In Patagonia: Chile’s awe-inspiring Torres del Paine National Park

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Widely heralded as South America’s most beautiful national park, Torres del Paine in Southern Chile offers outdoor-lovers everything they could want: rugged landscapes, snow-capped peaks, massive glaciers, and abundant wildlife.

Named for the towering granite columns (torres) that dominate the park’s gorgeous skyline, the park also contains dozens of crystal-blue lakes, including Lago Pehoe, Lago Nordenskjold, and Lago Grey, the latter of which contains scores of breathtaking blue glaciers. (see the accompanying slideshow, complete with hilarious captions).

Located at the southern tip of South America– the region popularly known as Patagonia– Torres del Paine is not just one of the southernmost parks in the world, it is also one of the windiest, with steady winds averaging 50 to 75 miles per hour. In fact, this park probably wins the award for worst place in the world to have a comb-over.

%Gallery-37520% You want animals? The park can do that too. How about flamingos, condors, llama-like guanacos, ostrich-like ñandúes, and, oh yeah, pumas. At the Seno Otway Penguin Colony just a few hours away, animal lovers will be able to get up close and personal with scores of penguins making their way from the Pacific beach to their nearby nests. So, so much better than the zoo.

If you decide to go, here’s a little practical info that might help:

Where to stay:

On a recent trip, some friends and I stayed at Hosteria Las Torres, which was clean and in a great location, but was also wildly overpriced, with double rooms fetching more than $350 a night. Ouch. For cheaper options, try Hosteria Tyndall or the Mountain Lodge Paine Grande. If you’re really on a budget or love the outdoors, you can’t go wrong camping at one of the refugios for a meager $6. Tents and sleeping bags are available to rent for modest fees.

When to come:

The summer months from January to April are, by far, the best times to visit Patagonia, but even then the weather can be unpredictable. Think long and hard before trying to visit in the winter, as many roads will be unpassable. The nearby town of Punta Arenas has the closest decent-sized airport, and there are regular flights to and from Santiago for a few hundred dollars. Go already!

The slideshow above not enough for you? You’ll want to watch this. And definitely this too.

Photo of the Day (11.14.08)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

It’s hard to take a bad photo of the Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile. I should know– I’m lucky enough to be there right now. This shot from flickr user bajy doesn’t quite do the magnificent park justice– no photograph can– but it comes close. A beautiful photo of a beautiful place.

Got a pic you want considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.

Crash survivors debate whether to eat the pilot

by Iva Skoch on

Let’s suppose you survive a plane crash a spend five days “huddled in a broken fuselage in sub-zero temperatures.” You are running out of crackers. You have no idea how long you’ll be there (especially if you are a Lost fan.)

The question is: Do you, or do you not, consider cannibalism?

The Cessna 208 with nine passengers crashed into a mountainside in Patagonia, near La Junta, a town across the border in Argentina, on Saturday. Recent volcanic explosions in the region have forced air routes out to sea, taking experienced pilots off their normal course, The Guardian reports:

The pilot died in the crash. “He had a cut on his head, a big wound and he lost lots of blood,” said Victor Suazo, a Chilean police officer who was aboard the flight. “We couldn’t do anything for him and he died around noon on Monday.” Soon after, the survivors’ hunger began to deplete their strength and they debated whether to eat the pilot. “We thought about the pilot, I don’t know how to say it … to feed ourselves from him. We thought about this, but some people were not in agreement because the situation was already so extreme.”

Well, what do you think? Would you, or would you not, eat the pilot, folks?

After Easter Island statue vandalized by a Finn many want his ear

by Jamie Rhein on

As Grant pointed out, the Giza Pyramids are not for wandering about freely because of vandalism. Here are some more can’t get close to items. Plymouth Rock can’t be seen up close due to vandals that once chipped at it for a souvenir. You can’t wander around Stonehenge at random anymore for the same reason. You can’t get too close to Michelangelo’s, Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica either. A man attacked it years ago with a hammer, although he didn’t really want the pieces to keep, he just wanted it in pieces.

The pull to take parts of history home, particularly if the history is etched in stone, was strong enough that Marko Kulju, the Finnish tourist got his hankering to cut the ear off one of the Easter Island statues and put it in his luggage. Marko, Marko, Marko, Van Gogh did the ear thing years ago to not very good results. To add to Grant’s admonishment, didn’t your parents ever say to you, “What if everyone decided to cut an ear off the statues?”

The Chilean president is fuming mad and wants a piece of Kulju’s ear as retribution. Kulju is currently under house arrest in Chile and will have to pay a fine. I picked that one out of three options in the AOL poll today that went with the article. Many people, 37 % when I checked, want his ear.

Jeez people. Get up on the wrong side of the bed did we? Anyone ever write their name somewhere? How about pick a wildflower from a national park? Walk where the sign says, “Don’t walk.” Take that tiny arrowhead or pottery shard that no one will notice home in ones pocket? (I haven’t done one of these things, I’m just saying.)

This story is one more lesson in don’t touch so the rest of us have something left to enjoy or you may have to pay. Think of the highway signs that say fines for littering. Those count too.

Where on Earth? Week 43 – Isla Negra, Chile

by Brett Atkinson on


Where on Earth this week is the small beachside town of Isla Negra, 80km south of Valparaiso in Chile. This is one of three houses that Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda maintained in his home country. Up the road in Valpo, La Sebastiana cascades down the rugged hills of the port town, and further south in Santiago, La Chascona is a suitably bohemian and rambling abode in the arty suburb of Bellavista. And which of the three homes was reputedly Neruda’s favourite? Casa de Isla Negra of course…