Chilean Patagonia

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Torres Del Paine wasn’t on the original itinary as it meant doubling back from El Chalten however it was highly recommended by a couple of travellers and some others (Vincent from Holland) were heading in that direction so we went back to El Calafete for one night and then another long bus journey across the border to Chile and Puerto Natales. The border controls were quite strict as they don’t like you taking food across especially fruit so some bananas went out the window before we arrived at Customs. Otherwise the crossing was pretty uneventful and we arrived late morning. I’d booked into the Backpackers Kawashkar close to the town centre and the plan was to get organised and book the trekking for the next day (3 days/2 nights), one night back in PN and then hop on the Navimag up to Puerto Varas. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time in Puerto Natales however it seemed a really nice town. We managed to book the trekking at their Office in town which included the first night in a hostel and the 2nd night camping and also amazingly book the Navimag ticket it was all coming together like a dream.

The hostel was quite cozy and I got chatting to a couple of other travellers who had come back from the trekking and said it was amazing. They said to take care with the packing horses on the trail though as one Korean chap had his leg broken by one when it was really windy on a narrow trail. We prayed the weather would hold !! The kitchen in the hostel was really good and we went to the local supermarket to get some food and wine to share with the other hostellers. Many of them were heading North, some on the Navimag but others via buses to a place in Argentina called Bariloche.....it sounded interesting lots of lakes, mountains and chocolate 😊 The hostel owner Omar was helpful but seemed a strange chap - anyway he rented out poles and other equipment for us and also sorted out the bus tickets and the accommodation for when we got back.

The next morning we headed out to the National Park on the bus there was an amazing air of expectation on board. Some were doing a ten day trek and other 3-5 days. The route was quite complicated and confusing with lots of different ways to hike around the main highlights but I decided it was best to head for the towers as soon as possible as the weather was still good. This is called the reverse W-Trek where you camp beneath the Torres Del Paine on the 1st night then head up to the towers and then to Lake Gray and Paine Grande where you get the ferry back to the bus station. So everyone got off the bus and legged it in their respective directions which was quite funny.

The trek was a relatively easy and after warming up for an hour or so and taking some pictures of the stunning scenery we picked up the pace in order to get to the Refugio and a decent time. The wildlife was pretty good with lots of wild horses happily wandering around but we kept a safe distance. The trails were in good condition and it wasn’t too busy being early March. Since having done some hiking in China earlier in the RTW trip I was getting really into it and it would spark a desire to undertake future treks in India, Peru and Nepal. Earlier in the season (2012) a couple of tourists had got into serious trouble by lighting a fire which took out a large section of the National Park and we sadly saw the remains it was disturbing!

The accommodation on the first night was dorm style and after getting settled in I grabbed some food from the canteen, chilled with some other hikers for a bit then settled down for the night in preparation for the early start in the morning up to the base of the towers. This was quite a difficult trek early in the morning and we passed a large campsite on the way and was glad I’d stayed in the Refugio. On arrival the sky was clear and the view was absolutely stunning, just adding to my memories of El Chalten tenfold. The structure of the towers was incredible and I remember just staring at them in amazement. After an hour or so it was time to head back down the trail and then across to Camp Italiano for the camping part of the trip. The afternoon walk was stunning as well past a huge lake but unfortunately the weather started taking a turn for the worse so by the time we got to the campsite it was raining. Camping was good fun and glad I’d remembered to bring a torch for the evening going to and from the restuarant and bar. The next and final day it was time to head down to Refugio Paine Grande and it had really started to cloud over and rain so didn’t feel too bad about missing some of the other trekking and in particular Glacier Grey which was supposed to be spectacular. On the last day we met up with some French and Swiss Hikers who were good fun and we did the usual swapping travel stories and tips. By the time we got to the last stop we were all tired, wet from the rain and lpoking forward to grabbing some food and rest before we hopped on the ferry back to the bus and Puerto Natales........ next stop the famous Navimag which I was really looking forward to !

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