We had an early start to get to the national park. It was about a two hour bus ride from Puerto Natales via cerro castillo where the border with Argentina is. We saw lots of wildlife on the journey:
Rhea
Condors
Guanecos
Black-crested buzzard Hawk
Hare
Today we did a long walk up to the Towers (three granite peaks rising to 2850m, part of the Paine massif mountain range) and the lake in front of it. Next to them are whats known as the horns - cuernos del Paine. Absolutely fantastic. Such spectacular scenery. Im in my element here! Weather was hot and sunny and no wind. We had a packed lunch by the river and then the last hour was a bit of a climb to the viewpoint, around 400m in 1km. The weather was completely the opposite of what is expected in Patagonia, and we were frequently told, this is not really Patagonia!!!
We finished the 18km or so walk at around 8pm and went to our private campsite which was in a field with a view straight across to the towers. The tents were put up in a line, and the dinner was ready! There was a little wooden hut and inside was a table with our entree laid out. We also got a pisco sour (aperitif) and wine, steak and potatos and a dessert. It was not like any wilderness experience ive had before but was really amazing! There were even hot showers.... Glamping..... It was a comfortable night in the tent with Aimie. The Patagonian night sky was clear as anything and also stunning, everything was visible.
