Pain, Ice in Torres del “Pain”-e!

Well, Ron was overly optimistic and it appears he did crack one or more ribs so it’s been a mellow no-three-sport-days for him. Thankfully, the last couple of days here in Torres del Paine have allowed for some pretty spectacular views so he feels like he’s been able to experience the place as he sits quietly, reads, naps and tries to heal.

Thankfully, I’ve been able to get out and explore with other guests here at the lodge. I walked out to see a water fall at Mirador Toro but sadly it snowed most the way out there so no real views were had. We did try some Chaura berries (mushy apple like flavor) and some Indian Bread mushrooms (old chewy gum and no psychedelic aspects – so not sure why you’d eat them 😂).

Here at the Explora Lodge you have to choose your activities the night before. We were hoping Ron might feel better to do a short hike but we learned that evening that the only weather window to hike to the Grey Glacier would be Wednesday which there was no way Ron was going to be up or a 7 mile up and down hike described as “rocks with river’s running thru them”. I headed out early with a small group of hikers where we took a small boat (my second least favor method of transport) across Lago Pehoe to the Refuge Grey where we would start our hike to the Glacier Grey. Off we went with a rather quick pace considering the terrain and muddy conditions as we had to get 7.7 miles down the trail to catch our boat back! Thankfully, the weather held and we were able to take a few photo stops along the way. It was very exciting for me to see my first iceberg up close! The Bailey’s with coffee also helped.

We made the boat in time and were treated to an up close look at the Grey Glacier as it encircled La Isla. I’m told there is hike called the “W” which takes 4 days to do but if you want to do the “circle” it will take you 8 plus days to circle around the Glacier. Reservations for the very few campsites are released in August and sell out with in a few days – reminded me of our attempt to get permits to the Enchantments. I’m not going to mention to Ron that there were 10 kayakers playing in the water around the icebergs….though the wind was blowing pretty hard and I almost lost my IPhone as the gusts knocked me down!

Ron did venture out to take the same boat (at a different time) to be able to do the round trip tour of the glacier area. What the hotel failed to mention to him was it was almost 2 miles from the parking lot to the boat dock over round river rocks since the tide was way out. So many thanks to his driver Andres who gently helped him walk to the boat and was there waiting for him to walk him back after the round trip boat ride 3 hours later. Andres was so concerned about Ron as he’d had experience broken ribs a few years ago and could completely understand his pain. He even went so far as to walk in such a way that blocked the 50 mph wind gusts from knocking Ron over. That man earned our respect and a great tip for making it even possible for Ron to see the glaciers we had traveled so far to see!

This morning (Thursday). I headed out on a short hike to Lago Nordenskjöld. I wanted to be back in time to enjoy lunch with Ron as the entire hotel has gone off to do a traditional Chilean BBQ leaving Ron as the only guest here! Normally, the wind can be brutal on this hike with a sign that warns you not to even go out if the wind is blowing but adventure out we did. When we arrive at the lake the water was almost glass like. Our guide had never seen such a calm day –

This beautiful hike gave us a close up view of Cerro Paine Grande (9022’), Cerro Fortaleza (8848’) and Monte Alimirante Nidro (8759’). The iconic peaks of Torres del Paine. We also were able to view the Salta Grande on the Paine River one of the largest waterfalls between two lakes – the Nordenskjöld and Lago Pehoé.

Ron wanted share the metaphoric photo he took during his early morning walks on the aging wood trail circumnavigating the lodge property. Also included are the spectacular views from our room.

Tomorrow morning we head out for the 8 hour drive to El Chaltén and we say goodbye to our new friends