Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

I really should read my own blog.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

The Supreme Court is corrupt. Democrats must win in November and force court reform.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

People are weird.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Books are my comfort food!

Let’s finish the job.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) – Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena

On The Road – Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) – Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena

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Good morning all,

Another highlight of our trip to Chile late last year was taking the “Ruta del Fin del Mundo” the “Road to the end of the World” and going to Tierra del Fuego and Torres del Pane National Park in Patagonia.  (Note: the name Paine is pronounced “Pie-nay” not “Pain” by Chileans)

Today I’m sharing a few of the pictures of the hour we spent standing among a herd of guanacos. We were actually looking for a puma and our guide Rafa and one member of our group got a brief look at one going over a ridge away from us but I didn’t see it. However, the scenery was spectacular and I’ll share some of that soon, but for today it’s the guanacos and ther wonderful babies, which are called chulengos For me they were the scene stealers.and we were within a hundred feet of them and they were all around us!

 

 

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 7
Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2020

“Ruta del Fin del Mundo”

the “Road to the end of the World”

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 6
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

Guanacos are the wild ancestors of llamas. They like to stand on hill tops and watch alertly for pumas, their main predator. They aren’t hunted much, if at all, as Chile doesn’t have a hunting culture.

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 5
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

Sometime guaacos lie down, but they can stll be alert.

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 4
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

At least a few members of the herd were always alert.

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 3
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena

Baby guanacos are called chulengos and they are so cute! Maybe cuter than kittens and puppies even. Opinions differ.

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 2
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

Safe besde Mom.

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena 1
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

Chunlengo!

On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Guanacos and chulengos in Torres del Paine, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena
Parque National Torres del Paine,Patagonia, La Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica ChilenaDecember 3, 2019

And fnally twin chulengos! For overwhelming cuteness see my YouTube vdeo of guanacos and chulengos. 

Reader Interactions

12Comments

  2. 2.

    frosty

    That was one of my Bucket List trips but I’m afraid time has passed it by. I was in Chile (Santiago and Valparaiso) in 1991 adopting my older son and always thought I’d get back. Love your pictures.

  6. 6.

    raven

    A note from a friend about evil facebook

    As of yesterday, around 5,600 US citizens have been repatriated from Peru since it closed its borders on March 16. We are beyond thankful to be among them, but we got very lucky. The US Embassy arranged for our pick up in a town 3 hours away, and up until the day before we had no means of getting there, since Peru banned all travel. By chance, we found a guys name on a Facebook chat and this VOLUNTEER, traveling with his wife and 2 small children, took it upon himself to organize us and arrange for a bus with permits for people in his area. Many people were not able to get to their meeting spots, and that could have easily been us.

  10. 10.

    arrieve

    Oh those babies are just what I needed this morning. I spent a few days in Santiago on my way to Antarctica in 2018 and I’d love to go back to Chile. If we ever go back to having a normal world….

  12. 12.

    StringOnAStick

    When we were there in 2018 the guanacos were quite leery of humans so we were never able to get close. It was very early in the hiking season so maybe they weren’t yet feeling like humans were low risk yet from months of them being exposed to us.  The animal really suspicious of humans were the lesser Rhea’s, a flightless bird similar to an ostrich but apparently not closely related.

    The trip to Patagonia remains one of the chief highlights of my life. Thanks for the reminder!

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