Our second major hike was a 11 mile hike around Laguna Azul, yielding beautiful distant views of the Paine massif and the Torres del Paine towers. It was a long, soft, level hike that exposed us to the countryside beyond the rugged mountains in the park's central geography. 

The panoramic shot below best captures the landscape and the mood of the hike. It is a 180 degree view from the road we hiked on. 

On the Patagonia steppes, there is a desert-like, thorny bush that yields a beautiful, deep orange red bloom in the spring. (I've seen pictures of yellow blooms as well). Luckily, we caught these blooms during our trip. Their deep blooms, ranging from a light orange when the flowers are young, to a deep, flourescent red when the flowers are peaking, dotted the landscape. 

The rolling landscape begged to be explored off trail. As my fellow travellers passed by, I took a few excursions here and there, forgive me. 

The 11 mile hike as a whole, seemed like a country stroll in comparison to the other hikes of the trip. 

In Patagonia, the clouds were an equal participant in the majestic visual display, holding their own against the massive bulk of the Torres del Paine towers. Look closely to the left and you'll see the towers peeking out from the clouds. 

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