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Elusive Patagonia

Day 3: Chilean Firebush with The Horns in background
Day 3: Chilean Firebush with The Horns in background
Patagonia. How does one describe an area that is indescribable? It's a land of stark contrasts--jagged snow-capped mountains peaks, pristine lakes, and massive glaciers of mesmerizing beauty, but also a landscape of barren emptiness inhabited only by the incessant Patagonian wind. We called it ''Elusive Patagonia.'' After reading our journal and viewing our photos, what would you call it?

Photo Album

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Day 1: Landing in El Calafate
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Day 1:The town of El Calafate on the shore of Lago Argentino
Photos
Day 1: Bird and wildlife sanctuary in El Calafate
Photos
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Day 1: Landing in El Calafate
Patagonia Anticipation: Hard Mistress or Enchantress
Certain areas of the world captivate our imaginations for a host of reasons, some of which are obvious and easy to articulate, and some of which are vague, ethereal reasons known only to our subconscious and understandable only to our souls. Patagonia was such a place for us. After years of saying, ''We need to go there someday,'' we finally …
Day 1: Bird and wildlife sanctuary in El Calafate
Buenos Aires to El Calafate
After staying overnight in Buenos Aires we flew to El Calafate the following morning. El Calafate, a city that seems to exist only to service the area's tourist industry, was the jumping off point for the following day's ride to the EcoCamp in Torres del Paine. The town shares its name with a bush that grows in the area that produces …
Day 2: Mylodon Cave National Monument
Bus ride to Torres del Paine and EcoCamp
After spending the night at the Esplendor Hotel in El Calafate we took a public bus (a large, very comfortable tour bus) the following morning for a four hour ride to Puerto Natales, crossing into Chile. We passed through countless miles of a desolate landscape, unlimited expanses seemingly unaffected by time and man. At Puerto Natales we had …
Day 3: The Towers in early morning light
French Valley Hike
The early morning light blessed us with gorgeous views of The Towers -- Torre Norte and Central -- Cerro Nido de Condor, and Almirante Nieto, just above our Dome. Today was a full day of hiking. The first was a 20-minute hike to a lookout on Lago Nordernskjold and to the Salto Grande, a picturesque waterfall between Nordernskjold and Lago Pehoe. A …
Happy hiking couple in Torres del Paine
The Towers Hike
Our hike today was a 13-mile round trip, 3,000 feet in elevation gain trek that would take us to the base of The Towers, the iconic symbol of Torres del Paine Park. It was, or should have been, the highlight of our trip, on paper at least. But The Towers had something different in store for us -- an equally iconic Patagonian weather day, complete …
The Horns and Paine Grande, Torres del Paine
Lago Grey and Glaciar Grey
After two very active hiking days today was a rest day for us -- a return to the short hike to Salto Grande and a three hour boat ride on Lago Grey for a close-up look at Glaciar Grey. The weather was exceptional -- warm and sunny with cloudless blue skies and very little wind. With such beautiful weather we briefly considered returning to The …
Day 2: Sunrise in El Calafate
Travel Day
This was a travel day from Torres del Paine back to El Calafate.
Day 5: Grey Glacier up close
Perito Moreno Glacier
Today we visited another glacier, Perito Moreno, one of the world's few remaining advancing glaciers. The glacier is in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park and is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field. Francisco Moreno, for whom the glacier was named, explored the area, arbitrated boundary disputes between Argentina and Chile, and …
Day 8: Start of our hike to Loma del Plieguey
Laguna Torre Hike
Our itinerary for today said we were supposed to hike to Laguna Los Tres, a glacial lake at the base of Cerro Fitz Roy, the highest peak in the area at 11,168 feet. But the weather report called for more rain and clouds, so after talking it over with our guide, we opted to hike to Laguna Torre, at the base of Cerro Torre. Despite the wind and the …
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