Blogs from Torres del Paine, Magallanes, Chile, South America
Torres Del Paine Circuit
Published: May 5th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
May 5th 2012
Its wild, its remote, its dramatic, unpredictable and stunningly beautiful. Torres Del Paine National Park is one of the finest places in Chile Situated in the southernmost,biggest and least populated region of Chile - Region of Magallanes Y Antarctica Chilena, it receives nearly 100.000 visitors from all over the world every year which makes this protected area one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The park sits on the southern edge of the massive Patagonian Ice Cap and covers almost 600.000 acres of land in a beautiful mixture of impressive glaciers, wonderful turquoise lakes and rivers, eye-catching granite peaks and valleys, lenga forests and pampas-style-terrain. Cordillera del Paine is the main mountain range in the the park and this is where the famous and majestic Torres del Paine and the prominent Cuernos del ... read more
Quite possibly the best hike in the world... ever
Published: April 6th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
March 29th 2012
When I was thirteen, my parents took me to Tuscany. In between the noisy chaos of Florence and the gravity-challenging architecture of Pisa, we went to a little village in the Apennines on the strength of my mother’s curiosity in Milton’s choice of simile, “Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks of Vallombrosa”. If he had written “as glorious as autumnal leaves in Patagonia”, would we have gone there instead, I found myself wondering last week. For surely there is no more wonderful palate of natural colours above sea level than this, the gold, bronze, flame-orange, scarlet, pink and red of the lenga and the ñire, set against the bare rock, snow and glacial blues of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, a reward only for those prepared to invest a couple of days walking ... read more
Chilean Patagonia and the end of the world in Ushuaia
Published: March 23rd 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine - back to Puerto Natales - Mar 6
Published: March 9th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
March 6th 2012
After warming up in the refugio and trying to eat a little more bread, we took off for another hike. I should have mentioned, the most popular hike in Torres del Paine is the "W" - a W shaped trail that gives you views of the towers. Given the sicknesses and heavy packs we decided to just try to day hike what we could. Anyway, after drying out, we took off on the southern part of the W. Our hike didn´t last long though. The previous night and lack of food had taken its toll. We decided we had seen what we really came to the park for and we may as well move on. So we dried out what we could and took the bus back to Puerto Natales. With our cash burn rate quite ... read more
Torres del Paine - Mar 5
Published: March 9th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
March 5th 2012
Beautiful sunshine and breeze to start the morning on our trek to Mirador del Paine. The first hour and a half turned out to be switchbnack after switchback which gave us plenty of reason to stop and admire the views behind. Reaching the top we turn a corner and are blasted with chilly high winds and start to descend a good 50% of the elevation we´ve just gained (!!) until reaching Refugio 2. We wind through a river valley, a damp forested area, cross a couple of adorable bridges, it´s raining mixed with a little snow, then back to the wind tunnel, we´re sweating, we´re freezing, it´s great. The last hour of the trek is way too steep and we are totally wiped until we reach the summit and can finally decide if it was worth ... read more
Torres del Paine - Mar 4
Published: March 9th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
March 4th 2012
OK, last we left you we had enjoyed a day on the isle of penguins! Now, in El Calafate, Argentina, it is time to catch back up on the blogging. We bussed from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales. On the ride we saw flamingos, some ostrich like bird and lamas. We also finally saw the millions of sheep that the region is famous for. The chilean countryside is incredible. Open, lush, small lakes and small brush. On the ride to Puerto Natales we realized we didn´t need to spend a night in the town and instead could transfer busses and get to the park that afternoon. It turned out to be a great decision. Sarah grabbed food at the grocery store (more on that funny story in a minute), while I waited with our backpacks. An ... read more
Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia.
Published: March 1st 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
February 25th 2012
So, Torres del Paine National Park. A vast protected wilderness in the Andes. You can walk the circuit which takes 8 days, but I have decided 4 night 5 days is enough to walk the 'W'. This involves hiking up to a glacier, back down on myself the following day, across to a campsite which from there walk up a valley to watch avalances. Back down and then the big push to the torres /towers, standing over 1000 meters. Most campsites have no or very basic facilities. have a set of clothes to walk in, a clean set for evening, tent, roll mat, sleeping bag, some food and first aid kit. No internet, wifi mobile.perfecto Day 1. I am writing this journal entry in my diary from the edge of Lago Grey. There is not a ... read more
Torres Del Paine.... Wild and Wonderful... oh and worth the 14 hour bus ride
Published: February 17th 2012South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine
February 17th 2012
So we have to keep telling ourselves, we are lucky to be on this bus with our calamity of the previous day.... Yes you've guessed it we have the 2 back seats that don't recline and are next to the toilet....... Thankfully everyone kept yesterday' s tea inside of them and the lads in front did not feel the need to recline their seats on top of us, which is literally what would have happened... I have to say when you're used to long flights these long bus journeys are a pleasure.... Comfy seats, great views out the big windows, regular stops to get off and stretch your legs (even if you have to go through the pain of lugging your bags through a border crossing and giving up a few of our 5 a day) ... read more
December 26th 2011
There are places in our world where the sheer beauty of the landscape instills within you a sense of awe, wonderment, contentment and unabashed happiness. Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia is such a place. After arriving in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas we set off in search of some penguins on the beaches of the Straits of Magellan, who are breeding at this time of the year. As is the way with penguins, they were highly entertaining to watch as they waddled and interacted with each other. However, this was just a prelude to seeing the real jewel of Patagonia: Torres del Paine, which translates to ‘The Blue Towers’ in a mix of Spanish and the now extinct indigenous dialect. Upon first entering the park I was constantly drawn to the milky ... read more
December 23rd 2011
Today was the day to do the hike to the Towers, a grueling 19km and 800 meter gain with a bum knee/leg. Our fearless leader Fede had arrived after his 2 day bus trip and never having been before he literally walked to the wrong Torres camp site, dragging ALL his luggage with him up about 15 km round trip getting more and more pissed off. He had ranted about it at dinner considerably however it was quite funny truth be told. Christian and I had discussed me trying the summit at my own pace and he suggested that Fede go with me. City boy who just spent the last 2 hours bitching about the mountains and how he would never do it again. Michele kept teasing him about his upcoming lazy day (unbeknown to him) ... read more
