And so it begins….





While we await the arrival of the rest of our 15 member hiking group here in Puerto Natales, Chile we took the opportunity to take a one day excursion into what is probably the most famous National Park in Patagonia - Torres del Paine (pronounced PIE-neh).  Our quick view of the park was amazing.  In addition to the spectacular vistas, we were fortunate to see some of the most unique wildlife that Patagonia has to offer, including:

Guanacos:  a relative of the llama, alpaca and vicuña and a member of the camelid family (but without the hump).  Guanacos were an important food source for the indigenous tribes that inhabited the area, as well as the early European settlers.  Today guanacos are protected in Chile - though not in neighboring Argentina - so their meat is widely available in local restaurants.  It’s quite tasty!



Andean Condors:  considered to be the largest bird of prey in the world with a wingspan exceeding 10 feet!


Puma:  Better known in the US as a cougar or a mountain lion, Patagonia has the highest density of pumas in the world (which is not to say that they are easy to spot)!



We’ll leave it at that for now - don’t want future posts to disappoint!  I’ll be back with another post at the end of our Patagonia trip, hopefully with tons more of Melanie’s great pics.

Happy Holidays and stay warm!

Love, Elan and Melanie 




 



Comments

  1. Michelle GloumeauDecember 15, 2024 at 1:51 PM

    Enjoy your adventure. Fabulous pics as always!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1.1December 17, 2024 at 10:27 AM

    Fantastic pictures and update. Have fun. Pet a Guanacos for me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Feliz Ano Novo!!!

Image
  After a few days checking out the highlights of Buenos Aires - Recoleta, Boca, Palermo, Puerto Madero and Casa Rosada (the Presidential Palace) - we came away very impressed with the city.  Definitely the most charming city in South America that we’ve visited so far.  Then it was off to Rio for New Year’s Eve. Our hotel, overlooking Copacabana Beach, threw a New Year’s Eve party that was not to be believed - definitely the EPICEST New Year’s Eve we’ve ever experienced! (Yup, “epicest” is a word - at least according to the Urban Dictionary 😎). The hotel was decorated to the nines: And the view of the music and fireworks on Copacabana Beach was perfect.  As adventurous as we are, we were very happy to be viewing the events from the hotel balcony, rather than being among the estimated 2+ million revelers who gathered on the beach to party.  I guess our age is starting to show….. 😢 We officially declared today (by the hotel pool) and tomorrow (on Copacabana Beac...
Read more

Bolivia II: La Senda Verde, Sucre and Potosi

Image
 When we began planning our 3 month adventure trip across South and Central America, we knew we wanted to start in Patagonia and work our way northward, but to be honest Bolivia wasn’t really on our radar, until I saw the website for La Senda Verde while searching for wildlife volunteering opportunities in South America. La Senda Verde, or The Green Path, is located in the subtropical eastern flank of the Bolivian Andes (right at the end of the famous Bolivian “Death Road”, but that’s a story for another day).  Founded in 2003 by a Bolivian couple, Vicky Ossio and Marcelo Levy, the mission of La Senda Verde is to save and provide a second chance for wild animals rescued from illegal trafficking and habitat loss. Hard to argue with that!  Vicky and Marcelo are incredibly devoted (they sleep with baby animals in their bed when necessary, from bear cubs to monkeys) and their commitment is inspiring.  [Interesting small world anecdote:  their son went to the Berkele...
Read more

Bolivia I: La Paz and Salar de Uyuni

Image
 After our civilized weeklong respite in Buenos Aires and Rio, we moved on to La Paz - the highest capital city in the world at 11,975 feet above sea level - and met back up with our friends JP and Annamaria. I must confess that I knew almost nothing about Bolivia before arriving, except for the fact that this is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a shootout. Bolivia (officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, due to the fact that it recognizes 36 different indigenous nations) is the fifth largest country in South America by area, and one of only 2 landlocked countries on the continent (they still hold a grudge against Chile for having “stolen” their access to the sea in the Pacific War of the late 19th century).  Bonus points if you know the other landlocked country without looking at a map…. Bolivia is also the second poorest country in South America.  The economy is a disaster.  The official exchange rate is <7 Bolivianos to the $USD, b...
Read more