Sunrise on the southern Andes from Puerto Natales.
What a day. I’m exhausted – ten miles with a steep drop of 1500 feet in the last half mile.
The day dawned bright and clear with a breathtaking view of the Andes on the far side of the sound. After breakfast, the entire group emerged from the hotel to take advantage of the light, clear sky, and backdrop for portraits.
We left the hotel (HosteriAustral), which was located on the waterfront at the usual appointed hour of 8:30am. The drive into the park started on pavement but then went to gravel. It didn’t slow us down as we continued at about 60 mph.
The valleys we traveled were predominantly grasslands for sheep farms/ranches called “estancia”. Any forest was up on the mountain sides. It was about a 2.5 hour drive to our starting point, the Hosteria Lazo, where we were served a late morning snack of a broad and varied array of pastries with coffee and tea. This hotel is situated on the park’s border and we literally walked out of the hotel grounds, on Laguna Verde, into the park.
Sunrise on the southern Andes from Puerto Natales.
More of the same.
More picturesque shots.
A view looking north towards the park.
Another view - this is the pass we travelled to get to the park.
Olivier, Russ, and Sandy.
Sandy and Lavon.
Russ and Olivier.
Stan and Janice.
Yup, me too.
Lavon.
Jonathan.
Everyone!
Mountains in the distance.
Same with zoom.
Plains.
Stretch stop - everyone off the bus.
More majestic views.
Purple flowers.
The mountains of the national park.
Photo op with Lavon, Dennis, Sandy, Russ, Sue and Len.
A vanguard of sheep.
More sheep.
The view from the Hosteria Lazo.
Posing for the camera.
The remarkable array of pastries provided us at the Hosteria Lazo.
Maria preparing for the walk.
Just a 'few' more photos.
Loading up for the trek into the park.
Sue and Len waiting to get started.