When you're hot, you're hot

By Douglas Molander
This item appears on page 46 of the January 2019 issue.

This month's winner is DOUGLAS MOLANDER of Fort Lauderdale, Florida:

Included in an Overseas Adventure Travel tour of Chile that I took in February 2017 was a 3-day visit to Torres del Paine National Park.

The morning of our entry into the park, we picked up a local guide. While driving into the park, the guide warned us that the weather could be very changeable and there could suddenly be rain, wind and cold temperatures. She also said that the likelihood of our seeing one of the indigenous deer was not great, since there were fewer than 10 breeding pairs in the area. Seeing pumas was also a remote hope; in 15 years of taking travelers into the park, she had seen just one puma.

During our three days, we enjoyed nice weather, and we were lucky enough to see one of the indigenous deer. Additionally, to everyone's amazement, we got to see five pumas! The last three were seen on our last day, just before exiting the park. There was a mother with two cubs, and we were able to observe them for more than 30 minutes until they walked up the hill and disappeared over the ridge.

Needless to say, everyone was very excited about our good fortune. As we settled into our seats on the bus and the driver pulled away, the local tour leader turned to us and asked, "Who ARE you people?!"

We were 16 very lucky travelers.


 

Tell us about the funniest thing that happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. ITN staff will choose each month's winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Include your full mailing address. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.