Posted on Thu, 29-Feb-2024Thu, 28-Mar-2024 by pamTierra del Fuego – Chile 3/16 We took the ferry to Tierra de Fuego – the 2-hour crossing from Punta Arenas to Porvenir. We drove along west shore of Tierra del Fuego and return to mainland by ferry at the narrow northern crossing. Ferry we road to navigate the Strait of Magellan to Tierra de Fuego The crossing was a bit windy and moist. We saw some black and white porpoises. And these were our fellow passengers. There are many large acreage Estancias of sheep in this part of the world. Watch for what? These don’t look like sheep… Our first Guanaco on the Strait of Magellan in Tierra del Fuego. This is the real world! Or maybe this is the End of the World. The Aonikenk were the nomadic peoples that lived in Patagonia. Back on the mainland we have one more stop to make… …Wait. More than one stop! A herd of Guanacos! A bit shy of us. So interesting – and graceful. Guanacos on the steppes of Patagonia. Maybe this Guanaco will be my new screen saver! At Pali Aike National Park, we also saw these rheas, locally known as Nandus Pali Aike National Park preserves ancient volcanic landscape. This cave was discovered in the early 1930s by Junius Bouton Bird, an American archeologist, who excavated and found human presence dating back 11,000 years. We were the first visitors of the day to the park at 4 PM! Maybe that is why we saw so much wildlife. These Guanacos, at Mirador Nau, were a bit territorial. They chased each other and screamed Nau Nau Nau – guess that is how they got their local name.