Patagonia Chile First Impressions

Friends! It has been a little over a week since my arrival to Patagonia and things are moving along quickly.  It is much different than I expected, but then again I am in a brand new hemisphere and that is to be expected as well!  The journey to Patagonia National Park (PNP) was long; I spent over 23 hours on airplanes before reaching Coihaique, the regional capitol of the Aysén region.  After spending the night in a hostel, I rode a bus southward, past mountains like Cerro Castillo, and along massive deep blue lakes.  Towards the end of the ride, the rio Baker, which is the largest river by volume in Chile came into view.  This river is the site of the highly controversial HydroAysén project, a massive hydroelectric dam that is currently being permitted.  PNP is located just north of this site, which is the confluence of the Baker and rio Chacabuco, which flows through the park.  

Bustop headed south from Coihaique to Patagonia National Park. Cerro Castillo in the background.

PNP is a large property that was formerly an Estancia or sheep ranch.  It was purchased through the efforts of Doug and Kris Tompkins, who have invested millions of dollars in conserving areas of South America.  All of the staff and interns currently live at Estancia valle Chacabuco or Chacabuco Valley Ranch.  The Estancia is buzzing with activity; a lot of infrastructure is being constructed before the park opens next year, including several large buildings with luxurious architecture.  Valle Chacabuco is a massive valley running east to west seated below large mountains on either side.  It is windy country, primarily grasslands densely populated by the Guanaco, a long necked rusty brown colored relative of a llama.  A diverse population of birds also makes this valley their home and I am able to see Black Faced Ibis, Upland Geese, Caracaras (bird of prey endemic to S. America) and many others on a daily basis.  A few hours walk down the road one can even visit the bright pink Chilean Flamingo at Lago Secco, or Dry Lake.

Curious Guanaco

Yesterday I returned from an overnight backpacking trip atop cerro (Mount) Tamango, which is a peak that overlooks the Estancia where we live.  It took us several hours of steep climbing to summit but once on top the whole thing opens up into a diverse landscape of lakes, beech forests, and grassland.  The land of the puma!  There were tracks around Justin and Kates tent this morning and elsewhere around our campsite!  The night before we went out to a big overlook to watch the sunset and got to see the full moon rise almost immediately afterward through some clouds.  That and the 360-degree views of big Patagonian mountains made for a night to remember.  On the hike down yesterday we were on a steep slope, and immediately after watching a flock of parakeets fly behind a hill a massive andean condor soared into sight below us.  It wheeled around a few times as it rode thermals up right in front of us, so we all got to get a great look at it with naked eyes and binoculars.  Sweet!

one of the many lakes on the Sendero de los Lagos Altas "trail of the high lakes"

Cerro Tamango to the left. Cerro Timpanago with the snowfields to the right.