Cal and VA | Adventures | Chile

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Thursday, October 11, 2018 - 7:30AM After another breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese served in a small red Le Cruset Cassoulet with top and crispy bacon, toast, fruit and yogurt, Trinie picked us up from our casas. Antonio, who had been our driver, was assigned as a guide for another guest.

chilie2018 — Our hotel room had this view - so every day we had a great view of the "Towers"

chilie2018 — We stopped along the way to Grey Glacier as with every turn there was a spectacular view.

Here a closeup of the mountain and a hanging glacier high up.

chilie2018 — Punta Bariloche in the background and in the foreground is the Paine River flowing over the Salto Grande (Great Falls) from Nordenskjold Lake into Pehoe Lake at a height of 200 feet.

chilie2018 — The Horns with the green/blue lake Nordenskjold.

chilie2018 — Cal took a pic of two Upland Geese a male and female which like some other mammals mate for life. If the male dies first the female will try to find another mate but if the female dies first the male dies soon after.

chilie2018 — We listened to a Chilean music group, Inti Illimani, on our long, 2-hour drive to Grey Glacier. Then Darren and Virginia Ann did a 30-minute hike to the boat while Cal, David and Carolina hiked around the area before boarding the boat.

While hiking to the boat we spotted two condors circling - hard to get a good photo as they were moving and far away. We saw several condors on the trip.

chilie2018 — The tour boat to Grey Glacier coming through the icebergs to the dock. It did not get as close as it seems to the icebergs.

For an estimate of the size of the icebergs that is a 100-passenger triple-deck boat.

chilie2018 — Beautiful blue glaciers and chunks of glaciers that had broken off into the lake. The boat ride was three hours, followed by the hike back to the trucks and then the 2-hour drive back to the lodge.

Grey Glacier is in the background - at one time the glacier occupied the entire lake. It has retreated 2.5 miles in the last 20 years.

chilie2018 — A little closer to Grey Glacier. It was cold on deck but using the pilot house for protection, Cal was able to take pictures for all three hours.

They said the glacier was named for it's color - but it was very pretty blue the entire tour.

chilie2018 — The glacier coming down to the lake.

chilie2018 — Up close to the glacier the walls towered over the boat and had deep blue cracks.

chilie2018 — We did not see an iceberg calving

chilie2018 — The Horns with an iceberg on Grey Lake

chilie2018 — Grey Glacier has three separate lobes into Grey Lake - this is smaller one. The tour boat allowed us to see each of the three ice walls.

chilie2018 — The ice field of Grey Glacier with the mountains obscured by blowing snow.

chilie2018 — Cerro Fortaleza Chico - the mountain over Grey Glacier.

chilie2018 — Virginia Ann on the observation deck with Grey Lake in the background. She is so cute!!!

chilie2018 — Grey Glacier with Cerro Fortaleza Chico and behind it, you can see the tall spire of Cerro Punzon in the distance.

chilie2018 — Grey Glacier climbing over rocks near the lake - unfortunately it is not taking over the rocks but retreating every year.

chilie2018 — The long tongue of Grey Glacier into Grey Lake.

chilie2018 — The scars of the old glacier are clear on the sides of the mountain.

chilie2018

chilie2018 — A selfie of Virginia Ann and Cal - taken by Virginia Ann - a rare "ok" selfie.

chilie2018 — On the observation deck of the ship touring on Grey Lake

chilie2018 — Headed back to the hotel we stopped a couple of times to take in the beauty - once again taking a picture of the Horns in shifting light.

chilie2018 — The sun over the Torres Del Paine

chilie2018 — After a long drive we encountered a herd of sheep on a ranch leading to the hotel. There were several cute little lambs running about as it was spring.

chilie2018 — A guanaco poses in front of the Torres Del Paine near our hotel.

A long day and one with many sights. It was nice to get back to the lodge for beer and wine.

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