The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are two dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. At approximately 163,000 and 206,000 light years away, respectively, they're only visible in the Southern Hemisphere and are a treat for eyes accustomed to the night skies of the Northern Hemisphere. I captured this single exposure photo of the pair while visiting Patagonian Argentina in January 2020. The mountain rising in the foreground is illuminated by the nearby lights of El Chaltén, which sits at the gateway to a near pristine wilderness in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

#magellanicclouds #largemagellaniccloud #smallmagellaniccloud #space #astronomy #stars #astrophotography #patagonia #argentina

Hey everyone! By way of an introductory post ... I'm Richard, and for the past 30 years, I've been into #hiking and #mountaineering, not just here in Spain but also in places like the Alps, #Patagonia, and Kamchatka. Although I'm now retired, my business, Spanish Highs, is still going strong. On this account, I'll be sharing some of my favorite photos and memories from those adventures, along with some of the current hikes I still love to do.

Kicking things off, here’s an iconic shot from the Southern Patagonian Icecap back in 2014. We were following in the footsteps of my childhood heroes, Walter Bonatti who, with Carlo Mauri, first explored the stunning western side of the Cerro Torre massif way back in January 1958.

This cave is absolutely beautiful.

Isn't it marvellous that people from more than 9,000 years ago are still greeting us?

It's also more than astonishing that people made their way from the frozen lands of #Alaska to the deep south of #Patagonia in such a short time.