Even though the weather was cold and we saw plenty of ice and snow
the skies were rarely overcast and we grew to appreciate the very beautiful cloud formations. The mountain peaks grow their own special clouds - long white cotton wool spaceships....
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occasionally these mass into grey monsters which block the sun, then just as quickly disappear...
leaving delicate powder puffs to start the whole cycle again.
Over the pampas the high upper winds stream the clouds into wispy vapour trails
The clouds over the sea were similarly spectacular. This was the dawn sky as we left Puerto Natales for our 3 day ferry trip up the Chilean Fjords
and as the sun rose, sky and clouds seemed to reflect the forms of the land and sea.....as they alternately veiled and unveiled the way ahead
There is an incredible contrast between the endless brown of the Patagonia pampas and the vibrant (especially in autumn) colours of the mountains. Forests of southern beech (notofagus) clothe their lower slopes and in the autumn months of our visit their normally green leaves turn first yellow and orange...
and then a brilliant red....
Most of the trees are quite small and it is as if they pour all their energy into this blaze of autumn colour.
Traditionally anyone building a home plants a row of poplars, so that travellers can see from far away that there is hospitality available.....
Higher still, above the treeline, there are coarse grasses and scrubby bushes, made delicately beautiful by snow and frost
and they share the soil with succulent looking cactus, which seem as happy in the snow of the Andes as they were in the deserts of Mexico.
