I picked car rental up from AVIS car rental at 10:00am this morning. Seemed straight forward, but very minimal English was spoken. Got on the road and covered many roads that were bordering the Torres del Paines Park. I chose not to go in the Park today, because once purchase the pass you must use in 3 consecutive days and it was already early afternoon by the time I reached the Park border.
I drove on the Y-290 road which was all gravel the entire distance. Along the way, I passed the Cueva Del Milodon Natural Monument and it was cloudy with spitting rain. I continued along the road for approximately 35km and decided that I should go back to the Natural Monument as I did not plan on traveling on this road again. Upon arriving at the Natural Monument, it cost 5,000.00 Chilean Pesos for the visit. This region is one of the most important paleontological sites of South America. Through archaeological digs in this area, they found bone fragments from the Mylodon and ancient cave dweller artifacts. A few of these items were on display at the information center.
This was quite a large area and I only visited the Mylodon Cave and the Middle Cave. My first part of the walk was up to the Mylodon Cave. The path to the Mylodon Cave was well worn and this is where most tourists would visit. It was a nice walk, and was quite a huge cave. Apparently these caves were formed from waves that hit inside the cave, when there was much more water in the area. In the photo with the mounds near the mouth of the Mylodon Cave, these were formed by archaeological digs and also from looters that would find bones and artifacts that they could sell for huge profit.
The paths to the other caves were less traveled but worn enough to follow. Along the path, I saw many flowers including what looks like yellow lady slippers.
When I hiked up to the Middle Cave, I found it very quiet and not another person was around. In entering the cave there was a little fog inside which created quite a creepy sensation.
After looking around I made my way out and it had started to rain heavier by this time. I made my way back to the car.
Continuing my drive back down the gravel road on Route Y-290, I worked my way to the Serrano entrance and Ranger station. Along the way, I stopped at a few viewpoints and took some shots of the mountains. At the last viewpoint before reaching the Serrano entrance, I took some photo’s of the Andean Condor [Vultur gryphus] on the cliff edge by the large lake, Lago del Toro.
My final stop on this road was at a viewpoint above Villa Serrano in which I captured landscape photos of the area including the village below.
On my way back along Route Y-290, I turned off onto a side road by Lago Portreno which would eventually connect onto the main Highway 9. This gravel side road was a welcomed change as there was very little traffic on this road and seemed better maintained. The Route Y-290 was very rough and narrow. Vehicles travelling the opposite direction seem to think it is a main highway and speed by you with very limited distance between the vehicles. I was anticipating a broken windshield, at the speed they were travelling. This side road was uneventful with not much to see. When I finally hit the paved road I turned left onto Highway 9 and made my way to the only other side road that ends at the border of the Park. Just a short distance down Highway 9, I turned left onto a gravel road that went to Estancia Lazo, or if you go to the very end, Guarderia Laguna Verde.
I was very pleased to have taken this road at this time of day, approximately 5:30pm. Along this road, I saw my first herd of Guanaco’s [Lama guanicoe]! These animals were about the size of a small elk, but most certainly bigger than a deer. They had a face of a lama or camel and man can they ever run fast.
Further down the road I was some movement in the distance. I pulled over and pulled out my camera to see a Rhea (Similar to Ostrich) with young ones running behind the mother.
After driving for about half an hour, the road came parallel to the lake, Lago Sarmiento de Gamboa. The color of the lake was a beautiful aqua color and with the mountain in the background along with the large coral type rocks on the shoreline added to its beauty. I did not continue any further up the road, but made this my turning point. I stayed here about half an hour admiring the beauty and taking photo's.
On my way back out, I drove over a crest in one of the hills to find a Rhea crossing directly in front of me. I had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting it. I took a few photos of this Rhea which seemed a little skittish, but made for some great shots.
I headed back to Puerto Natales and fuelled up the vehicle. The gas gauge did not go down that much, but it cost 20, 000.00 Chilean Pesos [approximately $40.00 CDN]. I guess I will take it somewhat easy in the driving. LOL
I went to Unimark to buy some groceries to eat over the next few days while visiting and hiking in the park. The grocery store had a lot of bare shelves … no water, limited choices left for cookies, bread, etc. This store was very busy and had sold out of many items. I was shocked to see eggs not in a cooler, but placed on a regular shelf.
After picking up my items, I waited in a line of one of the aisles about halfway down the aisle. Each aisle was a line and all the tills were open … so busy!
I stopped at a little restaurant for a Chicken Quasadilla and beer. Here when you sit at a bench and others would sit beside you. There were two ladies from South Korea sitting on the end of the bench and a guy named Nick joined me. Eventually the four of us were talking about our travels and the two ladies were studying for their four day hike and camping experience that the prebooked. They were hiking the entire trail! Nick was from England and was hoping to book a camping trip, but they were all full.