IN LOVE WITH YURTS

Its a new day and I am off again.  This time to stay and hike at a new hotel called Patagonia Camp.  Built entirely of yurts (kind of semi-permanent tented houses used in Siberia by nomads), Patagonia Camp is nestled on the shores of Lake Toro at the foot of the Massif of Torres del Paine National Park.
It is just a stunning location with each little yurt complete with king sized beds, heated bathrooms and fabulous views of the Torres.
However, there is no time to enjoy at this moment because I am off with a guide from the camp to visit the Park.  When I was here years ago, there was only one hotel to stay in....today there are many, many new ones.  I was amazed to see the amount of traffic running up and down the dirt roads with flying stones and dust everywhere. Busloads of day trippers were everywhere from the beautiful Salto Grande to one of my favorite hikes to Lago Saramiento.  We travel on to Lago Grey where each calving of the Grey Glacier brings mini icebergs to the shores along the lake.  When I see the crowds, I decide not to get out of the van.

Please, find me a hike where there are no people I ask the guide.  He tells me that I am approaching the heavy tourist season and today is a holiday in Chile....thus the crowds.  Well let me come back in off season so
Torres del Paine will revert to how I first knew it.  Wild open spaces with hikes across valleys and streams with only the herds of Guanucos for company.

So back to my yurt we go so that I can stare out the window or sit on my deck and bask in the beauty of this fabulous place. Sitting on the deck on my Adirondak style chair, I read, blog and just enjoy a cup of tea in between snapping pictures of the Torres.

Later after a wonderful dinner of fresh salmon from the lake and wonderful Chilean wines, I retire to my cozy little yurt.  At the top, there is a clear plastic bubble so that lying in bed, I can watch the  moon and the stars.  The sound of the winds blowing around its circular shape and through the trees makes wonderful music which in the morning turns to a tremendous rain storm.  The rain pounds down on my cozy little yurt as I nestle under the woolen blankets in the midst of millions of pillows.  I don't want to get up.

Then the sun comes out and the bird symphony starts.  How totally delightful.  But tomorrow is a new day and I am off again to the next hotel.  Rio Serrano Hotel has a lovely location with great views, but it is a monster with 95 rooms and too many bus people.  Please take me back to my little yurt.  I love you little yurt.  You made me really happy for a night.