Blogs from Torres del Paine, Magallanes, Chile, South America - page 10

Beautiful sunshine and breeze to start the morning on our trek to Mirador del Paine. The first hour and a half turned out to be switchbnack after switchback which gave us plenty of reason to stop and admire the views behind. Reaching the top we turn a corner and are blasted with chilly high winds and start to descend a good 50% of the elevation we´ve just gained (!!) until reaching Refugio 2. We wind through a river valley, a damp forested area, cross a couple of adorable bridges, it´s raining mixed with a little snow, then back to the wind tunnel, we´re sweating, we´re freezing, it´s great. The last hour of the trek is way too steep and we are totally wiped until we reach the summit and can finally decide if it was worth ... read more

So, Torres del Paine National Park. A vast protected wilderness in the Andes. You can walk the circuit which takes 8 days, but I have decided 4 night 5 days is enough to walk the 'W'. This involves hiking up to a glacier, back down on myself the following day, across to a campsite which from there walk up a valley to watch avalances. Back down and then the big push to the torres /towers, standing over 1000 meters. Most campsites have no or very basic facilities. have a set of clothes to walk in, a clean set for evening, tent, roll mat, sleeping bag, some food and first aid kit. No internet, wifi mobile.perfecto Day 1. I am writing this journal entry in my diary from the edge of Lago Grey. There is not a ... read more

There are places in our world where the sheer beauty of the landscape instills within you a sense of awe, wonderment, contentment and unabashed happiness. Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia is such a place. After arriving in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas we set off in search of some penguins on the beaches of the Straits of Magellan, who are breeding at this time of the year. As is the way with penguins, they were highly entertaining to watch as they waddled and interacted with each other. However, this was just a prelude to seeing the real jewel of Patagonia: Torres del Paine, which translates to ‘The Blue Towers’ in a mix of Spanish and the now extinct indigenous dialect. Upon first entering the park I was constantly drawn to the milky ... read more

Up far too early with this eternal sunlight down here and my knee is so stiff I can barely move it. After knocking Michelle around for a while trying to get out of the tent I finally made it to the washroom and main hall for breakfast. Coffee is a wonderful thing and again I had my staple of white bread and cheese. Gooooooooo travel diet, the eternal meal in Latin America for veggies! We all pitched in to help Christian 2 pack up our campsite and we got on board the boat for 10:00 sailing back across Lago Pehoe. Everyone helped with my bag as well and we all sat on top deck enjoying the view. Short public bus ride to the start of our supposedly scenic and informative walk to the Information Centre. What ... read more

The (Bates) hotel continues to not impress; both Michele and I had beds with a top mattress that slid off towards the floor causing a 45 degree angle of sleeping. We both woke up half on the floor half on the bed. Positive? Water pressure was good. Left the hotel at 07:30 to commute on local bus (but not chicken by any standard) with one pit stop (read banos!) thankfully. Arrived at Torres del Paine National Park entrance, and scrambled for a marathon walk to see the waterfall and some lovely views. Unfortunately it literally was a marathon pace and I was struggling to keep up with my bad knee. It was too much too fast I fear and my leg has been going downhill since then. The boat ride across Lago Pehoe took half hour ... read more