Beautiful evening cloud formations in Torres del Paine
Another in our servies of guest posts from Chile.
Evening sky from the refugio
This is one of the many fabulous skies that we encountered in Patagonia.
The wonderful thing about being in Patagonia in November was the long evenings. It didn’t get dark until around 9.30 pm, which meant that evening meals were often interrupted by the need to rush outside and capture the last sun on the mountains, or the ever changing cloud formations with the soft colours that are seen in them around sunset. These ones became pink and orange shortly after I took the picture, but it was so cold outside that I didn’t stay to capture the changes and went back inside to watch from the comfort of the log fire in the refugio.
The clouds in this photo are lenticular clouds in formation. Lenticular cloud formations are something I have never seen before, and I found them breathtaking .Lenticular clouds are otherwise known as altocumular standing lenticularis.
They form when a current of moist air is forced upwards as it travels over a mountain, causing the moisture to condense and form a cloud. They look like flat pancakes or discs, and have been mistaken for UFO’s.
This image was taken at the refuge next to Lake Pehoe; a large and surprisingly comfortable refuge that is only accessed by boat or on foot. The colour of the glacial water in Lake Pehoe took us totally by surprise and has to be seen to be believed, being a vibrant turquoise.
Read more about our holidays to Chile or see our guide to Chilean Patagonia.