NEC Patagonia

Day #5 January 8th, 2020 - Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Greetings from beautiful Patagonia! Today was an active day with over 8 miles of hiking, which included the equivalent of climbing 120+ flights of stairs and 23,000+ steps.  But through it all were too many beautiful sites to list.

Our day began with our usual 7-8AM breakfast. One of the interesting things about travel is that you notice the little things that are different from home. The breakfast buffet is largely familiar (although far lighter than a typical American hotel breakfast buffet), but I have no idea what to do with the bark and twigs found in the box next to the tea service:

The standard drinks for breakfast include orange juice and, less familiarly, raspberry juice:

It's good, mind you, just different! Dinner service also runs pretty late, which is why we always start dinner around 8:30PM. That's fine because it means we don't have to rush our way through the park.

We departed by bus around 8:30AM and drove about an hour into the park, with several stops along the way to view the beautiful mountains from different vantage points:

We parked at a trailhead and received an orientation from our guide Francisco. We were excited to see guanacos, a large llama-like mammal native to the area. But we were warned that where there are guanacos, there may be pumas. Our guide explained the precautions we had to take, but assured us that pumas are rarely seen in this area:

Did you read the sign so that you know how to act in this area? Good! We did see many signs of guanacos interacting with pumas. Or, at least, the remains of such interactions:

Luckily, we also some some live guanacos, mostly in the distance. They are large (a bit larger than deer), graceful, and (being unused to humans) calm around us.

We walked along a trail through open terrain. The hike was relatively easy, although there was a fair bit of up-and-down hiking. At times the trail was packed dirt, other times it was grass, and sometimes it was somewhat soft and muddy, almost swamp-like. The weather was fairly pleasant. It was sunny, but the incessant wind causes frequent temperature changes. One minute, I'd be wishing that I had shorts on. Then, a few minutes later, I had on a wool cap with 3 layers. The wind is continuous, but not entirely unpleasant; it isn't a biting wind like we have during New England winters.

The views were wide and vast, with countless wildflowers:

After about an hour, we hiked up a steep hill toward a rocky outcropping:

At the top was an overhang that formed a shelter. Ancient people had occupied this shelter and left behind 6,000-year-old rock paintings of people, animals, and hands. You can see them painted in red in the upper right of this photo:

Having reached the top of our world, we paused for water, snacks, and to take in our surroundings. Our guide led us through some meditation, where we listened to the wind (a constant presence in Patagonia). We spent 30 minutes or so enjoying the view and taking in the spirit of the park:

Fortified with the spirit of the Patagonian wind, we hiked back down and continued along the trail. After a bit, one student spotted something on a hill:

Do you see it? Here is a closer look:

Yes, that is a pack of pumas (a mother and 3 youngsters) watching us form the high ground. We were fascinated and excited to see them, but our guide hustled us away from the area to prevent disturbing them (or to deny them easy prey, I suppose!). That encounter was a highlight for many of the people on the trip! When I asked over dinner, every student said that they were excited to see the pumas, not afraid at all. But we all noticed that our guide seemed far more concerned! That's why he's in charge.

We continued along the trail for another few miles, surrounded by constantly shifting and consistently beautiful views:

At the end of the trail, our bus driver Pato was waiting for us. This hike totaled 5.2 miles, and it was fairly tiring (for me, anyway!).

We drove to a picnic spot overlooking rapids to eat our box lunches:

The spot overlooked a set of rapids framed by the peaks behind:

What do you think, is that enough beauty for one day? But wait, there's more!

After lunch we drove to a second trailhead and set out on our second hike of the day:

This one promised views of the famous 3 towers of Patagonia, which we reached after about an hour of hiking:

This spot represented, for several of us, what we had come for. The iconic peaks of Patagonia affirmed our adventurous spirit and declared our openness to new experiences and adventure.

As we walked on, we crested a hill, and were greeted by a large pack (about 50) of guanacos. We had been hoping to view them up close since we arrived in Torres del Paine, and finally here was our chance to have our very own guanaco moment!

It was not just the professor of biology who was intrigued; every student enjoyed watching the babies stay with their mothers while the males jousted in the background.

We continued on through wide-open spaces faced by the 3 towers. The terrain gave way to massive wildflower fields filled with daisies:

We boarded our big purple bus with mixed feelings. We were thrilled for the day we had and exhilarated by all we had experienced. But our moods couldn't help but be tinged with the realization that we had completed our last hike in Torres del Paine, the beautiful heart of Patagonia. We do have several days remaining to our trip, but none will be filled with the vistas we have seen in the last few days. 

Everyone is a bit sun- and wind-burned, and more than a bit tired. But this is appropriate for what we've experienced, and no one is truly worse for wear. Every student is participating fully, with clear heads and open hearts. Every one of us -- professors and students alike -- are grateful for this time together in the bottom of the world.

Please comment to let me know if you're enjoying the blog. I am happy to pass along any messages you care to leave.

Thanks for reading, and thank you to New England College for creating this immersion experience and to Holbrook Travel for making it a reality!

Best wishes from Patagonia,

Prof. Eric Simon