We left Puerto Natales at 8 on Monday morning and drove for two and a half hours, mainly along dirt roads, until we reached the Torres del Paine National Park. Along the way we saw guanacos, which are a bit like llamas but inedible and their wool isn't good for anything either, and rheas, which are a bit like ostriches and edible. Once in the park, we set off on foot up the Valle Ascencio, a walk that took us about 9 kms, up 1,000m and lasted three and a half hours until we reached the Torres del Paine. The going was pretty hard at the bottom, where it was surprisingly warm and my decision to put on my finest New Zealand merino wool full body underwear turned out to be a precaution too many. The
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