We just spent 12 days traveling around Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia with the Goldsteins. Prior to the trip,  I don’t think any of us knew quite what to expect despite having looked at pictures and reading guide books. Different words my girls used to describe the trip on the way home were “windy, wild, cold, huge and mountainous”. I think one word sums it up best-Majestic.

We started in Chile from the city of Punta Arenas and spent half a day visiting the Magellanic penguins on an island off the coast. Despite a very rough boat ride to see them, they were truly worth it. Varying from 2 to 3 feet in height, they waddled by or stood and stared at us as we explored their island. Mating for life,  it was touching to see a mom and dad with their baby in small burrows they had dug out of the hillside. We all would’ve loved to of taken one home for a pet, especially Julia!

Next we went to Torres del Paine National Park and got our first sight of the beautiful towers and the majestic surrounding mountains and pampas. The pampas are full of cows, sheep with their adorable baby lambs and wild guanacos( a Patagonian llama) and nandus (Patagonian ostrich equivalent) and also many wild birds including many condors who are extremely impressive with their 8 foot wingspan. In just a few days we rode horses in the rain, camped in the snow, hiked on a glacier, kayaked up to a glacier face, and hiked 8 miles through the park over what is described as “Patagonia flat”. This means mostly a lot of up and down over very rocky paths. At one point we all looked at each other and couldn’t believe what we had seen and done in just 48 hours. Torres del Paine is truly an amazing park! We then spent two days relaxing at an estancia with more horseback riding, mild hiking to see condors and fresh lamb spit dinners.  From there we went and spent 2 nights in a cabin outside the park in a very remote part of Chilean Patagonia. There were no other people  for 30 miles! Here Andrew and Casey were successful in can fishing and hand fishing! Fresh trout ceviche is truly delicious. Amazing plant fossils were found in only a short hike into the hills.

From there we traveled to Argentina to spend three days touring and hiking in and around  Los Glaciares National Park. Much less wildlife here but unbelievable views. At one time during a hike we had five glaciers in sight. Julia and injured Tierney were rock stars on finishing our last hike which was about 10 miles over the typical “Patagonia flat”. We were thankful for the beautiful scenery and Andrew’s dark chocolate that kept us all going!

Sadly the next day we had to say goodbye to Patagonia and the Goldstein’s, both causing us much sorrow. We are so thankful to the Goldstein’s for inviting us on such an amazing experience and so looking forward to future adventures with them! We can’t wait to hear about their crossing of the Drake Passage to Antarctica. We wish them sunny skies and flat seas!