Elopement Selina and Matt
Torres del Paine – Patagonia Chile
“The Torres del Paine National Park is located in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica Region, Torres del Paine commune, in the province of Última Esperanza. It was created by Supreme Decree No. 383 of the Ministry of Agriculture, in 1959. It is internationally known for the massifs that give it its name, giants of granite modeled by the force of glacial ice.
The unit stands out for the protection of species of fauna such as ñandú, blanquillo, owl. Regarding mammals, some of the 25 species present in the park are the puma, chingue, red fox, as well as different types of reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
Regarding flora, there are 274 species of plants classified into: Patagonian steppe, pre-Andean scrubland, Magellanic forest (predominance of lenga), and Andean desert.
In 1978 it was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the Man and Biosphere Program (MAB) of UNESCO. (excerpt from CONAF)
An Elopement at the End of the World
And this was the place that Selina and Matt chose to renew their vows, an elopement in Patagonia, in the midst of the cold and wonderful landscapes of the end of the world. Selina contacted us through the MyWed platform, told us, all in English, that with her husband Matt, they would come to Chile to renew their vows and wanted to take a break in Torres del Paine. We were super surprised at first to be chosen to have this unique opportunity. We did not know Torres del Paine, we had been to Punta Arenas, but we had not even reached Puerto Natales.
A Flash Trip
In less than 6 days, we organized a trip to the south of the world, on Saturday we had a wedding in Santiago, we returned home to Los Andes in the early morning, and a few hours later we returned to Santiago, to the airport to fly to Puerto Natales. Things wouldn’t be easy, Selina and Matt were at EcoCamp, a place as magical as its surroundings, with sustainable ecological domes and isolated from the stress of the current world, that is, there was no internet or phone to communicate, the last day we spoke with the guys was on Monday through an email where they left us their itinerary.
We arrived blindly at Ecocamp, Selina and Matt only knew that we would be there on Monday, February 28 at 10 am.
The Elopement
After 2 hours from Puerto Natales we entered this parallel world that is Ecocamp and Torres del Paine National Park, the journey there was a wonderful experience, the landscapes, the animals, the lagoons, the wind… everything was absolutely spectacular… the vastness of southern Chile overwhelms you and that would be our scenario, so we couldn’t be happier.
We introduced ourselves to our couples in our rudimentary English and they in their improvised Spanish. Fortunately, communication was not a problem, our “inglich” was good enough to be able to speak with the couples without the need to use a dictionary. We started with a simple preparation of the bride and groom, then with views towards the Torres themselves, they pronounced their vows. What they said was between them because with our level of English we didn’t understand anything, yes!!! they can laugh at us.
After walking from the refuge through the Torres de Paine trailhead to a bridge, about 2 hours of hiking, I swear I felt like Bilbo Baggins when he left for the Shire. We took advantage of every spot to take photos, to talk with the newlyweds, to take a deep breath and admire the wonder of nature.
Return
After several hours of going back and forth, sharing some tea, it was time to return to Puerto Natales and early the next day to the Andes. It was a trip of less than 48 hours, but those few hours there were like a bubble in time. We can only thank the opportunity that came with Selina and Matt’s elopement, and we have nothing left but to come back someday… for another elopement or just for pleasure…
If you like Elopements, you can check out Pao and Joel’s, held in Viña las Araucarias, Melipilla
Habla con nosotros