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Published: April 2nd 2015
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We arrived in Puerto Natales late and treated ourselves to dinner at
Afrigonia, a delicious blend of African flavours with typical Patagonian dishes created by the Chilean husband/Moroccan wife owners. We explored the town the next morning and picked up some critical supplies for our days trekking the
Torres del Paine National Park: gas, a good thermos, plenty of wine and 10 packets of 2min noodles. After an afternoon of souvenir shopping and sending messages back home to loved ones we left Puerto Natales and drove to the entrance of Torres del Paine NP. Torres was one of our top highlights for the trip and it was with great excitement that we approached our time there.
Entering the park towards sunset meant the rangers' huts weren't open for us to obtain the permit for the car so we camped lakeside peering every which way at the amazing scenery around us. Having organised our permit, maps, filled up all our water vessels and asked for advice from the rangers, we set off to the western edge of the drivable roads to Lago Grey. Here we walked along the beach of grey pebbles to see spectacularly blue icebergs from the neighbouring glacier and up to the
first mirador of the day for a view up the lake towards the glacier. Unfortunately the weather was closing in so the glacier wasn't too visible at this point but seeing icebergs in the lake was still amazing.
Returning to the car for lunch we took a break due to the rain and waited a couple of hours before heading to a trail that looked not too far to Mirador Ferrier. As it turned out, the walk was straight uphill and predicted to be 2hrs one way. We took off too quickly and were slowed quickly by steep steps and a cold wind carrying snow flakes from the mountains. After passing through a stunning alpine forest we turned the corner at the top of the peak and were treated to furious 85km/h winds that literally reduced us to a crawl for the final 100m. It was an extreme introduction to trekking in Patagonia! Luckily, Mother Nature decided to reward our perseverance with a large deer waiting for us only 20m off the path on the way down. We sat and watched the deer grazing and later learned that they are endangered species in Patagonia and a rare sighting (especially
in an area of the park with so many visitors!).
Before heading to Torres we had decided to skip the traditional 5 day classic 'W trek' and use the van to drive to the start of a few day treks. Serendipitously the key sections of the W trek are all possible with long day treks. Day 2 in the park we decided to tackle the western leg which involved a catamaran ride across Lake Pehoe and a 21km return walk to the edge of Glacier Grey. It was a huge day of walking, getting off the catamaran at 10am and not returning until 6pm, but the experience of being up close to the glacier and sitting on the beach with icebergs lapping the shores was well worth the effort!
After extending ourselves on day 1 and 2 we took a rest the next morning with a late cooked breakfast overlooking Lake Pehoe before a short walk to a nearby waterfall and viewpoint. The day quickly turned out to be the most spectacular experience of the park with perfect sunshine and no wind (a rare combination in Patagonia) creating a mirror-image reflection of the snow capped mountains and Torres
in the lake. We sat in awe for 2 hours before completing the path to the edge of Lake Nordenskjöld which looks up French Valley. That evening we drove round to the largest campground in the park, Torres, which serves as the base camp for the hordes of walkers who ascend to the Torres del Paine mirador each day. We traded stories and tips with a grey nomad who was driving from Alaska to Ushuaia and two Aussies who were motorbiking their way north to Central America.
The next morning we took off up the mountain towards the postcard destination of the park. The weather turned nasty as we climbed but passing through the forests and the rivers kept us protected from the wind and offered beautiful scenery and glimpses of the granite spires. The final boulder dash to the summit was exposed and steep, and once we rounded the corner to the mirador we were greeted by rain. We set up a small camp under our rug and had lunch waiting for the clouds to clear to give us a view of the tops of the three Torres however the cold soon had us turning back to warmth
and dryness of the trail! Although we didn't get a clear view it was a great experience to reach top of a true icon of South America. After making our way back to camp and the the van we drove to the northern tip of the national park and set up on the edge of Laguna Azul. A stunning lake that winds south almost to the base of the Torres offering amazing photo opportunities and brilliant campground (complete with full kitchen).
We finished our journey in Torres Del Paine National Park at Laguna Azul with a breakfast accompanied by two very curious foxes and a photoshot with a huge group of guanacos. The park is a truly special place and a must-see for anyone in this part of the world.
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