Torres del Paine, Chile
Torres del Paine is one of the most stunning national parks in the world. Its turquoise glacier fed lakes are
Los Cuernos tower over Leigh, Kyanne and Andy
looked down upon by drastic granite peaks. We camp on one of these beautiful lakes and the peaks that rise above, so close we feel like we can touch them, are Los Cuernos or the horns. It’s an incredible sight and one that I don’t think I could ever get tired of. We’re in the park for 5 days and we’ll be hiking, glacier glancing and horseback riding every day.
Today, on the way into the park, we get dropped off by Steve for our first hike. It’s only a short 4 hour, 12 Km hike that’s fairly flat. It’s a good starter for the pax and it lets me know where people are at.
About 20 minutes into it, I find out where Kate and Naomi are at. They’re already complaining of blisters. At first, I think that it’s their shoes, but then when I take a closer look at Kate’s feet, I see a little elephant peeking out at me. She’s wearing pajama socks! Heavy, loose knit pajama socks with a little furry elephant sowed on. No wonder she has blisters. I ask Naomi if her problem is the same and she shakes her head no and says that it definitely can’t be her socks, because she especially bought her socks for hiking. I’m dubious and I pull up her pant leg. Yep, she also has loose knit socks. Of course, these girls are English and have never gone hiking before in their lives, but damn.
So I stay with the girls, and let everybody else go ahead. The girls actually do pretty well for what they’re wearing, and don’t complain too much. Luckily, it’s not that difficult of a hike and we don’t fall too far behind. The beginning of the hike curls along a lake and then the trail goes up through a cool little gully and zigzags through scraggly, gnarled trees. Finally at the end, the view opens up and you see gorgeous Caribbean blue lakes and rivers and those famous granite peaks.
When we reach the end, Steve and Doris are there waiting for us and we cruise into the campsite 5 kms up the road. On a nice day, like today, this campsite has the best view of any campsite I’ve ever seen. It’s situated right on one of the lakes and just under Los Cuernos. It’s like looking at a masterpiece painting that constantly changes according to the weather and time of day.
We set up our tents, mostly in the woods as to block the wind, have dinner (another awesome spit by Steve) and then sit around the fire having beverages. Neil and Rachel are our fiancee couple on the trip and they decide, spontaneously that they want to get married in Machu Pichu and, if possible, have me officiate it. Well, of course, this won’t do, because a few of the girls who are on the trip won’t be there. So the plan eventually morphs into getting married on top of Mt. Villarica, a volcano in Chile that we’ll be climbing in a week or so. So, now the question is can I get ordained officially in Chile on the internet. According the Simpsons, it’s easy. So, I run over to the campsite office that happens to have internet, though I’m rarely allowed to use it, and ask if I can look something up. It turns out that it’s easy to get ordained over the internet. After five minutes on the net I was able to print out an official certificate of ordination from the Church of Universal Life (or something like that). Yep just call me Rev. Michael Moe. Unfortunately, I look at the small print and it turns out that I’m only allowed to perform marriages in certain states, and that it’s a bit harder to get officially licensed in Chile. Anyway, I walk back to the campsite, and everybody is significantly impressed, if not a little bit frightened at how easy it is. Unfortunately, I now realize how drunk these two are and start to think that they’ll probably change their minds tomorrow. Oh well, at least I’m a Reverend.
No comments:
Post a Comment