Advertisement
Published: January 6th 2008
Edit Blog Post
250307A
Emma sleeping en route to Torres Del Paine, Chile Had a boring bread with caramel sauce hostel brekkie, before departing Ushuaia at seven on Sunday morning. Drove back the same route we came in to the ferry terminal in Chile. The crossing was much rougher this time around & I felt very unsafe sitting on deck in the truck. So much so, I jumped out part way & went into the warm passenger area to watch the dolphins escort us across the channel.
Continued driving until it was almost dark & we happened upon a random roadside refugio. It turned out to be possibly the most windy place in the world & only the couples bothered setting up tents, with the remainder of us dispersing between the squashy refugio & the truck. After the refugio filled, I opted for the truck, which in hindsight was probaby the best option as there were only five people onboard.
Had a great sleep on the truck, but up early Monday for a long eleven hour drive to Torres Del Paine. Had breakfast on the truck, then into Peurto Natales late morning to change travellers cheques for local currency & to do some shopping. Bought new gloves (after ditching my smallish
250307B
Nic on ferry en route to Torres Del Paine, Chile leather jobbies), before re-alighting the truck & driving onto our new home for the next few nights.
Arrived at our campground as it was nearing darkness & set up camp. I was wrong though about last nights camp spot, this is DEFINATELY the windiest place on earth; we almost lost the tent & had to relocate shortly before going to bed. Fortunately, neither Charlie or I had been drinking much by that time & ended up catching up with the Kumuka guys for a drink, before heading to bed.
The truck took us early Tuesday morning to catch the ferry across to our starting point for the 'W' walk. Were messed about for a couple hours at the campsite, booking meals & accommodation before finally getting onto the walking track. We walked three hours to Greys Glacier, which was just amazing. I don't think I've seen anything like it in my life this close up before. Decided to sacrifice the extra time & continue onto Los Guardas lookout, which was right at the beginning of the glacier, allowing us to look right into it's crevasses.
Basically did thirty kilometers of walking & ended up back at
250307C
Nic on ferry en route to Torres Del Paine, Chile Paine Grande after eight hours. Ate a MASSIVE three course dinner, which cost a fortune, so I ate it all & went to bed super early, physically shattered.
Although woken by wind on a couple of occasions, I had a relatively good sleep & woke early on Wednesday to have breakfast & make a start with the group. Walked for over two & a half hours, where we left our packs & continued up to Campamento Britanico. The walk was scenic, but tough & the return journey was just as hard because of the steepness of the trail. After 24.1 kilometers in nine hours, we finished in Los Cuernos, had beer & Shepherds Pie for dinner, a cold shower that was supposed to be hot & went to bed early, absolutely spent.
Apart from the force ten winds that began early Thursday morning, I slept well. Charlie had gone back to the campsite, whilst I'd begun the 'W' walk, so I'd shared a tent with Karen. We had to get up to reattach the fly around five or six, but slept in through until 8:30am. Was the worst day weather wise so far, with us covering
250307D
Setting up windy rough camp en route to Torres Del Paine, Chile eleven kilometers in four & a half hours.
Arrived into Hosteria Las Torres mid afternoon, showered & chilled out in their recreation room for a few hours. Ate a yummy lasagne dinner in the restaurant, followed by a very 'interesting' green dessert, which nobody finished. Headed to bed, followed directly by the wind - yay, LOVE the wind!!!
Friday was very frustrating because we were all prepped to do the Two Towers walk, only to be prevented by the weather. Those that hadn't walked the last two days, came across from the campsite, only to become stranded with the rest of us. We waited all day at the refugio for the wind & rain to subside; to no avail. I didn't even get much journal writing done either, by the time the minibus came to collect the group around dusk. Headed back to camp, ate a barbequed Larry the Lamb for dinner & had a relatively early night.
Saturday consisted of a long eleven hour driving day into El Calafate. Spent what was left of the afternoon at an internet cafe, then back to the hostel to prepare for dinner. A bunch of us went
260307A
Packing up windy rough camp en route to Torres Del Paine, Chile out, had a drink beforehand, then had dinner at a swanky restaurant next door. I managed to get drunk on beer & red wine (yes dad, red wine), & enjoyed a FANTASTICO steak, followed by a shared tiramasu dessert. Good night, but managed to smash my toe on the curb on the way home; not much blood, but loads of pain.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.184s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 37; qc: 168; dbt: 0.1227s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb