Why I Travel

The afternoon my husband and I arrived at the Explora Lodge Patagonia, which they describe as located in one of the most remote places in the world, we were disappointed that the gray weather was bleak and overcast.  Other guests in the lobby pointed out the windows and said that when the clouds lifted, that over there, beyond the far side of Lake Pehoe, was a majestic, snow-capped mountain range–the Paine massif.  “You’ll see,” said our hiking guide, assuring us that this location in the Torres del Paine National Park would live up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

“When we awakened the next morning the mountain range had popped into full, startling view. It was so perfect, it looked fake.”

Since Patagonia is known for violent and volatile weather changes, I quickly stuck my hand out our bedroom window and shot this photo before the reflection vanished.  I used my iPhone5 with a Camera+ app.  This was my first experience shooting such a huge landscape with a phone camera.

In the four years my husband and I have been together, we’ve done luxury hiking in Zhongdian in Tibetan China, the Middle Atlas mountains in Morocco, and Dharamsala in India.  When our guide explained that only about 10% of the days in Patagonia are this clear and sunny, I was especially appreciative that I’d been able to capture this image of a perfect hiking morning at the very end of the world.