Torres Del Paine National Park
In the morning, our Expedition Leader Bud Lenhausen informed us of the long day ahead and talked in oblique terms about what we might, maybe, or perhaps would see. There is much to see in the park - biologic, geologic, and picturesque. The biologic included rhea, guanaco, Andean condor, fox, ibis, black necked swan, ducks of many sort, flamingo, austral parakeet and the elusive puma. Our various bio lists would include sightings of all these save one, the puma. An amazing animal that will remain, as it should, a mystery.
The geologic encounter today was a tour de force of exposed rock in massive vertical cliffs. Made up mostly of blond granite with a topping of black shale and slate; the resulting towers (torres) and horns (cuernos) showed us the awesome power of molten material, uplift, folding and intrusion. The ice has done the rest, helping to clear away the weaker rock and leave behind the picturesque natural walls. The same also included the incredible water falls, rivers, streams, caves, and the biologic examples mentioned earlier. The towers willing to pose in frozen geologic time, the fox posturing on a bed of gravel - we humans, or guanaco, were able to observe all.
It was a long day but we needed it to be lengthy in order to take in all those memories.
In the morning, our Expedition Leader Bud Lenhausen informed us of the long day ahead and talked in oblique terms about what we might, maybe, or perhaps would see. There is much to see in the park - biologic, geologic, and picturesque. The biologic included rhea, guanaco, Andean condor, fox, ibis, black necked swan, ducks of many sort, flamingo, austral parakeet and the elusive puma. Our various bio lists would include sightings of all these save one, the puma. An amazing animal that will remain, as it should, a mystery.
The geologic encounter today was a tour de force of exposed rock in massive vertical cliffs. Made up mostly of blond granite with a topping of black shale and slate; the resulting towers (torres) and horns (cuernos) showed us the awesome power of molten material, uplift, folding and intrusion. The ice has done the rest, helping to clear away the weaker rock and leave behind the picturesque natural walls. The same also included the incredible water falls, rivers, streams, caves, and the biologic examples mentioned earlier. The towers willing to pose in frozen geologic time, the fox posturing on a bed of gravel - we humans, or guanaco, were able to observe all.
It was a long day but we needed it to be lengthy in order to take in all those memories.
