pumpkin soup, salmon ceviche, beef/potatoes, and flan. The sun still lit the sky at 10PM as we parted for the evening. We had a long, tiring, but inspiring day.

Everyone is happy and healthy and having a great time. Each and every student has embraced this opportunity for all it is worth. We are so grateful to New England College for making this experience possible!

Thanks for reading. Please comment below to let us know you read this far.  :-)

The Internet is a bit spotty around these parts, which explains why the photographs are lower quality than I'd prefer. Please be patient with updates and remember that no news isn't bad news, it just means that we are struggling getting online!

Best wishes from Patagonia,

Prof. Eric Simon