An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
We both certainly felt much refreshed after a good night’s sleep in our cute little room of muted lavendar and green (with its dark-slate tiled bathroom). We partook of the breakfast buffet (good, but no Alvear!) then got back into the van (!) for the 15 minute ride to the Lago Grey hike. The first part of the hike was through some pre-historic looking forest and over an undulating suspension bridge that only two people could be on at one time.
Then we emerged from the woods and into the wind. Did we say wind? We meant WIND!! Patagonia (as we had been forewarned) is the WINDIEST place we’ve ever experienced: for most of the day, it was a steady 20+ mph, with frequent gusts of at least twice that (stick your head out your car window the next time you’re going 45+). We walked across a long stone path along the edge of Lago Grey, replete with many little icebergs of all shapes and hues of blue and white. Then it was on a loop walk which afforded us a beautiful view of the tongue of Grey Glacier and the lake, all with the amazing granite peaks towering starkly above.
As we traversed back along the lakeside, the wind was steady, but one gust was so sudden and fierce that it actually knocked over one of the women we were walking with! It is strange, though, to be around ice and vicious winds, yet it’s so warm that one can comfortably wear just one layer of cotton. We motored back to home base and lunched on some watery spinach soup, salad, lamb and a fried fish. Dessert was some fresh fruit in a tasty baked crisp pastry shell, and yummy profiteroles.
We went to read and enjoy the magical view from our room, and Wendy ended up napping for 30 minutes or so. Milton was fighting a similar urge, so he guzzled a diet coke before we set off for our afternoon hike to Nordenskjold lake. The walk was beautiful, affording a nice view of the salto grande (large falls) - actually just some big rapids with one 50 foot drop - ending up at the lake at the base of the peaks. Again, a magical moment as we took in the big, bright, opaque aqua-colored lake and the majestic gray and black granite cliffs, with their plentiful glaciers, some as much as 80 meters high. The wind was constant, though at times it was almost impossible to walk forward into it. As some unpleasant clouds began creeping over the peaks, we walked swiftly (especially with the wind behind us!) back to the van.
We got home, and Milton went to loosen up by using their weight machines, followed by a nice soak in the outdoor jacuzzi, which had a great view, but less wind as it was a bit shielded by a ridge. En route to dinner, we stopped in the bar where we heard the story of the woman who’s managed the hotel from its inception 3 years ago till now. She’d known the entrepreneur who built it, though she’d never managed a hotel previously, but had successfully raised 4 kids and executed well her roll as the wife of the Foreign Minister of Chile, until he ran off with a younger woman after they’d been married 30 years.
The crowd here is certainly quite interesting: skewed a bit older (except for a group of about 16 Frenchmen and women), mostly from the New York area (including a Rabbi, and his wife, from Rye who had previously taken once a year, and once six months to travel around the world) and more extensively travelled than any group we’ve spent any time with. It’s also a fascinating place: isolated deep within a national park, set right above the salto chico (small falls), only 32 rooms - which are decorated with items from various countries but in understated good taste, and with several guided hikes, horseback rides, etc. daily.
We had a dinner of scallops, a beef filet, very good risotto with mushrooms, followed by a sumptous chocolate mousse and a papaya flan. We returned to the room to rest and marvel at the voracity of the wind whipping ceaselessly outside our windows.