Just got back to my room from dinner after my first full day of the Condor tour.  It was a lot of driving as we had to make our way from Punta Arenas, which is where I flew in to from Santiago, to Puerto Natales, the launching spot (well almost) for our W hike (http://www.allaboutar.com/images/torres_del_paine.gif), a four day/three night, 70 km hike deep into Torres del Paine National Park.

Dating back 12 million years, Torres is a hikers delight located deep in Patagonia.  Millions of years ago magma (insert Dr. Evil saying “liquid hot MAGMA”) intrusions failed to make their way to the earth's surface, cooling underground into resistant granite.  In the interim, water, ice and snow eroded the softer surrounding terrain to liberate the massive spires for which the park is known.

It is wedged in the Andes at the edge of the rolling grass covered hills of Patagonian sheep country and the southern end of the Patagonian Ice Shield, an ice shield which covers hundreds of square kilometers along the Chilean - Argentinian border.  We will stay in "refugios" along the way, spartan lodges spread throughout the park that contain basic amenities and communal sleeping quarters.

Our 3.5 hour drive from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales was broken up by a stop at  Seno Otway Penguin Colony.  More than 5000 pairs of Magellanic penguins make this spot on the shoreline of the Straight of Magellan their home.  They live in small burrows in the ground where they raise their young (chicks) and can be seen marching from these burrows toward the sea where they search for food.  These birds are total workhorses, spending on average eight hours a day diving 30-35 meters to find food for themselves and their young.  A boardwalk and viewing platforms criss-cross the reserve and brought me within feet of these monogamous waddlers.  

During the balance of our drive we were treated to an immense sky, vast plains, quite a few alpaca, lots of sheep and, believe it or not, a handful of flamingos.  Snow-capped mountains, glacier-fed lakes and thick, twisted forests are less than a day away.

The all female crew I am with includes Cynthia, our twenty six year-old Peruvian guide, Margaret, a retired school administrator from outside of Boston, Becky, an athletic director at the University of Washington in Seattle, Janet, a retired Foreign Service employee as well as a recreational ornithologist from Washington DC who I can tell will be a great resource on this trip and lastly, Peggy, a systems analyst from Minneapolis.  Me and five women for the next ten days...should be interesting.