Exploring the National Treasures

SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2013
     We awoke today at the ungodly hour of 430 in the morning in order to have time to eat before our tour bus came between 5 and 530. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. At 615!!!!!! our bus arrived, FINALLY, and we took two of the last seats. Separately. In a van similar to airport transfer vans at home. We were none too pleased with the way this trip was starting, as the day tour was expensive, but at this point we were too tired to care. We passed OUT until I awoke to Jess snapping pictures of the sunrise over my shoulder. I snagged a couple

 and promptly fell back asleep. Around 9am we stopped at a gas station in Puerto Natales, the town nearest to the park, and quickly caught a few shots of the shoreline.
     Our next stop was the Cerro Castillo, the first cattle ranch in Patagonia (we think?). I was enticed by the beautiful handicrafts and indulged in a few souvenirs for me and my family. There wasn't much to see here except for a rancher driving his sheep right across the road. It took him forever, even though he had three ovejeros, sheep dogs, to help him. There were two couples and 3 other women on our tour, all Chilean, and they got a kick out of it! Jess and I are pretty sure it was staged hahah. Next, we drove to several different lakes, each more beautiful than the last. One was full of salt with white sandy shores. Another had black sands. One had clear, azure waters that you just felt compelled to jump in. Sadly, we had to resist the urge.

Los Cuernos

     Our time on our little tour bus was spent mostly talking to our friendly Chilean co-tour-ees. We all shared cameras and took pictures for each other (especially the three couples- two Chilean, and me and Jess of course!) The Chileans thought the two little gringas were hilarious, taking jumping pictures, "skinny arm" ing all over the place, and hugging all the time. We were their chiquititas and they took pictures of us as much as we did of ourselves. They looked after us, made sure we stayed with the group, and felt compelled to explain Chile's history, the biodiversity, the stories behind the origins of the flora and fauna and their names, legends, and more! It was great fun and even better practice for our Spanish. Here's the cast of characters:
                            -Claudia, the crazy one (she had everyone take sooo many pictures of her)
                            -Claudia's mom/sister (the loud one who loved to be in charge)
                            -Sandra, the one who smiled until she was in a picture and then looked sad instead, but her cute braids matched Jess's!
                            -the quiet couple who never really talked to us
                            -and, Fernando and Brisa. Fernando sat next to me and really opened up as the trip wore on. He was so sweet and by the end he was our personal tour guide, explaining all the park signs as though we couldn't actually read the Spanish :)
     Next up we visited a gorgeous cascada, a waterfall, were everyone went shutter-happy. There were just so many naturally-occurring photo spots we couldn't help ourselves! We got the mountains- las Torres del Paine, Los Cuernos- the dark black pair of peaks, and more. We climbed down some rocks to get a very lovely picture with the falls right behind us.

It was so breathtaking, but also powerful and very dangerous too; I saw broken fragments of a bridge waaaay down where the waterfall's flow met the river. Yikes!
     The second to last stop of the tour was to el Lago Grey and el glaciar Grey. We had to walk about 30 minutes from the bus just to get there; we even crossed a rickety rope bridge that had posted signs saying no más que 6 personas (I think you guys can figure that one out on your own).

The Chileans had no such qualms however, and crossed right behind us, in a big group. Jess and I were more than a little nervous! We made it to the lake and though they were more like giant ice cubes, it was a pretty thrilling sight nonetheless. The glaciers were so blue and geometric; it almost seemed like a giant sculptor carved them and left them there to float in the water. They were smaller than we thought they would be, but summer just ended so it was to be expected. Also to be expected from Chispita, the cold-loving chica (ME!) was to swim in the glacier water. Don't worry, even I knew that was crazy, but I did take off my shoes and socks and stand in it. Surprisingly, it wasn't freezing, though it was cold. Jess snapped some pictures and the Chileans went nuts documenting the loca americana with their cameras haha. They even took some of me putting on new socks and donning my sneakers again. I saw when Sandra showed me every single one!

     During the return drive, we made a 20 second stop at the Silla del diablo, the Devil's Seat. It was impressive in size but didn't really look like a chair. Oh well. And last but not least, we drove to una cueva, the cave of the Milodón. It is said that a dinosaur lives there, at least, that's what the lady in our hostel said. When we got there, we discovered that many fossils and remains were found of the first primitive inhabitants of South America. They were called ________, and archaeologists found evidence of cavemen and an animal called the milodón, a cross between several different animals and the predecessor of even more. Fortunately, none still live in the cave now, though it is full of salt and stalagmites. My friend Fernando broke a rock off the wall and it turned out to be a hunk of almost pure salt! He even brought it home with him; the geologist in me was jealous!
     The ride home was punctuated by many small conversations. Fernando and I talked about just about everything. He works for a health insurance company, and is on this trip as a prize for winning something at work! His company paid for his airfare down to Patagonia. We talked a little about health care, some about college and rising costs for students in America and Chile, loan systems in the two countries, language differences between Chile and Spain, origins and explanations of the animals we saw out the window, where we came from, our heritage, and more! The two of us chatted for over three hours together, and by the end, my brain was exhausted but I bet my Spanish improved! Haha. It was nice talking with him and learning so much about Chilean culture. He and his wife live in Santiago, but I doubt we´ll ever see them again; what a shame.
    One of our last stops was the gas station in Puerto Natales, where everyone got a little dinner, aka un completo. A completo is a hot dog with the works on top: diced tomatoes, guacamole, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup, and mayo. What a mess! I´m no fan, but Jess had her first one and really enjoyed it. The ride home was more silent than a graveyard; everyone was so tired, we all just passed out until the driver pulled up to our hotel or hostel. Sandra surprised us by taking down everyone´s phone numbers and promising to host a get-together when we all had returned to Santiago. After that, we once again blinked and were asleep in our hostel.