12/2: Perfect Patagonia Day to Laguna Azul & Guanacos Galore!

Hosteria Pehoe where we stayed for two nights in the center of Patagonia's Torres Del Paine National Park had probably the most beautiful location of any place we have eve stayed. It was situated on a tiny island in the middle of the sea-green Lago Pehoe so the views all around the hosteria were nothing short of phenomenal. What a shame that the accommodation and breakfasts didn't come anywhere close to matching the scenery.

After breakfast at the hosteria which was located in the center of the park, we headed north toward Mirador Nordenskjold. The landscape in that part of the park was totally different than what we'd seen the last few days as there were no trees, just low-lying shrubs. 

In Torres Del Paine, there were more than 14 lakes and lagoons in addition to 3 waterfalls, rivers, mountain glaciers and snowfields that fed the abundant biodiversity of the park.The park had four 'biotic provinces,' a term that meant they were defined as ecological zones in which about 520 species of vascular plants coexisted.

I think I mentioned in one of the first posts about the park that 'Paine' means 'blue' in the local Aonikenk language, not because the lakes had a gorgeous blue color, but because the park's signature mountains become 'blue' according to some positions of the sun. In the background was Lago Nordenskjold. The small body of water in front of the lake was Meglizas Lagoon.

As we were in no rush to get anywhere or be anywhere, we decided to take a break and get out of the car and take advantage of this spectacular scenery all around us. We walked down a hill toward the water where we sat on an itsy bitsy, shale-filled beach. I was surprised to see what looked like coral along the beach and in the shallow water.

It was pretty glorious spending some time relaxing with views like these to admire and no one else around, let me tell you.

Back on the almost deserted road, we continued to head north toward the park's boundary. We were treated with the sight of a lone guanaco.

One of the park's first explorers, Florence Dickinson, left engravings that depicted the park's nature in 1879. Twelve years later, the park was settled by ranchers. The first ascent of one of the large peaks was made in 1937. The two biggest peaks weren't climbed until twenty years later, the same year that the Grey Lakes Tourism Park was created. The park was declared a national park in 1959 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1978.

The hosteria by the Amarga entrance to the park:

By Laguna Amarga, we climbed a short hill, found a spot with lovely views of the mountains and the valley in front of us and plopped ourselves down for well over an hour to read and absorb the beauty. I was reminded of Hermann, one of the guides on our recently completed four-day Patagonia cruise, and his advice to take in the 'Patagonia moment.'

We must have been very quiet because a guanaco came within three feet of us and was our companion for a good while!

After a delightful rest, we drove further north to the Cascada Paine aka Paine Waterfall over the Rio River. The Paine River watershed began in the cold Southern Ice Fields where the Dickson, Zapata, Tyndall and Grey glaciers were started.

In the background were the Andean Mountains. To the left of Rio Paine was pre-Andean shrub land with hard and small leaves which had adapted to save water. This biotic had great evaporation, variable humidity and direct winds.

A little further on there was a large herd of guanacos en route to Lago Azul, the northeastern entrance to the park, and our last destination for the day. The guanacos weren't the least bit skittish when we approached by car, or when I got out to get closer.

Funnily enough, just yesterday our Denver Post had a beautiful photo of guanacos at Torres Del Paine National Park in the paper as part of an article on a BBC TV series!

The park's majestic torres or towers:

Our first view of Lago Azul or the aptly named Blue Lake:

Before reaching the lake, there were yet more guanacos and some black swans in the ponds. Were we ever thrilled we'd made the effort to drive this far in the park as there were few other tourists compared to the southern and central areas of the park and the views were simply sublime.

The field in front of the lake was chockablock full of poppy buds but only a few were blooming. Can you imagine how fabulous the field must look when all the poppies were blooming?!

I made sure Steven stopped the car so I could take a photo of the 'guanacos crossing' sign!

Livestock use and more than 250,000 annual visitors to the park have caused the introduction of many invasive species to the park.

As we headed back southeast around 5, we were beset by strong winds. They no doubt helped shroud the mountain tops with wispy clouds.

Strangely enough, there were no distance signs anywhere we'd driven in the park which we both thought was highly unusual. As we continued to the northern part of the park, I remember keeping an eye on the gas gauge as the closest gas station was a good four hours away!

Home sweet home at Hosteria and Lago Pehoe once again!

The footbridge to the hosteria had certainly seen better days judging by all the gaps in the wooden planks and how uneven they were!

The breakfast that morning at the hosteria had been so deplorable that we decided to eat at the nearby Camping Pehoe Restaurant. The meal options were all full dinners so we shared a steak and a glass of Chilean wine. As the steak was only a 1,000 Chilean pesos (a minuscule $1.25) more than chicken, you can bet we chose steak even though normally chicken is my go-to meal in a restaurant!

The restaurant almost emptied out when one patron noticed a caracara bird outside! We only were able to identify it after speaking to a group from Ohio who had just arrived at the park in their big RV.

The day had been one of our best days ever because of the combination of to-die-for views virtually everywhere we turned, masses of guanacos, almost deserted roads to explore the northern reaches of the park, spots to just sit and take in the beauty around us, all topped off by a delicious meal with jaw-dropping views with the best company!

Next post: Salte Chico Trail and meander back to Pampa Lodge on our last day at the park.

Posted on Steven's birthday, January 18th, 2020, from our home in Denver.