Category: 2015 Chile Field Trip

Time for a water and snack break! Halfway through the ride and we’ve got some real Cowboys and cowgirls in the making. 





After all that driving and hiking we’re opting for an alternate form of transportation to explore geology today…



We’ve left the tranquility of Canjon de Maipo for hustle and bustle of Santiago’s morning rush hour. We are headed along the eastern edge of the city back into the mountains for today’s activities. After making it most of the way across the city much more smoothly this time, we are rewarding ourselves with coffee and baked goods at a Juan Veldez. 



After our wonderful hike today, we returned to Tres Continentes for a refreshing swim. 

Now some are back at Cascada de las Animas for another great dinner. Others are utilizing the cabins’ kitchens and grills to feast on everything from hot dogs to BBQ’ed artisanal pizzas with figs hand-picked from nearby trees.

Our hiking plans for the San Francisco glacier didn’t quite go as planned. Turns out they do not let you start hiking the trail after 12 noon for safety reasons, even if you don’t want to go to the top. Instead, the park ranger directed us to a spectacular hike up the main valley from Banos Morales.  Along this path we still saw glaciers and a lot of fantastic geology, from volcanic conglomerates to marine sediments to large-scale structural faulting, ammonites, and glacial striations.