Frank Ocean
“Nights”
“Nikes”
A longish day-hike up in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. This all happened on Davy’s birthday. Happy Birthday Davy!
Here in Denver it’s a sunny Saturday after a week of rain (and actually snow on the last day of school for the semester).
These pictures are continuing the trip to Patagonia from January. El Chalten was our furthest point north. After 3 nights there (I think) we turned around, crossed the border back into Chile with the plan to check out Torres Del Paine National Park the next day.
More Patagonia trip pictures. This was a brief hike from Lago Del Desierto up to Glaciar Huemul. Good find Davy. There was basically no one here.
This all happened in early January. A stroll from town up to the base of the Cerro Chaltén (Fitz Roy) massif. Certainly one of the most scenic hikes of my life. Recommended.
It started snowing on the way down. Bad weather (especially when it is temporary) can be a beautiful. Here’s a bonus video, taken at the request of my brother, and shared here for the two readers of this blog, my parents.
“May today there be peace within.
May you trust the Universe that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of the Universe.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”
The next day we drove up to the town of El Chalten, checked into our hotel, and immediately set out for a hike to a lake at the bottom of Cerro Torre.
I had never experienced a glacier like this. We put on crampons and spent a few hours walking over the surreal landscape of almost 100 square kilometers of ice.
After the penguins we drove a few hours north (and into Argentina) to the bustling tourist town of El Calafate. Mucho HB’s. The plan was a guided tour of the Perito Moreno glacier.
We flew into Punta Arena, Chile. About as far south as it gets without being in Antarctica. The first day we took a boat out to an island to check out some penguins.
The skies of Patagonia were amazing the entire time. Dramatic clouds and constantly changing conditions.
It’s been 4 years since I put any music on here.
I am looking forward to the sunlight and warmth that springtime brings. This last month of winter felt long.
I was thinking the other day about how, historically, memories more or less “died” as a natural process. The people that used to be in your life and the experiences you had drifted from your consciousness as they faded with time.
Technology has changed all that.
Through sheer luck I had a window seat on the left side of the plane and it was a clear enough day to see much of the terrain between Santiago and Punta Arenas. You fly over the Andes and a region known as the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. I had forgotten my good camera in North Carolina, but bless the engineers that work for Apple that my phone is capable of capturing images I will be forever grateful for.
I took a plane from Las Vegas to my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Was there for a few days then drove with my parents up to New Jersey to visit family. Stayed there for a bit longer than expected, but was nice to visit with extended family that I don’t see often. Then it was a Bolt Bus to Manhattan, NYC. (Thanks for the ride Uncle George!). After a lovely, but too brief visit with my sister, I took a train out to Jamaica, NY. Then another short train to the airport. Then it was time to get on a plane to Santiago, Chile.