Dawn on the Torres (towers) L-R: Sur(2850m), Central(2800m), Norte(2600m)

We hiked up in the dark with snow in the air to watch the sun rise on Saturday (04/Apr).

What does one do on their vacation after biking 15 or 22 thousand kilometers?  Why not backpack 120 km or so through one of South America’s grandest national parks, Chile’s Torres del Paine?  While it was a bit more challenging than I had signed on for (especially on my knees),  I loved our intimate experience in the Andes’ southernmost region.  We viewed and trekked through Patagonian steppes, forests, streams, rivers, glaciers, lakes,  snow capped mountains, and sheer granite peaks, some capped with black sedimentary rocks eroded at severe angles.  One night we were awakened more than a few times to the sound of a calving glacier crashing down a near-by mountain side.  On another night we fell asleep to owls hooting, perhaps after feasting on the many mice who flourish on what they scavenge from hordes of backpackers. (We contributed to this careless animal abuse when a fox tore a hole in our low hung plastic food bag and made off with our expensive peanuts, dried bananas and chocolate bars.)  My most favorite moment was at the top of a barren pass, 1229 meters high, when the 3rd largest ice field in the world came into view.  The Hielo del Sur, which we first glimpsed near Fitz Roy a month earlier, is the sculptor of this park,  in the lakes and rivers it spawns and in the wild winds and weather it influences.  Gazing to the north and west the vast whiteness stretched over and around mountain peaks.  Below us and to the south the enormous Glacier Grey filled the steeply sloped valley we would pick our way down the rest of that day.  Our “vacation” in the park was a fitting end to our incredible Andes tour.

We first glimpsed the Torres 8 days earlier at the start of our first backpacking trek in South America.

We did the complete circuit of 116 km with full packs + 17k on day trips.

The Dickson refugio, where expensive dorm beds are available.

We camped, but ate overpriced meals indoors every other day.

A spongy red bog below Cabeza del Indio (2230m)

Los Perros glacier.

It rained 3 of 8 days, sunny for 2.

Fall colors on the only high pass (1229m).

Glacier Grey flows from the southern end of the South Patagonia Ice Field

We viewed Glacier Grey on the rugged hike along it's left bank.

The glacier ends in Lago Grey...

...forming odd-shaped icebergs.

Dark sedimentary rock atop lighter-colored granite on Los Cuernos (the horns)(2400m & 2600m).

Mushrooms

Clear stream flowing over mossy boulder.

Cerro Paine Grande (3050) is the highest point in the park.

Eating at Refugio Los Cuernos with Nickolas & Lottse, a Dutch couple.

Firebush flower.

Hiking down the Ascensio valley from the Torres mirador (04/Apr).

The 150m high enigmatic "Candelabra" image etched on a hillside.

Paracas is a lovely small fishing village which has become a jumping off spot for tourists to visit the Islands of Ballestas (“The poor man’s Galapagos”), islands where can be seen a large number of birds, including penguins, and where there are sea lions. The islands are also famous for their guano, an excellent fertilizer dating back to pre-Inca times. It became Peru’s largest export in the mid 19^th century and it caused a small war with Spain in 1865-66 over controlling of the wealth. Now it is less important because of synthetic fertilizers, but a guardhouse is still manned by two Peruvians to protect the guano and the birds. It is just a two month stint, but I felt a little sorry for the men as it seems like a lonely and smelly assignment.

Later in the afternoon on our bikes, we headed into a strong wind and made our way across a barren desert area through what is called the Reserva National de Paracas. Our destination was the Cathedral Lookout where we stopped on high deserted cliffs with gorgeous views of the rocky and sandy shore below. With the setting sun magically transforming the colors of the cliffs, the sea, and the desert hills behind and with a powerful tailwind returning us to the town it was one of my favorite bike rides of the trip.

The Cathedral overlook in the Reserva Nacional Paracas.

A Peruvian Pelican

Earthquake fractures from 2007 closed this overlook.

We get up close to thousands of Peruvian Boobies.

Shaky photos taken from a small open boat, rocking.

These Humboldt Penguins have climbed up steep rocks.

Guanay Cormorants

A red-billed shore bird

La Basilica del Voto Nacional from Secret Garden's 5th floor terrace.

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon walking around Quito’s old city and took many photos as the late afternoon sun came out casting a warm light on crowds in scenic plazas.  The last photo in my camera was of two robbers coming to assault us.  We had been warned of a recent increase in crime here since President Correa eliminated jail time for thefts under $600.  We became suspicious of the two guys following us on steps up to the El Panecillo overlook and I thought we were safe when we let them pass us.  I did not know that two more accomplices were below us.  I started to struggle with them until they brandished flimsy-looking foot-long knives, more for show than stabbing.  I then let them have my decoy wallet with $15 and an expired credit card.  After they ran off I realized they also took my camera with a thousand photos on it.  So I chased after them offering to buy back the camera with a $100 bill hidden in my hat.  I returned to Julie, who lost $40, thankful that we survived unhurt.  We contacted the police and spent two hours driving around and filing a report with Tourism Security.  All the while I worried we’d miss Happy Hour & veggie pizza back at the Secret Garden hostel.  (Photos taken with my old camera that I gave to Julie, left back in our room’s safe.)

We enjoyed pizza & wine with the scene of the crime behind us.

Buying roasted & boiled corn in the street market

This lovely, tidy town according to one legend, originated from the mating of the father mountain Imbabura dominating the landscape in the east and the snow covered mother mountain Cotacachi dominating in the northwest.   It is a tourist town and it is really the first place we have seen groups of Gringos milling about.  They come for the market.  On Saturday it fills 10 blocks, they say, where beautifully hand crafted weavings, wood carvings, jewelry, bags, clothing  and much else, is sold.  As we were there Sunday through Wednesday we missed this grand event, but a smaller market is available for tourists daily in a main square.  Nearby is a huge two block daily market  frequented by locals and few tourists where innumerable fruits, vegetables, potatoes, grains, spices, meats, baskets, kitchen utensils, quickly served foods (not fast food….homemade soups, ready to slice pork from whole roasted pigs, fried potatoes and plantain…etc.) are sold.   Both markets were a feast for the eyes.

Pony-tailed man in Poncho Plaza

Later, David and I biked to  a volcano adjacent to Cotacachi where the top blew off in an ancient cataclysmic event leaving a crater that eventually filled with water.  We hiked along the rim of the caldera (crater created by the collapse of the inside of a volcano…a word I did not learn in Minnesota) with views of Otavalo and the surrounding area spreading out along one side and views of the steep inside of the crater leading down to the lake on the other.  There is something marvelous about hiking on the once devastating,  but now peaceful and panoramic ridge environment of a caldera.

Laguna de Cuicocha is inside the rim of a caldera.

Two islands rise from this 160m deep lake

Mt. Imbabura rises above Lago San Pablo

Playful children of the manager at Hostal Maria