2025_26 Oosterdam, The Torres del Paine adventure begins...

Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas…  Happy Birthday Cathy! We left the ship in Puerto Montt by tender and took at taxi to the airport for a flight to Punta Arenas. Before leaving I took some photos of Puerto Montt with my iPhone as the cameras were packed for the flight. During the flight we flew over the stunning snow-covered Andes Mountains. Flying over the Andes Mountains, offers breathtaking, panoramic views of glaciers, deep canyons, and peaks over 22,000 feet. The Aircraft captain made announcements when we approached sites and the route featured stunning views of the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields, El Calafate the gateway to the Perito Moreno glacier. The scenery at this point is simply mind-blowing: immense lakes with massive glaciers flowing into them; impressive peaks; and huge chunks of icebergs floating in the lakes. The highlight is the Patagonian icefield. Finally, we could view Torres del Paine National Park and Los Glaciares National Park lying on either side of the Chile-Argentina border. We never expected to see these breathtaking sites what a bonus and probably one of our most memorable commercial flights. This was our third flight with LATAM Airlines on this trip and they are really top notch, good food and service…the captain even announced Catherine Mary’s birthday twice and asked the passengers to clap. Our guide Maritza met us at the Punta Arenas airport and delivered us to the hotel for the night. Our departure tomorrow will be really for Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine. Stay tuned…  Praying for good weather!