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Published: December 12th 2006
I arrived in Puerto Natales in the evening of the 4th December and, as promised, Michelle was there at the bus stop to meet me. We went straight back to her house as I was so tired and she had got dinner ready and waiting for me! I could get used to that kind of treatment, I can tell you. Michelle lives in a huge, typically Chilean house in that all the walls and floors are not perpendicular and there is not a single right-angle to be seen anywhere. I loved it straight away, and I had my own room, which was a real treat! Despite wanting to stay up and chat with Michelle, I went to bed pretty early that night and didn't wake up until 1pm the next day. Michelle said she had to keep going to check on me, as she thought I must have died or something. No, my dear, I just sleep like the dead when I'm tired!
I had an email from Carrie to say that her and Abran would not be arriving in Puerto Natales until the next day, so that afternoon was spent catching up with Michelle, pottering around town and planning
my short time in Chile. I was initially worried that, having travelled all that way, I wouldn't be able to find time to go to Torres del Paine national park, but due to some careful planning and the fact that Michelle works as a tour guide in the park, I managed to find a few days to spend there. We managed to score a free tent and sleeping bags from someone Michelle knows who owns an outdoors shop - she has this arrangement with him whereby she can test whatever stuff of his she likes, whenever she likes, as long as she gives feedback and takes pics of herself wearing whatever gear she has borrowed so that he can send the pictures to the manufacturers (a Chinese company) to use in their advertising. Nice work if you can get it! I should also mention that Michelle seems to know
everyone in Puerto Natales - we couldn't walk down the street without her stopping to say hello to about five different people! It was very amusing and I teased her about it a great deal. That night we had a few drinks and ate the most amazing salmon meal that I
have ever tasted in my life, thanks to Michelle's fantastic culinary skills.
The next day we went to meet Carrie and Abran, who had arrived safely from Punta Arenas, and were staying in a fairly nasty hostel; its only redeeming feature seemed to be a tiny, way-too-young-to-be-away-from-its-mother kitten that was the cutest little thing. Carrie and I melted over said kitten for quite some time, before it was time to set to business, organising things for our pending trips into the park. I thought that this would be the last time I would see Carrie and Abran, but they managed to plan their trek so that they would be camping at the same site as us on our second night in the park. This was great, as I was really dreading the thought of saying goodbye to them, given how close we had become during the time we had spent together.
An early start beckoned the next day, as I was to do a bus tour of the park that, due to my lack of time, would enable me to see more of the area than I would have been able to in the time I had to
trek there. It was a nice day, but the whole routine of being driven somewhere, getting out to take photos and then getting back into the bus to repeat the whole experience seemed a little false, especially when we passed people trekking with full packs on. But I am glad I did it as it really was the only way for me to see the sights I did, and it is a stunningly beautiful area (even if I did get a bit 'blah' about the glacier, having been to Antarctica!). After my bus tour I met Michelle and we caught a transfer to the camp site that we would be basing ourselves at for the next couple of nights. It is in a lovely spot, at the foot of the Torres trek that we would be embarking on the next day, and it was such a clear evening that I got the best views of the towers that I would end up having for the whole time I was there. I love camping - sleeping and cooking out in the open is such a simple, beautiful feeling and, especially in an area like that, really makes you feel close to
nature.
After a good nights sleep in the tent, we set off on our day-long trek at the civilised hour of 10am. Almost immediately we were walking up a fairly steep incline and remained so for a couple of hours, something that I initially found incredibly tough going until my muscles had warmed up. I was also still experiencing dizzy spells from the Antarctica trip, which didn't help matters! I was just beginning to get into my stride and enjoy myself when I realised that I was getting horrific blisters on my feet, something I had been a little worried about as my walking shoes are not the best in the world and I hadn't done much hardcore walking in them before got to the park. However, Michelle and I were prepared, with moleskin and tape between us, so we patched them up at one of the refugios as best we could and set off again. Unfortunately, although the plasters had succeeded to stop the pain on one of my feet, for some reason it hadn't on the other and it didn't matter what we tried, the blisters continued to hurt. When we got to the foot of the
uppermost part of our trek, a difficult one-hour scramble up loose rocks and boulders, we both realised that I wasn't going to make it so we reluctantly turned back and set off back down the mountain. I was so angry that something so small had stopped me from finishing the trek, but I was in so much pain and couldn't walk properly so I didn't really have a choice!
On the way back down to the campsite we encountered some of the infamous Patagonia winds on one of the exposed mountain ridges. It was so strong that I had to hold onto Michelle for dear life and we edged our way round the ridge together. I was seriously scared for my life, convinced at one point that I was going to be blown off the mountain. Michelle later admitted that the wind was the strongest she had experienced on that part of the trek before. Gulp.
We eventually made it back to the camp at around 7pm, to find Carrie and Abran waiting for us! They were a great sight, and by that point my left foot was causing me so much pain and I was so emotional
that seeing them brought tears to my eyes. Over the last kilometre or so, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of the tent already set up, and the wine that we knew was waiting for us! The tent was a by a Chinese label called 'Snow Wolf', hence the 'Next stop: Snow Wolf' title of this entry - this was what we kept chanting as the ever-present wind threatened to blow us off the path. A boozy evening round the campfire followed that night and we all got to bed pretty late.
The next day I was unable to do the hike we had planned due to my stupid feet, so Michelle and I spent the morning waiting for the bus transfer to take us back to the town. I also had to finally say goodbye to Carrie and Abran, as they were about to set off on 9 more days of trekking. I hated saying goodbye to them, as after nearly 3 weeks of being with them more or less 24 hours a day, we had shared so much and become really close friends. I was so sad to see them go, and could
have very happily travelled with them for a long time - quite something for me! But I really feel like I have made two amazing friends for life, they are fabulous people, and we will definitely see each other again at some point in the future.
So, back in Natales we had another wonderful homecooked dinner, joined by Michelle's housemate and another of her friends, a really friendly American guy called Andy who is a superfit athlete, personal trainer and masseur. After dinner we went for a drink in a local bar, and I sampled a pisco sour, the national drink that is to Chile what the caipirinha is to Brazil. (And it's a damn sight nicer than the caipi, that's for sure!).
The next morning I had to say goodbye to Michelle (another friend to say goodbye to in close succession) and took a bus back to Punta Arenas, where I boarded a plane to Puerto Montt. After spending an uneventful night there, I headed to Pucon, where I am currently writing this entry while waiting to board a night bus to Santiago, the last stop in the Chilean, and indeed the South American, chapter of my
journey. More from Santiago to follow.
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John
non-member comment
hey there
hey, your trip looks so cool, its inspired me to take a year out and travel your route