Unfortunately I still felt sick in the morning, but the weather was beautiful - the wind had stopped and the clouds were gone. We had breakfast and left at eight thirty. We drove about an hour and stopped at the Park Administration building which had a relief map that helped explain the geological forces that had created these mountains. The Andes are about sixty million years old while the mountains of Torres del Paine are much younger at about sixteen million years old.
We went a little bit further and stopped for photos at Lago Pehoe again, but from a different location. On this windless morning the beautiful mountains were reflected on the almost glassy surface of the lake.
The bus took us a bit further and we hiked sort of parallel back along the road for about two miles. The terrain is interesting because rolling hills found near glaciers are often moraines, but these hills are actually sedimentary rock that is tilted and then perhaps was rounded off by glaciers.
We saw a few guanacos and kept our eyes open for the single puma that is known to range here.
The bus was waiting for us when we met back up with the road. We got a better view of the Torres on our way out of the Park with no low clouds.
The bus stopped in again at the little gift shop near the Chile border station and Julie found a nice shirt. We drove toward Puerto Natales but turned off and went up toward Lago Sofia and the Pingo Salvaje Estancia (ranch). Here we took a short horseback ride to the lake. I think the ride took less time than fitting everyone with helmets and teaching them how to ride, but the weather was nice and the valley is very pretty. The lake is in a valley between plateaus and condors nest on the cliffs of the plateaus and we saw a few condors from a distance.
On the way back from the lake a Chimango Caracara was waiting and watching - apparently they are known to check if people drop or leave any food out.
After the ride we went to the ranch house where they were finishing the long, slow method the gauchos use to cook a sheep: the spine, ribs, and partial legs are flattened on an iron rack which is propped up beside a fire. Chimichurri is applied during the infrequent turns. It takes about three hours to cook this way, which is supposed to produce more tender meat.
The ranch has a beautiful place in the valley.
We had the lamb for dinner along with a Calafate Sour, wine, potatoes, sopapillas, and salad, with a strawberry mousse for dessert.
We arrived at the hotel in Puerto Natales around six thirty and checked in. We walked around town for a little while and then went to bed early.
