It IS the road to the end of the world!!!

Hola, Amigos! We have spent much of the day in Torres del Paine National Park. For this I have waited about 15 years! Sure I had seen photographs, but the images are all around us--360 degree view of wonderful sights! But let me back up to the beginning of the day...

Another early departure (8:00), another long bus ride, this time across the pampas!!! And we saw gauchos, though they can be called something else here in Chile, 'gauchos' in Argentina. Still they ARE gauchos. They don't wear hats with brims because of too much wind, instead Basque berets--supposedly more Basques here than in Spain! That felt comfortable to Kay and me. One day you will see a photo of the three gauchos with their dogs: our bus stopped to see them and, as we examined them, they peered at us as well!

We saw several animals today: a fox (unusual to see, but we were quick), a European hare, guanacos--many, many guanacos, cara cara (a large scavenger bird), rheas--several females lay eggs in a single nest and the father incubates and raises them though the mortality rate is high, condors including a juvenile who flew low enough to see the 'fingers!,' black-neck swans,  flamingoes----did you know there were flamingoes clear down here??, and some kind of meadowlark with a bright red breast.

We began to see the Paine Massif at least an hour-and-a-half from the park. So exciting, a thrill to see!

A box lunch was provided so we could keep moving, and we were hiking by 3:30. There had been a fire in that area only two years ago, and low plants have already filled in around the white ghosts of trees. Lovely colors--complementaries, actually: red violet and yellow green. Just stunning, I kept taking pictures of it with the magnificent massif in the background.

It was a four mile, two hour hike to see  Glacier del Frances and Salto Grande (waterfall). Breath-taking vistas! We stood for photos and moved a few feet to have another taken--endless sights to see--all wonderful! It took an hour to reach our hotel after the hike, all on gravel roads--kind of narrow gravel roads, a little dicey for two buses to pass, but the drivers are excellent--especially OUR driver, Roberto!

Tomorrow an earlier departure (7:30) for a boat ride to see a glacier up close, box lunch again, and another hike--hooray!!! Until then, amigoes--buenas noches!