Vida and Paul's Trip to Patagonia - Page 2

The Explora folks make it easy to be a brave hiker -- they prepare and serve a nice lunch, on a tablecloth! Here we are, enjoying our first of several such lunches: Smoked salmon sandwiches, fruit, cookies, hot tea...	Vida went home for a hot bath, but Paul bravely (and unwisely) did a second short hike the first day, to a place called Lago Gray. You can see the Gray glacier at the far end of the lake, more than five miles away at the center of the picture. Icebergs break off and float down, driven by the infernal winds, and beach themselves at this end. They are as large as houses.
Our next hike was to Lake Sarmiento, with its peculiar carbonate formations (similar to Mono Lake). Here we're on our way down; you can see the crusty formations around the lake's edge.	Here's the characteristic Patagonian Andes, rising above the crusty carbonate formations at the lake's edge. It's a beautiful place.
This gives a better idea of the feeling of the place, with its glistening clear water and intense sunbaked topography.	The view from Lake Sarmiento looking back up at the mountains.