Sheila writes:

We're staying at Puerto Natales (about 200km north of Punta Arenas) just now and we went to Torres del Paine National Park yesterday. There was fresh snow and everything was white but low cloud and freezing fog in places meant that we got mixed views of the torres themselves (three 2000m tall stone columns that the first (British, female) explorer called Cleopatra's needles). On the other hand we got fantastic views of the Horneos del Paine - part of the mountain system which look like massive bulls' horns. We also walked across the beach at Lagoa Grey to see the massive Grey Glacier at the head of the lake - and several astonishingly bright turquise icebergs which had just calved off the glacier terminus and were floating around the lake.

The main mountain range within the National Park (the range which contains both the Torres and the Horneos del Torres) are made of granite and look really spectacular from a distance. Apparently it costs $1000 to rock climb in the National Park - but it's so fantastic I bet climbers are queuing up for the chance.

The Grey Glacier is the biggest in this part of Chilean Patagonia - at 27km long, 1000m deep at its deepest and 5-7km wide. It has been melting over the last 50 years or so (like most glaciers affected by climate change) and is now 2km shorter than just 50 years ago. We couldn't get very close to the glacier (no boats sailing at this time of the year(winter) and no time to walk along the lakeside track to the terminus (an 8.5 to 11.5 walk in from the nearest road). We're looking forward to a much closer visit to the famous Perito Merino Glacier in Argentinian Patagonia, just 10km to the north (as the crow flies - but about 15 hrs by road!) in a few days time.

We saw rheas (Patagonian ostriches) guanacos (south Patagonian llamas) and two species of fox - red and grey fox - both very tame beacuse of the tourists and campsites where they presumably get tidbits. We also saw condors and a couple of buzzard eagles - a strange species of eagle because it scavanges caracasses as well as predating small mammals.

The main type of forest in the National Park is southern beech (Nothofagus). Just now the forests all have wonderful autumn colours - and, against the white snowy background, the views were spectacular.

Back in Puerta Natales, we've found a sweet little B&B which is almost warm! (Everywhere in Patagonia seems to be cold). We've not found acommodation yet that was sufficiently warm - but apparently that's par for the course here in the south!