Gray Glacier

Last night's dinner was less than mediocre and this mornings breakfast was just as bad and the lunch was questionable. I think we have been very spoiled by all of our previous stays.

Late yesterday Mary pulled a muscle in her right leg. Not badly but she didn't want to stress it any more so only John & Susanna and John & I hiked up the valley to see Gray Glacier.  It was quite a hike as the infamous winds of Patagonia were blowing at gale force all day!  We had to lean into the wind going up the valley. There were a few protected areas where it wasn't  too bad but otherwise we walked in the wind for the whole 9 km, 5.4 miles. But it was worth it. 

When we reached Gray Lake we spotted several iceburgs floating along the shore line. At the Glacier Mirador (view point) we had a great view of the blue ice of a huge glacier!  But what got everyone's attention was the extreme wind blowing off the snow, across the lake and up the cliff face.  John suggest that John J. could jump off the cliff and the wind would blow him back!! Ha! We then got pushed all the way back down the valley.

The wind is still blowing hard as I write this. We witnessed water spouts on Lago Pehoe (pronounced 'pay way') in front of the lodge. It's been fun making new friends. We met a young couple from Chile, a single woman from France traveling by herself, a photographer of Taiwanese descent who has lived in northern Chile for 17 years, a group of 6 from Alberta, Canada, and a group of 7 men from NY.