Buses transported us from the dock in Aysen to three different hiking sites in this region. Snowy mountaintops surrounded a spring landscape glowing in shades of green. Brilliant kelly-green grasses flourished in cleared pastures that intermixed with hunter-green pine plantations and hillsides of native southern beech forests which glittered in hues of emerald and jade. Scattered splashes of bright red revealed a plethora of blooming firebush trees, while other trees and shrubs had boughs decked in white blossoms.
Three destinations for hiking were offered: Coyhaique National Reserve, Aysen Valley, and Aiken del Sur. Along some trails, we encountered enchanted forests of sixty-foot-tall southern beech trees draped with haunting billows of usnea lichens. Sharp-eyed flower watchers noted the colorful blooms of calafate, wild current, orchids, lady slippers, and oxalis. Magellanic woodpeckers, Andean condors, and various caracaras were among the birds we saw.
After the hikes, we enjoyed a typical Patagonian barbecue, known as an asado. Freshly barbecued mutton with potatoes, vegetables, calafate drinks, and local red wine were served along with a festive dance performance and live music.
