Chile's Constantly Changing

Torres del Paine (3/3)

There's nothing normal about the Torres del Paine National Park where the weather changes minute by minute?

Icebergs in blue

The boat motors along. From time to time, through the windows and the rain, we spot more icebergs, bigger now. Those of us with the proper outerwear tentatively move onto the deck. We take pictures while protecting our cameras from the rain as best we can, then step back inside.

"The water," Petri says into her microphone, "starts out gray, and as it moves, the sediment? dissolves and settles. That's why these lakes-Lago Nordenskjold and Lago Pehoe-are bluer. They still contain sediments, but they've settled."

Glacier glory

Soon the rain lets up and more of us are on deck. The icebergs now are of us are on deck. The icebergs now are of a size and variable shape that makes everyone still using film cameras regret wasting shots on those relative ice cubes bake by the hotel. Then we see an iceberg that makes all the rest look like spots!

And then, there is the glacier, which produces all the icebergs. It is impossible to adequately describe the scenic glory of this place: Glacier Grey up-close, the bergs, and the surrounding snow-and-black mountains.

Now, everyone-cold rain or not-is on deck. Petri's words, in English, for all this: "'Wow.' That's the only word I can say ..."

A final surprise

On my final morning, my guide and driver were at the hotel. It was time for me to leave Torres del Paine. As we drove one last time along the gravel road, winding between mountains and hills, I noticed a small lake to the left in a shallow valley. In that lake, framed by mountains newly dusted with snow were hundreds of pink flamingos?, bathed in brilliant sunshine.

Flamingos! Here, nothing, nothing is normal.

Vocabulary Focus

tentatively (adv) ---in a careful or uncertain manner

deck (n) ---a flat area of walking on, especially one built across the space between the sides of a boat

relative (adj) ---being judged or measured in comparison with something else

adequately (adv) ---in a manner satisfactory for a particular purpose

Specialized Terms

sediment (n) ---沉積物a soft substance that is like a wet powder and consists of very small pieces of a solid material which have fallen to the bottom of a liquid

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