BLOG 21 / Torres del Paine

After an overall smooth but time-consuming border crossing, we are back in Chile. In front of us are 3 tourist buses - all passengers must disembark, go to the border station, and be individually "processed" and questioned by the Chilean SAG officials about their food supplies. A sniffer dog is used for the buses waiting outside.

Our proven tactic of having some "sacrifice fruit" ready to impress the officials works here as well - and the sniffer dog only briefly sniffs around the car from the outside.

The mountain landscape of the enormous Torres del Paine National Park is overwhelming. We are lucky again with the weather, enjoying bright sunshine. We also spot condors in flight for the first time in a while.

The mostly very poor gravel roads in the park are quite wearing - you cannot drive slow enough to prevent the car from being jolted by heavy blows.

The boat trip on Lake Grey is also beautiful, with several icebergs in the lake. The Grey Glacier flows into the lake through three tongues.

There could have been more trips in the park, but the bad roads and the concern about having enough fuel (the nearest gas station is 80 km away, and it has been 400 km since the last opportunity to refuel) prevent us from doing so, as the maximum range - despite the 100 liter tank - is about 550 km on good roads.

Back in Chile after crossing the border again - no real issues, but time-consuming. In front of us, three tourist buses had arrived - every passenger has to leave the bus, walk into the office building, and be treated separately by immigration and inspected by SAG inspectors to avoid importing fresh food. Our proven tactic of having some "sacrifice fruit" ready for declaration and confiscation is successful here as well. The officer succeeds and is satisfied.

The mountains of the enormous Torres del Paine National Park are awesome. Being lucky with the weather again, we can enjoy sunshine, and we can see condors in flight again after a long time.

The mostly very bad tracks are a little grueling - you cannot drive slow enough to avoid heavy knocks of the truck.

We do another nice cruise - this time at Lake Grey towards Glacier Grey. Several icebergs in the lake and a glacier with three tongues into the lake.

More tours would have been possible, but we waive because of the bad roads and concerns regarding diesel fuel - the next petrol station is 80 km away and the last one was already 400 km away. The maximum travelling distance with one filling is around 550 km - on good roads. Even the 100-liter petrol tank of the Dodge RAM does not allow more.