The last four tourists in Patagonia

The glacier is visible from our campsite but we had to get a lot closer to appreciate how big and beautiful is really is. With many waterfalls flowing from its base at the top of a hanging glacial valley, it was well worth stopping here! The whole area is absolutely beautiful.

Given that we were going to be in the neighbourhood anyway, I checked geocahing.com before we left Coyhaique. Sure enough there was a cache on the way to Laguna Témpanos. It was Zach's first and he was game to go treasure hunting. You never know if you're going to find them or not, that's part of the fun. As you can see, we did:

On the way back from our morning hike we ran into Basha and Steve - seemingly the only other tourists in all of Chilean Patagonia. They're heading south while we're heading north. Coincidentally they're staying at El Mirador the night after next. Coincidentally, they also live in Calgary. What a small world!

They had time to kill before their ferry back to this fancy lodge they're staying in so they joined us at our campsite. We provided the picnic bench, they provided the wine. It was nice to make two new friends and 'entertain'!

The lookout point at the top of the hill and a good 3.5km hike up was worth the trip to get as close to the glacier as we could. Zach and I both watched it hoping to witness some calving but left without seeing a show. Now that nobody's looking it's going crazy up there as we can tell from the thunderous crashes we hear from our campsite. Even that is pretty cool.

In order to validate any camping trip, we have to have the mandatory fire and accompanying smokey smell. I love it. Plus it kept us warm for a bit, it's chilly here in Chile (Have I used that joke yet?! It doesn't matter though, it's STILL funny!). I always feel hypnotised watching campfires and tonight was no exception. The best part of it though is that we're here all by ourselves and it's so peaceful and quiet - except for the glacier which is just fine by me!