Day 17 Torres del Paine National Park

 Today we set out by bus for the Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia.  The park has several high snow capped peaks and 3 granite towers after which the park its named and the horn-shaped peaks called Cuernos del Paine.  The guide books say that it is one of the most spectacular National Parks in the world.  It has high peaks, glaciers, icebergs, lakes, rivers, forests, steppe and pampas.

We left Puenta Natales and travelled into the National Park.  Many stops were made at viewpoints and our driver also stopped when he spotted an animal or bird of interest.

We saw lots of wildlife including a scunk, Grey and Red Foxes, Condors,  Guanacos (alpaca type animals) and Rhias

Scunk

Scenic view of lake and mountains

Glacial Lake

Mountain in the National Park

River Paine

Mountains and lakes

Mountains and lake

Paul at lake edge

Guanaco

Rhea

Grey Fox

Waterfalls

Upland Geese

Guanaco shrub

Condor

Mountains

Red Fox (bigger than the Grey Fox)

Blue and White Swallow

Austral Thrush

Condor in flight

After lunch we took a boat trip on Grey Lake to Grey Glacier and it was incredibly windy.  It was almost like being back in Antarctica with bright blue icebergs some of which were quite big and the magnificent glaciers which the boat got very close to.  

Bright blue icebergs

Grey Glacier

Blue icebergs

Rainbow over Grey Lake

Blue Glacier

At the end of the day we checked into our hotel for the next couple of days and were given a lovely room with a view of the mountains.

View from our hotel room