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Published: November 20th 2013
Torres central, the first day of the w trk in Patagonia. Basking in the sun surrounded by yellow daisies and the snow capped mountains of the Andes. On our 2 hour trip from puerto Natalie's we saw at least 5 condors, massive prehistoric birds which sour high above the clouds and swoop down to takea closer look at the baby arctic sheep and lamas. They say the weather changes in a minute here which is admittedly true. Ominous clouds have quickly replaced the white swirls which capped the Torres 20 min ago. We stared our Patagonia adventure 2 days ago from the bustling city of buenos aires, flying into el cala fate. Patagonia feels like a different country from the humid warm province of buenos aires. Our interesting host at the hostel in el cala fate, I ken Kue was telling us that the patagonians want to gain independence from their respective states of chilli and Argentina. He also told us how very few of the native people that lived in Patagonia still exist, those that do,still survive in the mountains. On our first night in el cala fate we took the lonely planets advise and treated ourselves to our second
Argentinian beef steak. The meat here really is a cut above the rest. Juicy and tender with a smokey flavor, no need for any sauce like in South Africa, they serve you a single steak which covers your plate and has a big piece of fat on it, which I think makes it so ridiculously Mouthwateringly tasty. Sitting in the Refugio Los cuenos after the second grueling day of the w trek. We started yesterday like typical rookies with all our snow gear ready to brace the Andes, Only to experience the most perfect beautiful warm day. We hiked up a mountain and along the edge of a cliff which was pretty terrifying before reaching Refugio chilleano. There we dropped off our bags and continued up the mountain to reach the most breathtaking ice blue green lake at the top. The Torres spired over the lake. We lay in the sun and fell asleep up there. It was really quite magical lying in the sun surrounded by snow capped mountains and glaciers with an ice blue lake and three monumental spires overlooking the lake. We were so tired when we got back we had dinner and went straight to bed.
The wind picked up during the night and when we woke up the next morning it was hurricane level. Luckily the second day of the hike is supposed to be the easiest. We set off with our new friends a Scottish couple. The first bit of the second day involved scaling the side of a mountain which precariously looks likes its about to experience a landslide (not for the faint hearted) especially with winds at 100km per hour. At one point we were on the very edge with a sheer cliff to the left and no railing or anything, just a 1.5 meter path between you and the bottom of the valley. That was pretty damn scary, but the biggest adrenaline rush. The rest of the day improved (danger wise) but the wind continued to howl. We walked along the edge of this massive glacial lake. The water here is the most exquisite color. It's spring at the moment so there are 100's of bushes with bright red flowers and a scent similar to fynbos. The red bushes set against the glacial lake and the snow capped mountains really is breath taking. Sitting on a bus from puerto Natalie's back
to el cala fate, tired and content. It's been a crazy 3 days since my last entry but going to start where we left off. After finishing dinner at el cuenos we went back to our dorm to find a bag on johns bed with a whole bunch of stuff pulled out. A mean looking cockney bloke advised us that this was his bed. Upon discussing the matter with the Chilean owner it turned out they'd double booked our bed. We were happy to share a bed and get a refund but the cockey acted really weird and said he would share a bed with his girlfriend anyway but his bag needed the extra bed and it was the principle that he'd paid. Our Scottish friends, Gillian and Fraser agreed with us that there was something not quite right about the cockney. The situation worked out to our benefit in the end when the manager told us we were to upgrade to one of the cabins. It was amazing to have a big fluffy bed with a down duvet and crisp white sheets, not to mention the view from the sky light of an overpowering snow covered mountain and an
ice blue lake from the French doors of our cabin. Day 3 of the W is the hardest day, the route takes you along the side of the mountain through the riverine shrub forests of red bushes, along amazing pebbled beaches ( which were one of my favorite parts, and then up a mountain past glacier France's and into a magical forest on top of the mountain to view the spectacular French valley. The entire day is 28 km ( at least 10 of these clambering over boulders up a steep mountain.) We left early to attack the day and stopped for lunch with a view of a waterfall in the forest on top of the mountain when Jill and Fraser joined us. It was so much fun walking with them and laughing about all the funny moments we had already experienced including sunglasses corner the day before where both John and frasers sunglasses had been blasted off by the Hurricane winds, our favorite odd little Hong Kong friend, frank whose impulsive out look on life was quite refreshing and our gay German friends (always good to have at least one queen on a trip.) John and me spotted possibly
our rarest bird ever having a swim in the stream on top of the mountain, it looked like some kind of finfoot but bright orange and it jerked its head around when it moved. The forest on top of the mountain was like a fairy tale land, it was thick with moss and a deep green color, if one couldn't feel the freezing temperatures and see the snow on the mountains outside you would swear you were in a tropical forest in the amazon. It started to snow which just set the scene for two deer to cross our path, skipping along and chasing each other like it was a summers day (which I suppose it was in Torres del Paine) although by the freezing temperatures you would never guess so. The only way to stay warm was to keep moving, which we did for a solid 11 hours before finally reaching el grande, our final resting camp. By the time we reached el grande the snow had turned to sleet, the temperature had dropped and the wind had returned to its hurricane level. We were advised that the Refugio was fully booked and we were to camp. To make
matters worse they had run out of the down sleeping bags and gave us thin sleeping bags, the kind you use to protect yourself from mozzies in Mozambique. A friend in need is a friend indeed, and thank god for our Scottish friends, who generously offered us one of their bunks inside which we gladly took (think it may have just saved our lives because the winds howled all night and the temperature dropped further) When we awoke on the fourth day it was a miserable icy cold rainy windy day. We couldn't give up though so after breakfast we grudgingly put back on our cold wet clothes, took 2 anti inflammatories to numb the pain in our legs and fetched our pack lunches. Lunch had apparently run out so all we got as sustenance for the 25km hike through the snow was 2 grainy apples. Once again our Scottish friends came to the rescue and offered to share their lunches with us. If it wasn't for them I'm not sure we would have hiked the last day as the first 2 hours of the hike were through burnt forest which reflected our bleak moods. The day picked up by
Jill and Fraser cheering us up in only what I imagine a Scotsman can do, sarcastically commenting on what a lovely day it was and giving extra cheery hellos to passers by. The highlight of the day (besides glacier gray which was spectacular) was seeing a condor swoop very close and land on its nest in the rock face within 50m of us) our handy binoculars were the hit of the day. I have never been so happy (or cold) to have a beer at the end and get onto the ferry which took half an hour to drive across the lake to the bus. We checked into our hostel in puerto Natalie's and went for a celebratory meat dinner with Jill and Fraser. It was sad to say bye to them but hopefully they will come visit us in SA.
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Irene/ Mom/ Kippy
non-member comment
Wow!
Hi Robs and John, What an amazing time you are having! Your letter is great -- beautifullly writing and manages to conjure up images even without us having to look at the photos (great to get it on e-mail as well as the blog). Your photos are also wonderful, but they make me shiver. Gee you guys are tough! Even when I was your age I would NEVER have managed what you did. Well done! Sad that you had to say goodbye to Gillian and Fraser, who -- by the end of the trip -- had become soulmates. Hope the rest of your trip is as wonderful as the first week has been. Love you lots, from Mom/Kippy