We drove north from Puerto Natales to Cerro Castillo where we stopped for coffee.  From there, we continued northward and entered the park at the Laguna Azul entrance.  Clouds obscured the Torres but Javier, our guide, assured us that they would lift in the afternoon.  Javier was quite knowledgeable about everything except the geology of the area. I gave him a copy of the field trip guide. He appreciated it a lot. I saw him reading it several times during the day.

Numerous guanacos were feeding near the road.  We stopped and got out.  Unlike most guanacos, the park animals are accustomed to people so they were not too far away.

By the time we got to the main overlook, the clouds had lifted on the central towers.  We continued on to the Salto Grande trail and hiked back to the magnificent waterfall on the short reach between Lago Nordeskjold and Lago Pehoé.  From there, we hiked about 2km back to the south shore of Lago Nordenskjold.  By then, the central and eastern tower groups were cloud-free and stunning in their grandeur.  It was actually hot as we walked through the sub-polar scrubland.  It was windy at the lake so I lay down in the low shrubs and enjoyed the conversation, sun, and scenery.

The walk back to the bus was just as pleasant as the walk in.  Numerous international tourists were coming in as we went along.  The wind was powerful at the bus so we piled in and drove down to Weber Bridge across the Río Paine.  It was the best view of all three tower complexes so we took our group photo there.

We started to leave but Javier suggested we all stop at the Hotel Pehoé for coffee.  After he checked with the management, we walked across the footbridge to the island on which the hotel is situated. They set us up in a nice salon with a beautiful view of the mountains.  We stayed for about an hour and then I started encouraging everyone to get moving.  As I headed for the stairs, a Chilean guy came up to me and told me that the Chilean president, Ricardo Lagos, was about to come in.  He told me that the guy in the blue parka was the President. 

I stood on the bottom step as the party entered. The President walked right in front of me.  Our eyes met and we acknowledged each other as he walked past.  I walked into the room. Ross came up to me and started talking.  About a minute later President Lagos walked in front of me again.  I addressed him as “Señor Presidente”, shook his hand and told him about our group and how much we were enjoying Chile and its people.  He said the things one would expect in that situation.  Ross added a sentence in broken Spanish.  We wished each other Happy New Year and then we left.  Lagos was apparently on a secret vacation staying at one hotel and eating at others.  Enrique, our driver was stunned that I had spoken with him. Up until this point, I did not know the president’s name. Enrique kindly filled me in on that detail.

The trip back to Puerto Natales took longer than Javier thought it would so we didn’t get there until 9:30.  People were a little cranky when we met for dinner.  When I announced that tomorrow’s wake-up would be at 6:30, everyone groaned.  I snapped a little and told them they didn’t have to go.

Unfortunately, dinner was pejerrey, a small, bland, whitefish.  Everyone went back to the hotel completely beat. The sun, wind, and long day had taken its toll.  I took a shower, went to bed, and was instantly asleep.
 

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