Chasing Rainbows in Chile's Torres del Paine

Our bus to Torres del Paine loading up. Against the wall, James and Rebecca are chatting with Laurie

A brief stop on the Strait of Magellan to take advantage of some nice lighting. Though a nice day, it was predictably windy.

Some sort of eagle or hawk. The guides frequently stopped the bus to allow us a chance to photograph interesting wildlife or other sights.

Roadside Guanaco. These are closely related to Llamas, and are quite common on the steppes in Patagonia.

A midmorning break for coffee, restrooms, etc. We are driving north, but still closer to the South Pole than almost anywhere else!

Inside the rest stop, from left James, Sergio (our head guide), Rebecca and Mike enjoy some refreshment.

Condor in flight

Chilean Flamingo.

"Route of the end of the world" pretty much describes the highway we are following

We stopped for lunch in Puerto Natales where it was very windy and rainy. From there, this gift shop/restaurant at Cerro Castillo is the last stop before entering Torres del Paine National Park. Son is hanging on to his hat in the notorious Patagonian wind.

A Darwin's Rhea (AKA Lesser Rhea), flightless birds related to Ostriches. These are pretty common in the steppes of Patagonia

Guanaco in the thorny lowlands of Torres del Paine.

At the entrance to Torres del Paine, Susie and Roger are getting ready for our first hike. It was windy, with a threat of rain.

Sue and I are waiting, while Susie brings the rest of the group up a ridge. In the background is Lago Sarmiento.

A guanaco keeping watch on the ridge, above Lago Sarmiento.

Sergio, our head Mountain Travel Sobek guide for the trip.

Sue, in the striped hat, and Roger, with the yellow pack cover, are making way for another guanaco.

It felt like we were herding the guanaco!

Behind this Guanaco, yo can see snow fields on the mist-shrouded Torres del Paine mountains.

As we finish our 3.3 mile hike, Andre, our local Chilean guide, has found a Calafate shrub with ripe berries, which Soon is picking. The Calafate is in the barberry family, and spiny, but the berries are a bit like blueberries. It is said that if you eat them, you will return to Patagonia. So I ate them as often as possible!

Our first morning in Torres del Paine, and a great sunrise on our way to breakfast