The Towers of Patagonia: Torres del Paine
“Que mierda (shit)” the driver said in Spanish. The car sputtered and I jerked forward in the seat. Those words, and the feeling growing in my gut, were ones I hoped to avoid. The car sputtered again. “We are out of gas” he said. My mind immediately went to my water and food supply. We could stay in my tent until someone passed to give us a hand worst case scenario. A smile crept across his face and he laughed. He flipped a switch to the right of the steering wheel and hit the accelerator. “I have a big extra gas tank. I’m just joking!” It was an average afternoon hitchhiking the barren landscape of Southern Patagonia. Green eyes greeted me at the hostel. I responded with a smile and took particular interest in the Italian woman. She was travelling with two friends from Greece and Switzerland she met during her travels. We bonded over life on the road while the wine began to pour like the conversation, smoothly. Puerto Natales wasn’t my favorite town, but meeting the right people