Majestic

This is one of the magic places you can visit in Patagonia, Cerro Torre. It's located near the small village of El Chalten in southern Argentina. The little lake is Laguna Torre and there are little icebergs floating around.

After a 4-hour hike we stumbled up a small hill of rocks and finally stood in front of that majestic mountains and the lake. It was a glorious day with lots of sun, only behind the summits clouds approached fast. We've been lucky to see the peaks for a couple of minutes.

The three peaks are amazing, like sharp needles they reach out of the surrounding landscape. Unfortunately we could only stay for about 30 minutes to have a quick lunch. In this time I managed to set up my tripod (I carried it all the journey!) and take some shots. Of course I had a rather quick snack compared to the others ;-)

Back at home I met a friend of my brother who is a mountaineer. He told me that he had climbed Cerro Torre once and it took him three days to get up with a friend. Imagine to sleep up in that wall!

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Condor

As we travelled to Patagonia we've been told that with a lot of luck we'll see Condors. But as we stood in front of the Perito Moreno glacier in southern Argentina three Condors circled above our heads. Most people of our hiking group pointed their cameras upwards, just as we did. But it was not easy, although the large birds floated majestically over the ice they still were fast.

I've been lucky because one of the trio suddenly flew in our direction and right above me, only 10 meters away. One of the photos I took you see here, I even managed to get a bit of the snowy mountains into the frame. This works very well as it "earthens" the Condor and gives a good scale of its size.

In reality it was very impressive, just imagine that bird with its 3 meters of wingspan flying close above you and looking at you. Add the huge wall of ice of the Perito Moreno glacier in front of you and only minutes later a large block of ice broke off and fell into the lake. Wonderful scenery and impressions!

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Beauty

While hiking in Patagonia I stepped of the path my group was following to see a river I heard but could not see. When I got through the bushes I suddenly stood in front of this gorgeous scenery. Imagine my surprise! The red rocks, the flowing water, green bushes and the mountains in the background with a blue sky... it couldn't get much better.

In fact this is Monte Fitz Roy in southern Argentina, a well known mountain range of Patagonia. The landscape is rough and beautiful, we really enjoyed hiking there. But if I didn't walk off the beaten track, I'd never seen this fabulous scene. Because I was in a hurry (to catch up with my wife and group) I could only take two photos, luckily both turned out good. With more time I could've use my tripod and try different compositions and angles. But I like the images I got, they are gorgeous and they look brilliant as posters hanging on our wall :-)

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Mighty

You know, there are photographs you will remember all your life. Be it the subject, the circumstances or the result. This is one of mine.

We travelled through Patagonia in 2005 and we also visited the Torres del Paine region. It is a famous place in southern Chile, known for its mountains, lakes and glaciers. One of our hotels has been the Hosteria Peho at Lago Pehoe. In fact the building resides on a tiny island in the middle of the lake. Very picturesque, you should try it, once you are there!

At arrival we had a cloudy sky and couldn't see the mountains which was frustrating. At least we travelled there to see the summits and hike the gorgeous landscape. So while having dinner we talked about getting up early next morning to see if there's better weather and maybe we could get some nice sunrise shots. Because of the early time this would mean to get up (5am) most of us had doubts about it...

But I didn't hesitate and set the alarm for 5 in the morning, just because I wanted to use my tripod I had taken with me on that journey (and got me into troubles when checking in the airport - they didn't let me take it with me in the handbaggage. I had to check it in with the other luggage. It looked so small in its bag compared to the other suitcases, I thought I'd never see it again!).

When I got up then I was the first to walk up the little hill in the back of the hotel. Some other member of our group followed a couple of minutes later. And i t was worth it! The sun was still below the horizon and we saw the mighty peaks of Torres del Pain in great blue light. What a good feeling that was, almost alone, silence around me, magic light and a great view. The lake combined with the mountains looked so pristine and untouched. A view you won't get that often (except you live there ;-)

We took a couple of shots in ca. 30 minutes and we also shared my tripod so both of us could get good images. While we stood there the sun rised in our back and the mountains were in full light. But the pictures with the early, blue light are the best. I love the images and they remind me of a great place and time. I always think of returning to Patagonia since then...

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