November 15-20: EcoCamp

The 1960’s meet the 21^st century. Take geodesic domes from the 60’s, a healthy dose of camaraderie, leave out the tie-dye and other accoutrements of that earlier decade and you have our first evening at EcoCamp. As the days unfolded, I developed a great respect and appreciation of this wonderful place. I hope the images do it justice. 

Heading toward EcoCamp in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile. A guanaco stands on a grassy knoll with Torres (Towers) in the distance. 

EcoCamp is composed of a series of domes. Guests stay at the standard domes (above) or in one the larger suite domes (after the blog jump). A group of core domes includes a dinning dome, a lounge, a café, kitchen and domes for the staff. 

John Michael heading out of the core domes. Visible are the dinning dome (left) and the lounge dome (right). 

Inside the dinning dome just before an evening dinner. Breakfast and dinner served in this dome; lunch is usually on the hikes. Breakfast is served buffet style. To create a Paleo meal, leave out the chesses and grains and focus on eggs, meats (deli), and fruits. For lunch, prepare a Paleo meal from the sandwich offerings available. Bring a Tupperware container (or they will loan you one), leave the bread behind and pick from the choices available. 

Although our request for a Paleo dinner seemed new to the staff, they gladly accommodated. One evening, while everyone was served a steak on a bed of rice, our meal came out a few minutes later: a steak on a lovely bed of sautéed vegetables. It certainly generated questions such as "What kind of diet are you guys on?"

Guests from all over the world interact in the domes. Here, a few relax after a day of hiking. 

The café dome during a quite moment. Upbeat EcoCamp staff members are always around to help.

A view of some of the standard domes. The floors are wooden and you can select a dome with twin beds or a double bed. They have no heat or electric power, but with three to four blankets on the bed, our two days in the standard domes were very comfortable. If you stay in a standard dome, you will need to find an outlet in one of the core domes to charge your devices such as camera batteries. (There is no Wi-Fi at EcoCamp; the focus is on the experience.) 

Outside of one of the suite domes. 

With a wide window, these comfortable domes have twin or double beds, a wood-burning furnace, electricity, and a small bathroom with a shower.

Twin beds in suite dome. 

Wood burning stove which we used only at night.

The bath, like the rest of the dome, is finished in style. 

Van heading out from EcoCamp to one of the many hikes in this large park.

The hikes in Torres del Paine in the next entry of this series.