Chile — Blog — The Towering Travelers

The second stage of our trip was spent on a guided tour with EcoCamp, a sustainable dome hotel.

A driver picked us up from our hotel in Punta Arenas and drove us to Puerto Natales to meet up with the rest of our group (and showed us guanacos, rheas, and caracaras on the way). We also met our guides—Diego, who is from Mexico and splits his time between guiding in Patagonia and Austria, and Javi, a young Chilean who we bonded with over birding. They were both really informative and also very fun to hang out with.

EcoCamp is on a private land holding that borders Torres del Paine National Park and is run as a private reserve. The camp, which houses a few dozen people in a series of geodesic domes of different sizes, works to balance sustainability and luxury. The setting, right at the edge of the national park, is amazing, and so is the food—each morning we were asked to pick from three options each for appetizer, entree, and dessert.

A series of geodesic domes under cloud-covered mountains. — Cloudy views when we arrived at EcoCamp (photo/Jason Rafal)

Our first day of hiking began with a 5:30 alarm and an uneasy realization of just how windy it was outside. Of our days in Torres del Paine, this was the one predicted to have the most unpleasant weather. We layered up to the sound of wind and occasional raindrops thrashing the dome, then packed up our stuff to check out (in a process that sounds like a logistical nightmare, the night we spent at a Refugio was the first night a different group spent at the lodge before they went off to spend two nights at Refugios, so someone else was in our room for the one night out of four that we were away). After eating breakfast and packing gourmet lunches from a buffet (we all wish we had that lunch buffet available all the time), we headed out to the van for the ride to the boat that would take us to our first hike.

A boat called "Hielos Patagonicos" on the water. — The boat waiting to take us across the lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

Jagged mountain peaks through the clouds. — A glimpse of crazy views from the boat (photo/Jason Rafal)

The boat took us to Refugio Paine Grande, and from there we started hiking up the French Valley. The first 45 minutes were a blur of wind and rain (never a super fun combo), but we felt like we were getting the real Patagonia experience. As we approached the entrance to the valley, we started hiking along a beautiful lake and began seeing glimpses of views, which propelled us forward.

A rainbow over a trail with a lake in the background and dark cloudy skies. — Rainbows under the rain clouds (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bright red flower. — A bright spot of color (photo/Jason Rafal)

Clouds breaking over mountain peaks. — Looking up at the mountains as we climbed (photo/Jason Rafal)

By lunch, we were starting to shed some of our layers, and the clouds moved around to start showing us some of the mountain peaks. We ate next to a beautiful little waterfall before continuing to the top of our climb to Mirador Frances. The climb was tough on tired legs, but at the top we were in the midst of snow flurries and surrounded by a 360 degree view of snow-topped mountain peaks. It was magical.

Clouds revealing snow-covered peaks and a glacier. — Glacier views (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking up at peaks that are tan rock below and black rock on top. — The crazy colors of Cuernos del Paine (photo/Jason Rafal)

A mountain top emerging through the clouds. — More dramatic mountain glimpses (photo/Jason Rafal)

After a few minutes taking pictures, we headed down the hill and back to camp. We were all tired and looking forward to food by the time we got back to the Refugio, where we checked in and got settled into our tents. It was definitely one of the craziest campsite views we’ve ever had.

Looking over a bright blue lake toward snowy mountains.

A lake with a grand, multicolored mountain in the background. — Clearer mountain views in the afternoon (photo/Jason Rafal)

A guanaco standing in front of a bright blue lake. — A guanaco poses in front of the lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

A trio of yellow tents with mountains in the distance under a light pink partly cloudy sky. — Amazing sunset views over our tent (photo/Jason Rafal)

The next day started out very windy, but it was at least dry. We spent the first hour or so hiking up a valley without any of the spectacular views of the previous day, but as we continued the mountains started coming into sight. Torres del Paine had a big fire in 2011 (with no lightning naturally occurring in the area, all fires are started by humans) and we hiked through a lot of silver tree corpses and small bushes. When we made it to the top of the ridge, we were greeted with more intense wind but also incredible views of Lago Grey and the glacier that feeds it. At the viewpoint where we stopped, the wind was so strong it felt like you could take off.

People walking on a trail in front of a lake, glacier, and mountains. — First Views of Glacier Grey (photo/Jason Rafal)

Emilie and Ally standing on a rock in front of Lago and Glacier Grey. — Emilie and Ally in the glacial wind (photo/Jason Rafal)

Icebergs dotting a lake under a cloudy sky. — Icebergs floating in the lake below us (photo/Jason Rafal)

After taking some pictures and practicing our stationary skydiving skills, we headed through a less burned section of the park toward Lago Grey. I had never heard much about the forests of Patagonia, but I really loved them. There are only a few types of trees, but they layer beautifully and protect a grassy forest floor. We could also start to see the start of leaves changing for fall, which would ramp up throughout our trip.

A large, fluffy bird sitting on a dead tree branch. — A crested caracara watches us (photo/Jason Rafal)

A woodpecker with a bright red head on a tree. — A brightly colored Magellanic woodpecker (photo/Jason Rafal)

After stopping for lunch in the woods, we went down to the beach to await our boat, which arrived almost immediately. A shallow catamaran, it drove right up to the beach, where some stairs were lowered for us to climb aboard.

A red and white boat called Grey III pushing onto the beach. — The boat picking us up (photo/Jason Rafal)

It was a really incredible boat ride. At the start, the boat went right up near the icebergs and the glacier, and we all stood outside taking pictures. The icebergs are such an unreal shade of blue. After several minutes hanging out near the glacier, the boat turned toward the other side of the lake and we went inside to drink complimentary mini cocktails made with glacier ice. It was as satisfying as it sounds.

The meeting of a glacier, water, and field of rock in front of mountains. — Getting close to the glacier (photo/Jason Rafal)

Icebergs floating in the water in front of three layers of mountains. — Icebergs and snowy peaks (photo/Jason Rafal)

Fresh snow covering jagged mountain peaks. — More fresh snow (photo/Jason Rafal)

When we arrived at the south side of the lake, things got exciting again. We all got off the boat onto a rocky beach and walked toward the pickup point through some of the craziest wind of the entire trip. We staggered against it, occasionally watching as people tried to run after and catch things that had blown away. After a half mile of windswept chaos, we got to the pickup and drove back to camp, stopping at an amazing viewpoint along Lago Pehoé to take photos.

Small groups of people walking across a flat beach in front of mountains. — Walking across the windiest beach (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking down over a long footbridge over a lake with dramatic mountains in the background. — The view over Lago Pehoé (photo/Jason Rafal)

We were all very excited for a shower and a nice dinner when we got back to the domes.

Two domes next to a courtyard with trees and benches. — The restaurant domes at EcoCamp (photo/Jason Rafal)

On our last hiking day at EcoCamp, we left early to beat the crowds and hiked directly from our domes to the base of the towers. There were high clouds coming in, but there was barely any wind, which was amazing (except for the bugs that came out). We hiked up the mountain, over the windy pass, and onward to the Chilean Refugio, which used rooftop tents attached to the hillside to provide bookable housing. From there, we hiked through forests that Javi called Patagonia Flat (up and down hills) before starting the slow climb through the Boulder field to the lake.

Alpenglow over a snowy mountain. — Sunrise as we head out on our final hike (photo/Jason Rafal)

A river running through a forest. — Beautiful river views (photo/Jason Rafal)

A helicopter pulling up a net full of trash bags. — The ranger station was taking advantage of the lack of wind to lift out trash bags (photo/Jason Rafal)

Once we got to the summit, we sat down on a giant rock couch and ate our sandwiches overlooking the amazing view. It wasn’t too crowded yet, and we were able to walk around to take photos and just gaze into the crazy-colored water.

A glacial lake in front of three towers. — The Las Torres viewpoint (photo/Jason Rafal)

As we walked down, Diego asked us to exercise patience with the crowds going up to the top; as one of the logistically easier day hikes to do without staying in the park, the hike to the towers was always busy. Although this was our longest hiking day, we were all in great spirits on the way down from a sense of accomplishment and appreciation for everything we were able to experience in the park.

A branch of green and orange leaves in front of mountains. — Little glimpses of fall (photo/Jason Rafal)

A small tree with leaves changing colors in front of a river. — Another beautiful river scene (photo/Jason Rafal)

A saddled horse tied to a tree. — A horse waiting to take someone down the trail (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole, Emilie, Ally, and Jason standing on a path and laughing in front of a river valley. — At the top of Windy Pass (photo/Diego)

A river running through a canyon of black rock with golden veins running through it. — Crazy geologic layers (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of hikers standing in a loose circle. — Stopping to learn about geology (photo/Jason Rafal)

We got back with enough time to have a snack, stretch, relax, and shower before our delicious dinner, and then our group spent some time reminiscing about our favorite parts of the excursion. For me (Nicole) personally, the fact that I was able to just show up every day, not have to think about logistics, and spend all of my time enjoying the beauty around me made everything that much better. This part of the trip was really special to all of us, and I’m so grateful we got to experience it together.

Here are a few more bird pictures to close out our time in Chile.

A bird sitting on a dead branch and singing. — An austral thrush singing (photo/Jason Rafal)

A small grey, red, and beige bird sitting on a branch. — A little rufous-collared sparrow (photo/Jason Rafal)

A fluffy bird sitting on a branch. — A chimango caracara (photo/Jason Rafal)

The night sky over a dome. — Last views of the domes (photo/Jason Rafal)

In the next blog, we head over the border to Argentina.

It’s been five years since we (Nicole, Jason, Emilie, and Ally) last went on a big trip together. Over a year ago, we decided that we wanted to prioritize going to Patagonia and started planning a 2.5-week trip that combined trekking, a penguin detour, and city exploration. This blog post includes the first part of our trip, including our time at the bottom of the continent (much farther south than any of us had been before).

We all arrived in Santiago fairly early on Thursday morning. We planned to just drop our bags at the airport hotel, but in an unexpected but greatly appreciated turn of events we were able to check into our rooms at 9 AM, so we showered before heading into the city for the day.

We had signed up for a free walking tour (always a good start when you’re trying to figure out what to do in a new city), so we spent a few hours learning from a local about the history of the city. The area was brutally taken over by the Incas, and then less than 100 years later by the Spanish, so there was a considerable amount of violence and forced assimilation. Almost everyone who gained power in Chile is somewhat controversial, including the founding father who has a lot of monuments and streets named after him, Bernardo O’Higgins. The illegitimate son of a wealthy landowning family with Irish noble lineage, O’Higgins led the successful revolt against the Spanish (who were at that point moderately under the control of Napoleon). After an exile, some backstabbing, and many battles, he eventually became a somewhat successful leader for six years, but was ultimately deposed by a conservative coup in 1823. If you’re interested in learning more about that whole ordeal, the Wikipedia page is wild.

Santiago also feels different culturally from Patagonia, which was physically harder to take over and still has some cultural ties to its indigenous heritage.

An interesting statue at Plaza de Armas (photo/Jason Rafal)

A pigeon perches on a tall fountain in a courtyard. — A pigeon looks down on us (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bicyclist with an Uber Eats bag bikes down a pedestrian street. — A pedestrian street in downtown Santiago (photo/Jason Rafal)

A clock tower reaches into the sky above a red wall. — The clocktower of the San Francisco Church (photo/Jason Rafal)

Looking up at historic buildings in the Santiago city center. — The very French Edificio de la Bolsa building (photo/Jason Rafal)

A convenience store with a painting of a cat on the outer wall. — A convenience store with a painting of a royal cat (photo/Jason Rafal)

View of the inside of a church with elaborate pillars and painted ceilings. — The incredible interior of the Metropolitan Cathedral (photo/Jason Rafal)

A man sitting on a horse in the street and typing something on his phone. — Modern mounted police (photo/Jason Rafal)

We also explored the Parque Metropolitano de Santiago by taking the funicular up the hill and the gondola down the other side, which provided some nice views of the city (Emilie, who agreed to ride the gondola despite a fear of heights, also entertained us with her pained facial expressions, but she also had fun).

View looking over the city of Santiago. — The view from the top of the mountain (photo/Jason Rafal)

Emilie and Ally sitting in a gondola and laughing. — Emilie had lots of emotions on the gondola ride (photo/Jason Rafal)

After about 24 hours in Santiago we flew to Punta Arenas, one of the most southern cities in the world. We liked it immediately, despite the constant weather changes and considerable wind. There are great parks, a long beachfront to stroll, interesting buildings, and good food. We spent an afternoon wandering, eating, and wishing we could adopt all of the cute stray dogs.

Nicole, Emilie, and Ally petting a black dog on the beach. — The first dog we met, who we all fell in love with (photo/Jason Rafal)

An old dock stretching out into the strait, with a container ship in the background. — Old docks were very popular with gulls and cormorants (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of gulls taking off from the beach into a partly cloudy sky. — Birds being alarmed at the dog running along near us (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole sitting next to and petting a black dog. — Nicole probably would have taken this dog home if she wasn’t 7500 miles from home (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two poles with signs pointing to different areas of the world and noting distances. — We were fascinated by which cities were on these signs (photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunset over a city street in Punta Arenas. — Sunset over Punta Arenas (photo/Jason Rafal)

The next day we went on a quest to see penguins, a trip that involved a ridiculous amount of transit but was also amazing and definitely ended up being worthwhile.

The first part of our day was a ferry ride across the Strait of Magellan. We had hoped we would see some animals on the crossing, but it surpassed our expectations almost immediately. From the boat we saw dolphins, sei whales in the distance, sea lions swimming by, Magellanic penguins hunting, and lots of other birds flying around. The two-hour ferry ride flew by.

View over the front of a ferry toward water and a partly cloudy sky. — Our view after boarding the ferry (photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunlight lights up buildings on the shore. — Sunlight on the shore (photo/Jason Rafal)

A seagull perching on top of a light pole. — A dolphin gull perched on the boat (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two dolphins swim in the water in front of a container ship. — Southern dolphins swimming by (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two water birds flying over the waves. — Imperial cormorants flying over the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

A large black and white bird splashing the water as it takes off. — A black-browed albatross performing the impressive feat of getting its huge body out of the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

A whale blow in the distance. — A sei whale in the distance (photo/Jason Rafal)

Three sea lions swimming and looking at the boat. — Southern sea lions swimming by (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two small penguins floating in the water. — Magellanic penguins hunting in the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

Once we docked at Porvenir, the capital of the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego, we picked up bag lunches at a nearby cafe and drove east to Inútil Bay. Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago that encompasses the southernmost parts of both Chile and Argentina. It was given its name by the Spanish Explorers, who arrived to see bonfires that the indigenous people were using for warmth and communication dotting the coastline. It’s an extreme climate, with lots of scrubby brush and grasses. The landscape was dotted with guanacos, a wild relative of the llama, and we enjoyed spotting them throughout the drive. There were fences everywhere to contain herds of sheep, but the guanacos, for the most part, jumped them easily whenever they needed to get to another area.

A guanaco standing in a field and looking at the camera. — A guanaco observes us from afar (photo/Jason Rafal)

A baby guanaco standing in front of a wire fence. — An adorable chulengo (baby guanaco) (photo/Jason Rafal)

Close up image of a guanaco winking at the camera. — Guanaco wink (photo/Jason Rafal)

Eventually, we reached the Reserva Natural Pingüino Rey, which feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere (because it very much is). We were all relieved by how seriously they were taking the safety and well-being of the penguins; they allowed a limited number of people in for an hour time slot, and we were kept back at designated viewing areas appropriately far from the colony. The reserve opened in 2011 to protect and study a colony of penguins who had just appeared there, lured by the shallow bay and protection from predators.

A wooden sign that says Parque Pinguino Rey. — Parque Pinguino Rey Sign (photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole and Emilie standing on front of the ticket office at the penguin reserve. — Yes, it was this cold and windy (photo/Jason Rafal)

Emilie looking through binoculars at penguins from behind a wooden wall. — Our first glimpse of the penguins from behind a wind block (photo/Jason Rafal)

The penguins who live at the reserve are king penguins, the second largest penguin species. They are simultaneously so beautiful and so absurdly silly. They’re contrasting black, bright white, and vibrant orange, except for the babies, who are a fuzzy uniform brown with adorable fat rolls. They also waddle around ridiculously.

A group of adult penguins with fluffy brown chicks. — There were about 70 penguins at the reserve when we visited (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of penguins laying on the ground, grooming, and flapping their wings. — Some of the penguins were just stretched out on the ground (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of penguins in long grass, one of them rotating its body to shake. — So beautiful, so silly (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of king penguins, including brown fluffy chicks. — We loved the little brown fluffy chicks (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of penguins standing together, one molting a fluffy coat. — The brownish penguin in the center group is in an awkward molting stage (photo/Jason Rafal)

A group of penguins and chicks, with two of them raising their beaks toward each other. — No idea what these guys were doing (photo/Jason Rafal)

Two penguins walking down a hill from the group. — Two penguins wandering down to the water (photo/Jason Rafal)

Our guide also used her scope to find and point out a surprise—a Snares penguin, native to New Zealand, who had landed in Chile and was hanging out with the king penguins, who seemed to have adopted it. It was much smaller than the king penguins and had adorable yellow eyebrows.

A group of king penguins with a smaller Snares penguin among them. — Can you spot the little Snares penguin? (photo/Jason Rafal)

We also saw some other animals at the reserve - a fox looking for penguin eggs, upland geese, and rufous-collared sparrows.

Two geese walking in the grass. — Upload geese living near the penguins (photo/Jason Rafal)

A fox walking through the grass along a river. — The adorable South American gray fox (photo/Jason Rafal)

A fox trotting through low grass and moss. — Cruising around looking for lunch (photo/Jason Rafal)

A fox sitting in the grass and looking off into the distance. — The fox was amazingly well camouflaged (photo/Jason Rafal)

A bird perched on a bush and looking up at the sky. — A rufous-collared sparrow peering up at something (photo/Jason Rafal)

After spending an hour watching the penguins from a couple of viewpoints, we headed back to the van for the long ride home (made longer by some unfortunate car issues). It was a long travel day, but completely worth it. The penguins were magical, but we also felt like we were on a safari the rest of the day, too.

A person looks out the window of a boat into a sunny ocean. — We only had an indoor view on this shot ferry ride (photo/Jason Rafal)

Next blog, we head north to Torres del Paine.

Patagonia, Part 2: Torres del Paine

Patagonia, Part 1: Santiago, Punta Arenas, and Tierra del Fuego