I’ll keep this short and sweet. Following my recent posts and diary extracts from the seven day Torres Circuit in Patagonia, I’ve been reviewing some slides.
I came across this one, taken on day 4, of Cerro Paine Grande, the high point of the massif. This peak is renowned for the ice mushroom at its summit, a feature specific to this and a few other Patagonian peaks. As alluded to by the title, there also seems to be considerable uncertainty as to the mountain’s height. Irrespective, it’s an awesome sight, looking up from the shores of Lago Grey…
It may seem a little glib to say it, but there really are some quite extraordinary sights out there, in the big wide world. Enough, I’m sure, to keep on surprising and delighting the most ardent itinerant soul for a lifetime. One such place, by my reckoning, is the south-west quarter of Bolivia. In an already fascinating country, the lands in this border region, abutting Chile, Peru and Argentina, take things to an almost surreal level.
Here’s the third and final post (for now), in this chronologically challenged series of diary extracts, written in December 2002 when I was in the deep south of South America, starting the circuit of Torres del Paine.
Day one was a fairly gentle introduction with, as it happens, the worst weather of the trip. Overhearing many other travellers’ tales, it seems we were incredibly lucky, experiencing a great deal of dry, calm weather.
The date referred to in the title is December 4th 2002, and the conclusion of a diary entry. I won’t be drawn on subsequent exploits and how they compare to this sojourn in Patagonia, but, as per yesterday’s post, looking back on this elicits strong memories of a very happy time.