There is a remarkable feeling that you are truly at the end of the world in Patagonia. On one lonely long stretch of gravely road, our bus traveled nearly sixty miles with not another vehicle in sight. We came to a dry gully that was so deep, our bus could not drive through. Fourteen of us got off the bus and gathered large rocks and small boulders to make a bridge so the bus could pass. It was an afternoon without a cloud in the sky, warm temperatures, the mighty blue Largo Azul to our right, and the mighty snow covered Andes to our left. With our happy crew (and a very resourceful and successful one, I should add) we continued our journey to a ranch where lamb was roasting over an open fire for our lunch.

In Patagonia, a place that is so unspoiled, even the wildlife don’t fear humans, they seem not to see us as a threat. The striking and unusual scenery (the glaciers, the penguin islands, the jagged mountains and towers, the mountain lakes, and ancient forests) are images that will stay with us all our lives. One cannot fail to be impressed by the massiveness of the landscape and just when you think you’ve seen something that stuns you, around the corner, over a mountain, or beyond a lake there is a sight that will astound you even more. One day, after a nearly one hour ascent to our lunch spot, we sat on a rock ledge, our feet dangling over the side, staring thousands of feet down to the bluest lake imaginable with the rocky, massive, snow-covered Andes Mountains as a backdrop. Ten of us ate in silence, overwhelmed by the grandeur of something so incredible, words were not necessary.

-Photos and text by 5-time WT adventurers Bruce & Ivy Weiss, In Patagonia

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