Patagonia — blog — Jun Baniqued Images

September 27, 2022 at 2145PM we were still sitting at the the runway of Orlando International Airport. We were trying to catch our international flight to Santiago in Miami for our epic trip. This is a trip that took Bob and I almost a year to plan- its logistics and itineraries are all delicately tailored for a 13-day venture to Chilean Andes and Patagonia; and yet we’re still here, stuck and under the mercy of MCO airport air traffic controller to give our plane a go signal to take off.

the view of Miami before we land from our flight from Orlando.

Florida was experiencing a Category 3 hurricane and that was what holding us to depart from our original time. There were chaos every airports- Orlando was closing at 12 midnight, Tampa was at locked out, and Miami was a complete stand-still. These were the circumstances happening all at the same time. What we thought a cancelled trip because of hurricane Ian- miraculously, our plane from Orlando to Miami started flying up and up the turbulent clouds. Finally, our first plane took off two hours later from the original time we boarded in Orlando.

We had then enough time to transfer to our second plane in Miami to Santiago, Chile. Once again, it was a bit shaky after the initial take off but not quite as bad as when we took off from Orlando- then it started to get smooth. Next thing we know, we are thousands of miles away.

We made it to Chile!!!

I will divide this trip to Patagonia into 3 Parts: getting acquainted to Chile- which consists of the first days of knowing the cities (of Santiago, Valparaiso, Punta Arenas, and Puerto Natales); the hikes; and other worth-seeing tour destinations.

GETTING ACQUAINTED TO THE COUNTRY.

Our Day 1 and 3 were tours of Santiago and Valparaiso. We have a little bit of “rest” from the flights we took and our guide brought us to the main city that same day- our first day. We started our city tour at the foot of Santa Lucia Hills, climbed up to the top overlooking the high rise buildings and the panoramic view of the city. Santiago is home for the tallest building in South America- the Gran Torre Santiago. After spending sometime at the top of Sta. Lucia Hills, we went down and walked towards the art district in town. I was amazed of the talents of the people I see. It reminded me of the art district we once passed by while walking the streets of Old Quebec City.

Santiago has also unique architectures with Spanish influence- places like the Chilean national library, presidential palace, and other government establishments we passed by- similar to the old Manila in the Philippines and most latin American countries I have been. As we navigated through the inner-most avenidas (avenues) the more crowd we see. It is always nice to see the authentic soul of the new place; and this is what I like about guided tours. Of course, any visit to new places, expect that we will atleast see one catholic church 🙂.

On our 3rd day we explored the vibrant town of Valparaiso. This is similar to Manila’s Port Area/Manila Bay except that Valparaiso’s main attraction is up the hills and overlooking either the colorful houses situated on top of the hill or the view of the water and the aduana (port). Whichever side you look, they are equally picturesque. Our tour guide told us that this is the place to party when you are young😉. True enough, when we were out and about, there are more than enough young adults we see.

One thing I noticed was both streets of Santiago and Valparaiso are full of beautiful murals. They are everywhere. I think these two places have the most I have seen in any places I have been. I must say, Chileans must know how to channel their artsy talents.

On the same day after half day tour in Valparaiso we went to Casablanca. This is the wine valley of Chile. I must say, after the tour of the vineyard, the wines are all equally excellent like the best French wines I have tasted in the past.

But we had a setback. For some reason, our guides had a lapse in judgement during a trip to the winery. As we got into the car to go back to our hotel after the best wine tasting we ever had, Bob realized his backpack was missing; so I looked for mine immediately. Unfortunately it was gone too.😭

Villa Veramonte Vineyard in Casablanca, Chile

We were able to make it through the busy streets of Santiago and the fast paced crowds of Valparaiso with no incidences. But in a place that was supposed to be a very secure vineyard, Our guides put their guards down and left the car unattended which resulted to a break in our vehicle and our bags being stolen. 😢

What were taken: my camera bag, Bob’s back pack, my drone, two prime lenses, clothings and other small items for my camera and cash.

What was not taken: our fun to continue to explore the beautiful country of Chile.🇨🇱

We are safe and we’re OK. Bob and I were so thankful for the police station 63 in Curacavi that accommodated us in filing our police report along with Felipe our guide and Gabo our driver.

Michael Jordan once said, “Always turn a negative situation to a positive experience.” And I will leave today’s experience with the same mantra.

THE HIKES.

trekking the Andes with our guide Sebastian and a Canadian hiker Mike, and of course Bob😊

We begin our real adventure with the hike in the Andes on our Day 2. Our guide Sebastian drove us atleast two hours to the north of Santiago in San Jose de Maipo. This is a three hour trek of San Jose Volcano that eventually led us to Valle de La Engorda. When we finally found a place to settle, we had our lunch while admiring the panoramic view of both the volcano and the Andes.

This hiking experience here in the Andes was spectacular. When I thought the hike we did in Minturn, Colorado was amazing, this is waaaaay amazing. When we were in Colorado, the view of the rockies and its snow-capped mountains was such a treat from a distance, but this time it was a feast. The snow in the Andes is within reach. Its pureness is unbelievable that we even tried drinking the melting snow. This is really one unforgettable hike Bob and I ever made.

Top Photos: 1. Bob trying to drink the melting snow; 2. the descent from the mountain; Bottom Photos: 3. the welcome sign to Valle de la Engorda; 4. the Andes mountain ranges;

the Panoramic view of San Jose Volcano and the Andes ranges.

It was quarter past one when we begin our descent. I felt like that our bodies had started to adapt (atleast this was what I’d like to believe) in all the elements in this hike. Almost a year of training in the gym and mind setting- all worth it.🙂

Next stop, Patagonia!❤️

Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales are the offshoots for our main visit to Torres del Paine National Park, the heart of Patagonia- Though both places are already parts of the Patagonia region. Both towns are quaint, reminded me of Puerto de Limon- a fishing town we visited in Costa Rica in 1997. They are also hilly and scenic when you climb up the highest part of town. This was what Bob and I did on the days that we didn’t have tours or after our last tour of the park. Once again, we’ve seen a lot of murals in most of the buildings; not to mention that it was windy all these times as we walk- something that reminded us of the days in the winter when we lived in Princeton, MA.

Torres del Paines National Park.

After three combined nights from both Punta Arenas (one night) and Puerto Natales (two nights), we finally made at Torres del Paines National Park. We spent four days/three nights here.

Top Photos: 1. the start of the hike with eight members of our group; 2. the uphill/downhill trail; Bottom Photos: 3. the last 1km of rocky steep trail; 4. Bob and I during initial ascend.

The major hike happened on Monday. The goal was to climb the base of Torres del Paines. It is a 22km (my I-watch recorded 24km)/10hr hike. Divided into three parts- the uphill/down hill to the base camp, the hike to the forest, and the last 1km (or more) of rocky uphill trek to reach the base of Paine Massif.

There were 8 members in our group: our guide- Pablo, 3 Israelis, 1 Mexican Lady, 1 Portuguese, and Bob and I. The first hour we were all trekking at the same pace, but then somewhere on the hilly parts of the trail, the Israelis took off. We still see the Portuguese and Mexican from a distance, but then eventually, we lost sight of them too. Bob and I on the other hand, remained on our slow steady pace in the terrainous up and down hill trail. Hours later, we reached the base when all of them were waiting for us.

I couldn’t recall how much time we spent at the base. But what I remember was that not long enough, after I finished a bar of granola, we again started a trek. This was the second leg of the hike.

Bob and I kept the same slow steady pace. The trail has more vegetation and shaded but a lot of ups and switch backs. Bob was trekking ahead of me. I let it that way so I know he was not logging behind, and at the same time I could watch his steps. I liked the fact that we were doing this hike. We were on a mission. This is our bonding moment together, and again with nature- here in Patagonia.

I feel so proud of my hiking accomplishment! ❤️

From time to time we will see Pablo patiently waiting for and checking us. He did this a couple of times until we didn’t see him for long until the second stop after more than a couple of hours. At this time both Bob and I are extremely exhausted and we have a decision to make.

The next 2kms consist of rocky, very steep terrain (more or less about 60degrees inclination) that we will climb up. With the pace we have, Pablo said it could be another couple of hours for both of us to reach the base of the park. There is no doubt that Bob can definitely do it, but reconsidering the factors which include the degree of difficulty, the snow, the wind, etc. it may cost him all the energy he had and nothing remains during his descend. It was then we decided that he’ll stay and I will proceed. In all honesty, I was hesitant to leave him while I go. But he pushed me to, there’s should be atleast one of us to see the base of the Paine Massif when after all this is the main reason of this epic trip. It was a smart decision in retrospect.

After asking if Bob’s gonna be alright ( it was actually I more of assuring myself to be honest) Pablo and I proceeded. What my eyes saw next was a jaw dropping terrain. WTF was the words I uttered myself. For a second, I thought of going back and just joining Bob. I wasn’t sure what I got myself into- the steep and rocky descriptions were understatements. I took some deep breaths and I just said a little prayer and proceeded. Meanwhile, Pablo was navigating the trail like a walk in the park.

One of my wise professors said, “If you want to have an exceptional life, you have to put yourself in exceptional situations. Break outside your comfort zone and open yourself up to new opportunities through a challenge that's equal parts physical, mental, and spiritual.”

So I did it on my own pace. I stopped so many times that I could no longer count. Each time I look up, I felt my legs were about to come apart and the trail seemed to be never ending. It was a good decision that Bob didn’t proceed. I felt all my energy has been drained too. I passed by a group of hikers who were descending, and told me ten more minutes, so I pushed my self more and miraculously, Here is the base of Paine Massif.. Here is the heart of Torres del Paines right before my eyes!!!

I did it! I climbed the base of Patagonia!

The descent if not, was equally brutal than when I was climbing up. With little energy left, I just left my legs do whatever they want. I was a “Gumby” as Bob would always describe me whenever I come home tired and complained about standing for so long at work or doing a leg workout at the gym.

Just like when I was climbing, I was slow and always the last from my group. I wasn’t sure how long it took me to get to where we started, I didn’t track it anymore- in my mind all I want was for the day to be over so we could go back to the hotel, take a warm shower and sleep. More or less 3.5 hours and I saw the familiar trail where we began the hike. I was glad. I was happy as well that Bob emerged from the van. All I prayed when I was hiking on my own after we left him at the second leg was his safety going back. Thank God for this experience, it redefined my beliefs in myself.

WORTH-SEEING TOURS IN PATAGONIA

The remaining days at Torres del Paine consist of half day tours and mini hikes to different trails within the park. Lago Grey Hotel, the hotel we stayed within the park is such a convenient lodging. The day after the epic hike at the base of Torres del Paine, we drove around the park. This activity let us see the different areas one can appreciate of Patagonia. We stopped for some minutes to appreciate the wild guanacos crossing the road, I think we did half of the loop driving; enough to see the other side of the mountain and to see Salto Grande, a thundering waterfalls in the Park.

On Sunday before our trip to Torres del Paine National Park, we had a half day tour to the Monumento Natural Los Pinguinos in Magdalena Island. These are Magellanic Penguins. The mating season happens between late September to early March when the adult male penguins begin to arrive in the colony to breed. The penguins can be as much as 120,000 count during the peak of the season. We were just so lucky that we saw some of them in their natural habitat; some were upclose too- or would walk beside you! After almost an hour of roaming around the park we boarded the boat again and navigated through Isla Marta, where all the sea lions hang out. We didn’t really get off this island but we watched the sea lions continuously honk at each other for sometime then we headed back to catamaran.

Photos: 1. Bob and I infront of the massive Grey Glacier deposits; 2/3. Bob and I goofing with a piece of an iceberg floated to the shore; 4. A big chunk of iceberg separated and floating on the lake waiting to melt;

Lago Grey Glaciers. It was convenient for us that we stayed at Lago Grey Hotel. By Wednesday our Day 8, we took a three hour boat tour trip to Lake Grey Glaciers. I never seen one so this was an exciting thing to experience for both Bob and I. As we sail closer, we have spectacular views of radiant, blue ice, floating icebergs in turquoise-grey waters and was feeling the Patagonian wind on our faces. Such a delight!

The sight of the 98-foot (30 mts) walls of this impressive ice mass in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field was phenomenal! The close-up views when the boat stopped moving was absolutely breath taking; not to mention that while we mentally amass the view of the glaciers, the sights of Paine Grande Mount and Paine Massif were also virtual treats. With such a new experience, I felt like a kid in a candy store🙂.

I learned in this trip that Chile is among the top 5 countries that has the most glaciers.

In the afternoon after our boat trip, Bob and I decided to walk to the lake. It was a two mile easy walk (yes, in the summertime the ice melts and over flows to where we were walking), but the wind was brutal- its about 60mph wind gusts in an open space and it was literally blowing both of us. The closest we experience something like this was during our vacation in Cape Cod in 2011 with Hurricane Irene. Bob had so much fun with this one as he loves the wind.

Day 9 was supposed to be watching the condors at the outlook. This one, Bob again was excited about. On our ride to where we are going to start our hike, we saw a group of three condors gliding with the strong wind. It seemed to us its a family, as the one was smaller compared to the other two. Our guide told us that the small ones must be being taught on how to fly by its parents. “School day,” she said. Makes sense🙂.

last hike at the Condor Outlook and Lago Pehoe.

By the time we begin our ascend, the wind started to pick up. After trekking for approximately 45 mins to an hour, we reached the peak to condor lookout. From a distant we still see the family of three until eventually they faded away. Unfortunately we couldn’t capture any of these as my telephoto lens was one of the stolen items from our bags in Casablanca; also the wind became too strong for the birds too fly and for us to stand. Our guide Claudia just surprised as with cookies and tea while enjoying the 60mph breeze and the view of the mountains. Shorlty after we began our descent. This was our last major itinerary. The rest of the day we made out (laugh out loud).

The last two remaining days were spent mostly by starting our journey back home. We left Lago Grey on Friday afternoon to Puerto Natales; spent one more night here and even explored the area briefly for the last time. The following day we flew back to Santiago where we spent another night until Sunday then off to the airport to fly back to the US.

Indeed this was an epic trip. ❤️