Day 133 - Paine Grande - Camp Italiano

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Today's objective was the middle part of the 'W' shape. We reached Camp Italiano (someone with a sense of humour naming these campsites!) after a couple of hours, including a crossing of a whitewater river on a bridge made of wooden planks and steel cables that made us think of a bridge enthusiasts' magazine with a 'collect the free gifts - after 12 issues you can build your own bridge' slogan.

Rather than struggle with our packs up to the enticingly-named Camp Britanico, we pitched our tent at the bottom of the trail and only took what we needed. Unfortunately this is still quite a lot as the weather is so unpredictable - warm enough for shorts one minute and then hypothermia-threatening half an hour later. As we climbed the particularly steep 'path' the weather got worse. We bumped into an Israeli couple we'd met before coming down, and they suggested that the viewpoint we were just approaching was the best bit. Once we heard this, and taking the rapidly worsening weather into account, we decided that would be our turning point. Even spectacular views lose their appeal when visibility is down to 10m. But at this turning point we had about 10 minutes before the weather came in, and enjoyed 360 degree views. The highlight was a glacier calving down a several hundred metre sheer cliff face.

Back at the tent we enjoyed pasta with tomato sauce again. And then fell asleep at about 9pm.

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