Patagonia, a wilderness of rock, sea and ice
By Michel L’Huillier, January 2023.
It is midday on a sunny day and from the window of the plane I look perplexed at the immense white blanket of snow and ice that is the Patagonian Southern Ice Field. From the air, it is perfectly appreciated how, from the heart of this enormous mass of ice, more than 350 kilometres long and 1,500 meters high, dozens of rivers of ice make their way to the sea. Right at the foot of the Ice Field I can make out the magnificent Paine Mountain Range and the turquoise lakes that protect it, which make up the Torres del Paine National Park. I can’t stop smiling when I think that this dream landscape will be the magnificent natural setting where I will spend the next week of travel.
I land in Punta Arenas and immediately leave for Puerto Natales, 250 kilometres to the north. The road runs through endless plains covered with low and dry grass.
It is the Patagonian pampa, devastated by an implacable wind from the Pacific, which forces anyone who challenges it to slouch, as a sign of respect. Here have survived, since the beginning of the last century, large “haciendas” in which only a handful of gauchos work in charge of thousands of sheep destined for the production of wool and meat.
These same traditional Patagonian shearing sheds inspired the architect who designed the Remota Patagonia Lodge, a charming hotel located in front of the Last Hope fjord, on the outskirts of Puerto Natales. Based on this fantastic ecological lodge, which exudes the aroma of cypress wood that decorates its rooms and lounges, I spend the following days exploring the interior of the Torres del Paine National Park, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and chosen the Eighth Wonder of the World in 2013 by Virtual Tourist, in a contest in which it received more than five million votes.
Inside, this natural paradise contains an exceptional geography made up of imposing granite massifs, shaped by the action of the glaciers that completely covered this region thousands of years ago, virgin forests and turquoise lakes, where the elusive puma lives at ease and shares this extraordinary habitat with other species such as guanacos, rheas, foxes and condors.
The park and its surroundings offer visitors activities for all tastes and abilities, from panoramic tours and visits of low physical intensity, to activities such as hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, canoeing, rock climbing, ice walks and even the ascent to snowy peaks, thus becoming one of the meccas for both nature and adventure sports lovers.
Days later I find myself in front of the imposing ice wall of the Amalia glacier, one of the largest among the 15 glaciers included in the itinerary of the Kaweskar route, of the Skorpios Cruises company. On board a small vessel barely 75 meters long and with 45 cabins, my fellow travellers and I have the honour of being exclusive witnesses to the imposing beauty of the network of channels and fjords that shape the intricate geography of the southern coast of Chile, and which point the way to the meeting of the impressive glaciers of the Southern Ice Field. Thanks to its reinforced hull, this small ship, baptized Skorpios III, makes its way between ice floes until it takes its passengers to the feet of these thousand-year-old ice colossi that date from the last ice age on the planet, more than 20,000 years ago back.
Later, the experience reaches its most exciting point when, at the entrance to the Calvo fjord, we board an even smaller but sturdy metal boat on which we tour the interior of the fjord, all covered with ice floes that come from the five glaciers that fall inside. Ecstatic for the privilege of being able to contemplate the indescribable strength and beauty of this pristine landscape of mountains, forests and glaciers, we end the day toasting and clinking our glasses filled with whisky and the ancient ice of the glaciers.
