2025_26 Oosterdam, Torres del Paine adventure, Day 2...

Torres del Paine’s popularity is no mystery…its stunning landscapes and epic trails draw visitors to Patagonia from all over the world, and we were fortunate enough to be some of them. We left our hotel in Punta Arenas at 0 dark 30 and headed 2.5 hours to Puerto Natales.  Just before Puerto Natales we turned off the highway and headed towards Torres del Paine National Park.  Our first stop was at Cerro Castillo village.  As you approach the national park, the mountains seem to appear out of nowhere. We entered the Park by the Eastern Gate.  We soon got our first peeks of the soaring iconic granite towers at Laguna Amarga, a stunning vista with a panoramic view of the Torres del Paine and the surrounding lakes.  We spent 5 hours touring the park stopping at Laguna Azul, Laguna Larga, Lago Nordenskjol, Lago Pehoe. Rio Paine and Rio Serrano.  Our last stop was Cuernos del Paine Lookout for an image that leaves you without words, incredible granite formations in the shape of horns, formed by the erosion of glaciers. The spectacular shapes, sharp edges, different colors of the rocks and extra steep walls have made this group of mountains one of the most beautiful and amazing in the world. We all agreed that highlight of the day was the incredible weather, scenery every which way you looked and the reflections on the lakes you could not ask for anything better with the notorious weather conditions in Patagonia. Our visit to Torres del Paine easily exceeded our already high expectations…the great fame of this national park is well deserved.  On our way out of the park the vehicle broke down and we were rescued by two Good Samaritans, a bus driver and Francesca a tour guide on their way back to Puerto Natales…they kindly dropped us at our hotel.  Unfortunately, our guide Maritza had to stay with the vehicle until a replacement vehicle showed up…Makes for an interesting day!  Overnight the weather is predicted to turn a bit nasty so we will see what tomorrow brings.  In the grand scheme of things, it isn’t a major issue after coming off a perfect day in Torres del Paine…