Torres del Paine pt 3

The night at our third camp, Refugio Cuernos, felt like we were in the middle of a tornado. All night long, wind howled at our tent and shook it as if we were in an earthquake. Neither of us got much sleep. When we ate breakfast the next morning, we learned that two friends had a tree branch crash through their tent. They were fine, but their tent was unrepairable. Another couple had a branch sever one of their poles as it cut through their tent. They were fine as well, but also had an unrepairable tent to carry.

Still can see light at 10:45pm

Breakfast on day 4

Day four was going to be the longest day by distance at just under 12 miles. The path was a steady climb up the foothills to Campamento Chile.  After a quick lunch, we set off again up the valley to Campamento Torres which lies about 45 minutes away from the Torres themselves. One of the reasons we hiked the 'W' from west to east is so that we could save the famous Torres for the final fifth day. Some of the best views of the trip were still ahead.

Facing the sporatic rain and heavy wind head on 

Gust of wind racing across the water with a rainbow in tow

The lone boulder

Only one at a time across the bridge

Heavy wind and a smile

Raging river as we get closer to Campamento Torres

Amazing cut through the mountain

Spectacular forest

We made it to our last camp at the doorstep of the Torres. The winds were not letting up, so we picked a spot that provided good cover. There was a mix of campers on their last day, and many on their first day trekking east to west. It was clear who was which. We barely had enough energy to cook our raviolis, and ultimately decided that the sauce wasn't worth the energy to cook so we just added hot sauce. It was very tasty. The guy next to us was working three burners at once. Sausage and beans in one with a homemade sauce in the other and two types of rice in the third. We stared in disbelief as he actually twisted off the top to a personal-size bottle of wine to go with the two-course dinner. We didn't need to ask if it was his first day. We made our way to the tent and prepared for a 4am wake up to see the Torres at sunrise. The plan was to hike 45 minutes up the steep terrain until we reach the lookout point for the towers.

We made it to the top

Waiting for the sun to shine

Breathtaking view 

We made our way down and packed up our gear. It was another three hour hike back down to the shuttle that would take us back to Puerto Natales. As we arrived at the shuttle pickup, we couldn't believe that it was over. We set down our packs, walked into Hotel Las Torres, and ordered a beer. The trek was difficult, but the only memory will be of the unimaginable beauty of the park.

A much needed beer at the finish line

Once we got to Puerto Natales, we dropped off our gear and went back to our hostel. We flew out the next day to Puerto Montt, but not before Shanta finished her celebratory beer at the airport. 

She hiked Torres faster than she finished that beer!

Torres del Paine pt 2

Day 3 started early around 8am. It was a tough night since it was bitter cold. Many times during the night, we heard what we though was thunder. It turns out huge chunks of ice were falling off the mountain and crashing nearby. The sound was deafening but still had us in awe. We started with our usual meal of bread, granola, honey, and coffee that I brought from Colombia. The morning was off to an interesting start as another camper's stove caught on fire and in a panic he kicked the set into a pile of dry leaves. Not the best idea. The park ranger quickly extinguished the flames but gave the camper a harsh scolding. They don't want a repeat of the recent fire that burned over 90 square miles in 2012. The agenda was to hike the middle arm of the 'W' known as the French Valley. We would come back down the valley and continue a short distance to Refugio Cuernos. The nice part was that we didn't have to carry all our gear up the French Valley since we were passing our camp on the way down. The French Valley is an absolutely surreal landscape with waterfalls, lush forests, and towering mountains on all sides.

One of the many streams we passed

Most of the crashing ice came from this mountain

The cordillera

Traversing the forest

Amazing trees

Fearless bird

Bottle refill station

Top of the French Valley in the distance

Another view

Overlooking the valley

Taking a break

Looking down the valley

Getting closer to the bottom

We picked up our packs and headed to Refugio Cuernos

View of the lake

Couldn't believe this exists

Looks like a hot tub before the lake

Again we were wiped after day 3, but the views kept us going. Once we arrived at Los Cuernos, we found a nice restaurant with rooms on the second floor for $100+ per night. Everyone who wanted to hike the trails but did not carry any gear booked these rooms. There is an area for campers to set up their tent next to the refugio so we found a good spot and decided to check out the restaurant. The first person we saw was a man taking up an entire bench in the restaurant to get a foot massage because his room was "too far up the stairs". The price for food was steep so we bought a cheap bottle of wine, played some cards, and went to our tent. On to day 4.

The Amazon via Puerto Maldonado

Once we scoped out the various jungle excursions available in Puerto Maldonado, we decided to do three days and two nights with Monte Amazonico Lodge. Our guide, Mirko, was one of the best we've had since arriving in South America! 

Ready to see the jungle

[ clay lick ]

Our itinerary began with an early morning departure from the dock to visit one of the popular clay licks in the area. Waking up at 4:20 a.m. was well worth the experience. 

Heading off at sunrise

Look familiar?

Making moves

The clay lick is a place where parakeets, parrots, and macaws gather first thing in the morning to lick clay. There are a few theories on why this occurs. One is that since they consume some toxic fruit in the jungle, they need this clay to neutralize those toxins. Another is that they lick the sodium-rich clay for their diet, as they are not close to any ocean.  

Making their way over

Almost there

A handy guide

Scared away!

Over the course of two hours waiting near the lick, the birds got spooked several times. They cautiously make their way to the clay since predators like hawks and jaguars may be on the prowl nearby. 

A few blue-headed parrots in the mix

Most of the parrots and parakeets are green so they do camouflage very well with the surrounding landscape. We were stunned at the amount of birds, in the hundreds, that eventually came to feed. 

[ rainforest hike ]

After the clay lick, we went back to town to pick up the remaining people who would be joining us for the next few days. Then we took an hour long boat ride to the lodge and quickly settled in before taking a hike. 

Caterpillar cuddles

Walking palm tree

These thorns are used as darts by the indigenous people

Strangling tree

Huge vines everywhere

[ monkey island ]

A handful of different species of monkeys were relocated to this island after researchers were done with them 15 or so years ago. The monkeys were eager for the bananas we brought, but waited for the alpha male before proceeding. The alpha male had a big personality and would get jealous easily!

Feeding a young capuchin monkey

Posing for the camera

Alpha is not happy

This little guy is the last of his species on the island

[ caiman night tour ]

The caiman in the region vary greatly in size. During our night ride, we saw small dwarf caiman as well as larger black caiman. We even caught a quick glimpse at a massive capybara, but it scurried off before we were able to snap a pic. Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. Google image search 'capybara' and you'll see that they are larger than many dogs!

Those eyes

Getting a closer look

Out and about

[ lake sandoval ]

On our third day, we made our way to the reserve around 6 a.m. We had an hour long hike to the lake, where we then took a canoe out to see more wildlife. 

Tambopata National Reserve

Creepy crawler

Termite mound

Another tree older than a century

Playing with a giant ant (that does not bite)

Looking for parrots

Spotted!

They love the hollowed out palm trees in the area

Perfect place to have a seat

Almost to the lake

The crew

Bats line up this tree to appear larger to predators

Rowing through lily pads

Two howler monkeys playing around

Almost missed that caiman!

Happy that the weather cooperated 

[ night hike ]

On our last night, we were all set to scope out the local tarantulas, which are bigger than my hand! Despite the rain, Mirko was able to show us the nocturnal animals lurking around. 

What a tiny frog

Bigger than the crickets in Waco

Luring a tarantula out 

Protecting her babies

These pinktoe tarantulas make their nests on tree trunks

No, these were not Halloween decorations! Tarantulas were all around, but very docile. After one last night on the lodge, it was time to leave the heat, insects, and sadly, Mirko.