Lonely Patagonia

All morning I had hiked alone through Los Alerces National Park and had not encountered a single person there. Then, as I ate my empanadas at noon at Lago Menéndez, I felt an intense loneliness. In my melancholy mood, I gazed boldly at the majestic glaciers, listened to the rippling waves of the lake, and let the icy wind blow in my face. Solitude seemed to be as much a part of this landscape as the glaciers, the waves and the wind. It made the moment just perfect.

Los Alerces Nationalpark (Argentina), November 2006