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Painting
Holiday to Patagonia 2006
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With an intrepid group of painters we made an epic
journey almost the ends of the earth in January 2006. The Torres del
Paine National Park in Southern Chile is probably the most pristine
wilderness in the world. The empty miles of pampas are populated mainly
by Guanacos, Rheas, Flamingoes and Condors. We included many activities
in this expedition, including horse riding, kayaking and trekking.
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Serrano Glacier and part of Cerro Balmaceda with condors
sketch by David Bellamy
more
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We
began with a visit to the Penguin colony at Otway sound and then spent
the next 10 days in the Torres del Paine National Park. On one of
the trekking days we battled with the incredible wind. Many of us
were blown off our feet several times and a simple river crossing
became an exercise in survival techniques. None of us will ever forget
the sound of the wind screeching down from the glacier, scooping up
gallons of water from the river and spewing water mixed with grit
at us, drenching and stinging us as we tried to hop from boulder to
boulder without being blown over.
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T orres del Paine, sketch by Jenny Kea
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Towers of the Paine Massif from the Pehoe campsite
sketch by David Bellamy
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On
some of the horse riding days we had spectacular views of the Torres
del Paine massif.
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Luckily David had one of the guides, Alexis, in his kayak other wise
he would not have got far paddling with that pencil!
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We
rounded off our Patagonian adventures with a visit to the Fitzroy Massif
in Argentina, a magnificent range of towers and pinnacles. On the morning
we left they were bathed in early morning sunlight, quite breathtaking.
Mount Fitzroy in
morning light, watercolour by David Bellamy
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The Patagonian trekkers,
intrepid painters in the
Fitzroy Mountains of Argentina
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Art Trips 
