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Published: April 25th 2009
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Torres del Paine
View from near the campsite
Mirador de circa del camping Hay un version en español abajo!
This covers 28/03/09 to 01/04/09. More updates following!
We had an early 6am start on Saturday 28th of March to head into Chile and try to avoid queuing on the Chilean border. Formalities on the Argentinian side were easy enough, but as expected we had to take all of our bags off the truck and have them searched by hand at the Chilean border post. A search because it's well worn drug running route? Not at all, they were looking for fresh fruit and dairy products! After about an hour or so we were on our way to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine via Puerto Natales where we stocked up on food and provisions for 4 days of trekking .
I decided that instead of camping for the 3 nights I would take advantage of the Refuges/Hostels which are nicely spaced along the "W" - a circuit of 4-5 days trekking through the park, avoiding the need to carry a tent and lots of food. The first day involved a short trip on the truck and then a 45 minute ferry ride across Lago Pehoe. Unfortunately the ferry was at 12pm which
Torres del Paine
View from the campsite
Mirador del camping meant it was a dash to complete the first section of the circuit (upto Glacier Grey and back to the hostel at Lago Pehoe) before dark. The walk was pleasant but having to walk a quick pace made it less enjoyable than it would otherwise have been and it was a welcome relief to get back to the hostel, after walking in the dark for the last half an hour.
On the second day the renowned changeable conditions tried to do their worse - there was sun, rain, snow, sleet and wind which made the going tough in places. The morning involved walking up through Valle Frances, a picturesque valley with a glacier at end, on loose stones and rocks and crossing (and walking through and along) many small streams. Because I have confidence in boots I actually like walking through water, but not mud! The lovely and warm hostel was a great place to stop for the night, and luckily I didn't fall out of the top bunk of the triple decker bunk bed that night! That's the first time that I have ever been in one of those!
The third day was absolutely glorious. The walk
to the next refuge was sign posted as taking 3.5 hours (all of the sign posted times in Chile and Argentina were pretty spot on, not like in other countries where you can normally halve it), but it took me almost 7 hours. I stopped lots and walked slowly to take in the views of the milky-blue coloured lake below) and at one point two condors floated past me, flying effortlessly along the lake edge just below where I was walking, and close enough for me to see the white patch on top of their wings and a white 'collar' around their necks. Turning away from the lake, I walked towards a smaller lake and as I approached it I was absolutely mesmorised by the bright sun light reflecting off the water, the ripples making the sunlight dance and sparkle, like hundreds of light bulbs being turned on and off repeatedly.
The last day involved an up hill walk, tough towards the end, to Mirador Los Torres. An early start meant that I was one of the first people up there that morning and I was able to get down to the water's edge before the sun disappeared for
Torres del Paine
1st day of walking
Primer dia de caminando the rest of the day. A nice way to finish the trek!
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Las fechas de esta son 28/03 a 01/04/09. Voy a escribir mas pronto!
Salimos de El Calafate en Argentina muy temprano para cruzar la frontera de Chile antes de otros buses. A la frontera fue necesario descargar todos nuestros equipajes y un hombre los buscó frutos y otros productos naturales.
Después de parar en un pueblo grande para comprar comida llegamos a Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, donde iba a caminar por 4 días. Había decido quedarme por las tres noches en hostales porque no quise llevar tiendas de campaña o demasiado comida.
El próximo día tocamos un barco por 45 minutos para llegar al punto de partida de la caminata. Había un barco a mediodía solamente y fue necesario caminar muy rápido para completar el caminata y por eso no me gusto mucho tuve que caminar por una media hora en oscuro.
El segundo día de caminar fue un pocito difícil por que fue necesario subir el Valle Frances y había lluvia, sol, más lluvia nieve, más lluvia… pero la vista a la cima ere muy linda.
El tercer
Torres del Paine
1st day of walking
Primer dia de caminando día fue (en teoría) llevar 3 horas y medio pero toque 7 horas por que había mucho sol y día fue muy lindo. Me gusto mucho caminando solo y pare mucho para ver las vistas.
El último día fue necesario subir mucho para llegar a un mirador (de Los Torres) y fui uno de las primeras personas llegar allí y puede bajar al lago cuando había sol y toque algunas fotos muy lindas.
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