Torres Del Paine

We headed on down to Punta Arenas in southern Patagonia after saying a sad goodbye to Jill and Mark in Puerto Montt. In our original plan we hadn´t factored in a trip to Patagonia due to time constraints, but after talking to lots of folks we decided we shouldn't miss it. So we took a flight to Punta and then jumped straight on the first bus to Puerto Natales, which is the closest town to the National Park. We stayed in PN for one night, just enough to completely kill the budget, as this place is tourist central. It was the first time in a while that we walked into a restaurant and heard more gringos than locals talking. The next day after a small amount of stress (after we slept in a little late), we caught the bus to the Torres Del Paine National Parque. It is about a 3 hour journey and on the way the landscape is pretty flat, but suddenly you round the corner and the huge Paine Massif looms over the horizon.

On the journey we were treated to Andean condors hovering overhead, flocks of geese flying in formation and Lesser Rheas (Ostrich type birds) running along side the bus as we entered the park. There were also hundreds of Guanaco llamas roaming across the planes. So we had a good feeling about the place before we set off on foot.

Day 1 Hostel Torres - Base Torres - Campamento Torres (12km)

On the first day we began hiking the W trail, which is so called because guess what? - it looks like a W. The trail leads you to three valleys in the park which give you stunning views of the Torres and other highlights. It takes about 4/5 days to complete, so we had to get a move on to complete most of it in 3 days. We started by following the trail across the pampas and up some hills until we reached the upper part, which had a panaromic view across the lower valley.

The trail then continued and the landscape became alpine, passing through woodland areas and babbling streams until we reached the campsite Torres, where we were going to spend the first night. 45 mins on from there was the mirador - a lookout over the ´Torres´themselves, which are these vertical mountains which the park are named after. You literally have to scrabble up these bolders and scree slopes to get there, but the view is definitely worth it when they suddenly appear as you reach the summit.

On the way down you really have to watch your footing and we saw one guy being piggybacked down the pass by a guide with his broken leg in a splint after attempting to climb down too quickly. As this spot is really remote, that is the only option if you need rescuing. After a slow tricky climb down, we put up the tent at campamento Torres, which is a lovely free spot but it had no running water and a glastonbury style loo. So we settled in for the night and had a feast of cheese and tomato pitta breads and six tonnes of chocolate before we hit the hay, as in our wisdom we decided not to bring a camping stove (big mistake!).

Day 2 - Campamento Torres - Campamento Italiano (25 km)

The next day we had to retrace our steps back to the start of the walk and then continue on the the second part of the W. We walked for miles at my top speed (which isn't that fast), as we didn´t have a lot of spare time and we had a long way to go.

This part of the trail involved walking across a large expanse of pampas, where the ground was covered in green and orange colour plants, peppered with bright yellow dandelions. The trail then passes around Lago Nordenskjold, which is a huge milky aquamarine lake.

Half way around the lake we came to an area where lots of people had gathered and were not sure what to do, as there were was a pretty fierce looking whitewater river crossing the trail. Unfortunately there had been quite a lot of rain in the days before so the river was a lot higher than usual. In the UK this part would have all been fenced off and a nice little bridge would have safely guided the trekkers across. But not in South America.....

As we were already low on time Ben decided to get on with crossing them. There was a wire strung across the river to hold onto but it wasn't very stable and it went a bit slack in the middle, so half way across when he grabbed it to steady himself he got swept off the rock and his boots got soaked. So as you can imagine, I was really looking forward to crossing it myself. Ben gallantly held the wire for me as I crossed, but as I don't have the longest legs and I got pretty wet too, so that signalled blister central.

After crossing the lakes we tramped on with our wet feet and eventually reached the shore of the lake, which was only about 30 mins from the campsite. The wind had really picked up by that point and we were watching the water being lifting off the surface of the lake in waves of mist, which were rolling across the lake. It looked really beautiful and I was about to grab my camera when I realised that it was heading straight for us, so me and two girls hit the deck behind a huge rock, but unfortunately Ben didn't have the same realisation and got absolutely drenched when it blew ashore.

We carried on up the last steep bit of track and got our first glimpse of the campsite, which was nestled in the valley below, with the mountains towering above it. After putting up the tent we had a veritable feast of laughing cow sandwiches and chocolate bars and then went to bed.

Day 3 - Campamento Italiano - Glacier Grey Mirador - Campamento Las Carretas (28km)

The next day we woke up late after a good sleep and walked to Lago Pehoe, which is at the base of the third part of the W. We arrived and decided to get some soup at the hostel as we were really missing hot food by that point, so we were a bit disappointed when our 'luke warm' chicken soup arrived for the price of a small gite in the south of France.

Anyway, fortified somewhat after our lunch we got on with the climb towards Glacier Grey, which was the thing I was really looking forward to. We clambered over rocks and stuff for an hour until we reached the mirador and I got my first look at a real glacier.

I was completely overcome and cried for about 20 mins. It is an amazing sight and it really makes you appreciate how far south you are. The glacier and surrounding icebergs appear to be various shades of blue depending on how much compressed air is inside them and how old they are.

We stood there and admired the view for about 10 minutes before we had to trog straight back, as we had another 5 hrs of walking to get to our campsite for that night. The views on the way were really stunning as the sun was setting, and you could see the chocolate covered peaks of the mountains, but I was not that interested as I was feeling the pace by then. Ben said I was even a little bit moody!

We finally arrived in the campsite and got the tent up about 15 mins before the sun set, much to our relief. The campsite was in the middle of a petrified forest and we used a fallen tree to shield the tent from the very strong winds that were constantly blowing down the valley.

Day 4 - Campamento Las Carretas - Park Administration (7km)

We packed up the tent for the last time in the morning and headed off to the Park Administration centre to catch a bus back to Laguna Armaga, where our coach back to Puerto Natales was leaving at 5.30pm. We had plenty of time, so we walked fairly slowly and enjoyed the views. We got to the admin centre to enquire about buses and we were told that the mid day one had left and that there wouldn't be any more until 6.30pm, after our coach had left. So panic then set in, as it was about 40kms back to the laguna.

We weren't the only ones stuck in the same position, as there were two other couples who were stranded and so after discussing our dilema for a few minutes one guy went off to try and sort out some alternative transport and after 30 minutes a van turned up to take us to the Laguna. Hurrah, panic over. So we set off all smiles, relieved that the trauma was over. After about 10 kms the driver mentioned in Spanish that he wasn't actually going to the laguna and that he could only drop us half the way there, so we were left at an intersection in the middle of the park and had to make our own way back to the pick up point. Which involved the six of us walking along the road hoping to get a lift back the other 20 kms. Happily we managed to flag down a UK couple who were heading in our direction and we made it to the laguna with about 30 mins to spare, but it didn't really do a lot for my bloodpressure.

When we got back from the walk I could barely move - I looked like John Wayne. But we soon recovered when we went out for a big slap up meal with some friends we had met on the trail, and after a couple of pisco sours I felt almost human again.

We flew up to Santiago the next day and spent the day sorting out our stuff and having a very long lunch in a local restaurant called La Vaca Gorda (go there if you are ever in Santiago - it is great), so we didn't do any sightseeing.

So that was our last day in Chile. It was a really surprising place. After an initial worry that it wouldn't measure up to Argentina I am really pleased to say that it turned out to be one of hte most memorable places on our trip. The scenery here is breathtaking, and we have only seen a small fraction of what Chile has to offer. I am also really sad to be leaving South America. It is such a vibrant continent and the people are wonderful. Come and visit if you get the chance.

This is also the last chance to use my dodgy spanglish.........

.....hasta luego amigos!

Next stop New Zealand.

x

Viña del Mar to Puerto Montt

Ben writes -

We took an early bus from Mendoza to Viña del Mar in Chile the next day. That meant that we had the journey over the Andes in glorious sunlight. It certainly was very memorable with fantastic snow capped vistas on both sides for many miles. The border crossing was painless although we had to eat all of our supply of bananas after we got busted by the officials. They don't like fruit being carried over borders apparantly. I didn't have one but apparantly they tasted very nice and officialdom was satisfied. Mum did not like some of the violent switchbacks on the mountain road into Chile - she thought the bus was going over the edge each corner. I had to take her mind of it by beating her at scrabble a few times.

It is fair to say that Viña was a little disapointing. We had just come from an amazing country where each place was as fantastic as the last and here we were in an overpriced hotel in a faded and grimy beach town with high rises and not much to recommend it. The first nigh we dined on chicken and chips in a local cafe which was a bit of a comedown from the fine dining we had been getting used to. It was OK but we offended the waiter by giving him a tiny tip - Chilean peso are worth almost nothing so everything costs thousands of them. We did not really understand the currency at that stage so his smile faded pretty fast unfortunately.

This is what Viña is supposed to look like.

The good thing about our hotel was that it was right outside a station on the excellent Viña/Valparaiso tube line so it was very easy to travel round the headland to neighbouring Valpo. Valpo is a very old historic port city which suffered much with the opening of the Panama canal but still retains many of its old grand buildings from the glory days along with plenty of amazing ramshackle houses that look like they are about to collapse down the steep cliffs any moment.

They also have anumber of ancient ascensors - funiculars which are fun but would not win any safety awards. Great veiws from the top though.

The same houses that appear in imminent danger of collapse are also often brightly painted which gives some of the barrios a cheerful air. Some of the walls are used for murals - there are obviosly some very talented artists in Valparaiso.

After we had looked aroud the town for a while and bought our bus tickets to Valdivia where we were going next Tigs and Mum went off to the supermarket to organise that night's dinner so Dad and me decided to wait for them in the nearest bar and have a couple of beers. Just over the road was a place called the 'Hamburg'. What a find.

There has been a lot of German immigration to Chile and as a result there is a lot of German influence on the food and drink in many parts of Chile. The Hamburg was an authentic German resturant and bar serving big stiens and massive germanic dinners.

The place was owned by a German sailor called Wolfgang who had spent twenty years filling the place with maritime memorabilia from the many ships that still pass through Valpo. The Chilean barstaff told us that stuff gets sent to the bar from all over the world. They had flags, ancors, lifebelts, caps, pictures and loads of other stuff in there. It was really like a museum. Brass plates from many ships covered the bar and we counted over 50 ship's bells which were kept constantly polished by the attentive staff. As well as this there were a few other interesting items on display including Pinochet's hat and cerimonial gavel. The portrait of Hitler and Afrika Korps flag must surely be a one off as well.

The staff were really freindly and could not do enough for us - especially when Tigs and Mum turned up and the chilean Senoras realised we were travelling as a family. Apparantly a number of Brits had been instrumental in Chilean independance from Spain. I had no idea about any of this but smiled and nodded as if I did. Lord Cochrane was the main guy so we were told. We were so impressed that we decided to come back again the next day for luch before we got our bus out. The lunch was great but very large. I had a massive boiled hock of pork on the knucle so it just fell off the bone on contact with my knife - fantastic.

We got the overnight bus via Santiago to Valdivia in the lake district several hundred kilometers to the south. We woke to find ourselves travelling past lake after lake in stunning countryside. After we had got settled in to a comfortable little place - the interestingly named 'Hostel Prat', we went out for a walk around Valdivia. Central to town life is the bustling vegetable and fish market right on the riverside.

The food was all wonderfully fresh and looked and smelt so good. We were also treated to a little caberet as a massive southern sealion pulled himself up onto the dockside and loudly demanded to be fed. We were told his name was 'Seawolf'. The fishmongers were happy to feed him as he pulled in the tourists and he was happy with all the fish. A real 'win win' situation.

Valdivia was lovely and had a really nice small town feel to it. We spent the rest of the day looking around town and then the next day we took a boattrip down the river to a couple of old Spanish forts where we enjoyed an enthusiastic reconstruction of their storming by the Chilean revolutionaries (Lord Cochrane again). The lads who performed it seemed to really enjoy kicking seven bells out of each other. The next day I stayed in bed as I was ill again and the others went to the Kuntsmann brewery. Valdivia is a German town and Kuntsmann brew the best beer in Chile (and South America if you ask me) from their brewery just out of town. We found out we had missed their annual bierfest by a couple of days which was a shame. The others enjoyed the brewery though while I ate dry crackers and watched cable TV.

Next day we got he bus to Puerto Montt 3 hours further south. The main reason people go there is get access to the great country that lies just south of there. We had decided to travel the Carretera Austral south into Chilean Pategonia but we would need our own transport as no decent buses run south from there. We decided to hire a truck.

And off we set. The road quickly ran out of tarmac and the weather took a turn for the worst. I had been banned from driving by 3 votes to 1 so Dad took on the driving duties to begin with. Soon we were really out in the back country. We arrived at the first of a series of ferry crossings where the road is unable to continue and water is the only option for onward travel. The scenery is menacing and powerful as well as beautiful. The road was poor - you certainly couldn't do this in a normal car. Even so, some people were trying to do just that.

We stopped for the night in the town of Hornopiren on the shores of an enormous fjord which we would need to get a ferry accross the next day. Packs of wild dogs roamed the streets and their howling kept Dad awake as we stayed in the amazing Hotel Hornopiren (below). It was made of wood but had open fires inside and scorch marks all the way up the outside from the flue. Inside was cosy but did not have one right angle in the whole building - very atmospheric. We liked it there.

The next day we awoke to find that the ferry from Hornopiren was full and there wouldn't be another one until 3am the next night - maybe. We decided to go back to Puerto Montt and out onto the island of Chiloe instead.

On the way back we stopped off at a couple of nice spots including the beautiful Rio Blanco. We also tried to drive up to the entrance to Parque Nacional Hornopiren but the road was impassible. If we had gone on we would have probably got stranded.

We got another ferry over to Chiloe from south of Puerto Montt and found an idillic place to stay in the village of Caulin on the north coast of the island. We hired a cabaña by the beach which had many different types of birds and fantasticly fresh locally caught oysters served at the local resturant. At night the stars were brilliantly clear.

Chiloe is a very rural community which goes on much as it has done for hundreds of years uneffected by the outside world. Milk is still collected in churns and left by the side of the road for collection. Our time there was wonderful. For the next couple of days we drove around the island visiting the main town of Castro with it's stilted houses and a penquin colony at Isotes de Puñihuil.

Then it was time to get the ferry back to Puerto Montt and have one last beer before saying goodbye to Mum and Dad and wishing them all the best for their journey home. What a great few weeks.

¿Que Pasa?

It appears your favourite blogsite is experiancing some technical difficulties. I can't get rid of this entry I was working on and have been forced to publish this 'filler' message. More interesting than the usual stuff you're probably thinking.

Watch this space for a Chilian update.

Ben x