Hello family and friends,
We have finally made it back from our nine day trekking adventure through one of the most beautiful parks in the world, Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile. I know we say this a lot, but it was truly a highlight of our travels thus far. Before we left, we had to buy gear at the duty free shop in Punta Arenas, Chile. We purchased 1 tent, 2 sleeping bags, 2 auto inflatable mats, 1 stove (portable), and cooking equipment. After we got all geared up, we took a bus over to Puerto Natales, the staging area for trips into the national park. Along the way we met fellow travelers from Israel and Germany so we all decided to take the voyage together. We spent two days buying food and mentally preparing for our upcoming challenge. We started our trip by taking a bus into the park. We saw guanacos, ostriches, and flamingos all before we even paid the entrance fee, a good first impression.
Mila on a bench in Puerto Natales before we left for our journey
Guanacos
We knew very little about the trek before we started. We had heard about the granite towers of Torres Del Paine, but not much more than that. It turns out that the towers were only one of the many beautiful things in the park (but don't let us downplay them, they were magnificent). The nine day trek takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery one could imagine; mountains, rivers, lakes, forrest and glaciers. It seemed at times like we were in completely different countries and at some points, like we were on a different planet. The trek also takes you through all the seasons. We had sunshine, rain, hail and snow in the same day. We started the trek in summer, then winter and fall, and ended the trek back in summer. Torres Del Paine is a masterpiece of nature and we are so glad we got to spend some time together.
According to the map of the park, we walked 141.9 KM that would take 56.5 hrs over the course of nine days. Here are some of the things we saw, day by day, throughout the park.
Day 1- we arrived at 9:00 AM with grins on our faces. Everyone knew this would be a special trip. In order to preserve battery, we only took a few pictures. It is not so easy to get things charged in the park, but we figured it out along the way.
Our first view of the towers in the background. We will be closer soon!
Day 2- we went from one mosquito filled campsite to the next. The old man with the walking sticks is Ben. He is 25. Just kidding Ben
Full of energy, but this is only day 2
Our first glacier siting
Where we spent our second night- beautiful but full of mosquitos. Most people skip this camp due to the blood suckers
Day 3- now the fun begins. Nina, Mila, and Ben leaving camp
A nice viewpoint mid hike
A trekker's gotta eat
By the river, enjoying the sun
Day 4- Mila and Nina shedding layers in the forrest. They would be adding them back on later
Our biggest climb of the trek and windy as can be. Gusts here can reach far over 100 KM/hr and we hiked in 84 KM/hr wind.
Crossing over John Gardner pass to see the world famous glacier grey. Views like this are only awarded to those who do the full circuit. Poland, Holland, and Czech Republic unite.
What an incredible day!
Day 5- hiking alongside glacier grey. And as if it wasn't beautiful enough, a perfect rainbow for our viewing pleasure
Sorry to be redundant, but this thing was unreal
Our crew
Mila climbing down the longest ladder of the trek
Ben on one of many bridges
And we capped off the day with some food, wine, cards and story telling in the refugio
Day 6- we continued along Lago Grey until the glacier disappeared from view
Saying farewell in the rain. Goodbye old friend. You will be missed
Right before we got to our campsite
Our home for the night was incredible- massive mountains on one side and a turquoise lake on the other. Nina had to leave us to make her next destination, but we were glad she could be with us for six days
Day 7- the longest day took us 28 KMs through rain, sleet, snow and sun. Our dogs were barking and our knees were swelling
Icing on top of the cake
The always changing scenery
Feeling on top of the world, one with the mountains
Siesta
Mountains next to us as we walked to our campsite
That night, we arrived late and got the last pick of land. Mila and I slept on a slanted hill with two massive rocks under us. Ben's tent couldn't even be staked all the way to the ground because of the uneven surface. I tak to jest
Day 8- after an amazing night full of unawakened sleep, we came out of our tents to this view
A lucky tree on our coastal walk
Snack break. When life gets tough, a bandana plus ear warmers will make things better
Day 9- sunrise walk to the granite towers at 4:30 AM. We found some strangers to walk with. We borrowed the light from their headlamps and made our ascent up the mountain (light-hitch hiking as one kind fellow called it). We had been told that catching the right weather was essential on this day. The last several days had not had clear skies. We were keeping our fingers crossed
First, the walk up, close to the towers
The sun starting to rise, but would it be enough?
The magic of the towers comes from the sun. It rises opposite the towers and if you are lucky, you can get a five minute show that will burn in your memory forever
We were extremely lucky
On one side, the sun was on fire and on the other, the towers were soaking in the rays. These are not photoshopped or touched up in any way. The colors are real and breathtaking. Everyone there was in awe of this natural light show
We had an amazing nine days. Thank you to Ben and Nina for being with us on this journey. And for everyone else, we hope that you get to experience this place one day yourselves. See you all next time from El Calafate and the still growing Perito Moreno glacier.
-Mila and Scott
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Location:Calle Eberhard,Natales,Chile
