Puerto Natales is a port city (population 19,000) on the Señoret Channel in Chile’s southern Patagonia. It’s the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park and Bernardo O’Higgins National Park to the northwest, and the port for boats touring the Patagonian fjords and glaciers.
I traveled here by bus from El Calafate, crossing the Argentina-Chile border at a small border post called Paso Río Don Guillermo. The bus journey took slightly more than 5 hours to reach Puerto Natales.
In Puerto Natales I collected my rental car that I needed to visit Torres del Paine National Park and Bernardo O’Higgins National Park independently, both a two hour drive from Puerto Natales. I checked into a small B&B with a nice view of the Andes mountains.
On the first full day I did a 270 km circular drive through Torres del Paine National Park. Even before entering the park the views of the snow covered peaks were amazing. The Weber bridge that crosses the Rio Paine that connects Lago Pehoe with Lago de Torro was my first stop. There was a small flock of five geese that didn’t seem to be bothered with my presence.
View of Torres del Paine from Weber Bridge
Magellan geese
The next stop was at the lookout point for the Salto Grande waterfall, with its imposing water flow that comes from Lake Nordenskjöld, merging with Pehoe Lake. Salto Grande waterfall flows at an average rate of 100 cubic meters per second. I saw a heard of llamas on the hill close to the waterfall, with the snow covered mountains in the background.
Torres del Paine view from Salto Grande waterfall
Salto Grande waterfall
Guanacos
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I continued with the path and hiked 3.2 kilometers to reach the lookout point called Cuernos which displayed breathtaking views of Lake Nordenskjöld and the three horns of the Cuernos snow covered peaks and the surrounding rock massifs perfectly. The lake is named after the Swede Otto Nordensköld who explored the region at the beginning of the 20th century. Located at the foot of Los Cuernos, this lake is a true painting due to the color of its waters and the imposing beauty that surrounds it. Its turquoise waters flow south towards the Salto Grande waterfall and empty into Lake Pehoe.
Torres del Paine view
Cuernos Peaks
Lake Sarmiento
The next stop was at Lake Largo with similar magnificent views of the lake and the mountains in the background. The last stop was at Laguna Amarga (Bitter Lagoon) to view the magnificent reflections of the Torres del Paine mountains in the distance. It was a nice day with sunny weather, 8-10 degrees Celsius, but with a strong, freezing westerly wind in some locations, which felt quite cold when I was in a windy spot.
Amarga Lake
Lake Sarmiento
The next day I joined a boat cruise to the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers in the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. The cruise started with a beautiful view of a bright rainbow with the mountains in the background. We cruised past a big colony of cormorants, a family of South American sea lions and a 150 meters tall waterfall. The first glacier we saw was Balmaceda, which we viewed from the boat and the second was Serrano. We disembarked and hiked 1.2 km through a beautiful forest, with many wild flowers and berries, to the view the Serrano glacier from relatively close quarters at the end of the hiking trail. We were rewarded with a glass of whisky, served with glacier ice, upon return to the boat and then had lunch (Patagonian lamb) in a restaurant on the lake.
Rainbow on the way to Bernardo O’Higgins National Park
Waterfall in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park
Cormorant colony
South American sea lions
Bernardo O’Higgins National Park
Balmaceda Glacier
Balmaceda Glacier
Serrano Glacier
Serrano Glacier
That lamb and whiskey most probably triggered another gallbladder spasm that just got worse over time. I was diagnosed with gallstones before I left South Africa but didn’t want to cancel or postpone my trip, that has now proven to be the wrong decision. I visited the local hospital twice to get painkiller drips and medication. I decided I can’t continue in this state and I will definitely not be healthy enough to cross the Drake Passage to Antarctica or to go scuba diving in the Galapagos. The doctor recommended I get transferred to a specialist private clinic in Punta Arenas and will go there by ambulance tomorrow.
This featured blog entry was written by Malan from the blog South America & Antartica.
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