Torres del Paine, Chile

5/4 Monday morning 6am. It's dark. It's cold outside. wtf am i doing. Off to Torres del Paine. Bus goes round town picking up sleepy backpackers. Dumps most of them by a lake in the park. Boat scoops up backpackers and floats them to other side. Backpackers pickup backpacks and carry them off to various campsites. This backpacker carries 20kg backpack 4.5 hours to camp Las Guarda, puts up tent, cooks food, eats, sleeps, and is not merry. Actually it was quite a lot of fun, and the scenery was very pretty. I'd never seen a glacier before so i was quite impressed.

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Camp Las Guardas, Glacier Grey

6/4 Take it easy, need to rest my knees from the long trek yesterday. I go for short walk further along the trail, but its a bit dull in the forest, so I turn back and stroll to glacier to read a book instead. But of course its very cold so I decide to do a bit of climbing to keep warm. The granite slopes beside the glacier are quite friendly so i make my way downhill heading south for about an hour, until i hit a stream which leads me back up to the campsite. Do a few squats and stretches and feeling a lot better.

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Hike to Camp Italiano, Valley de Frances

7/4 De-camp and head back, turn left after 4.5 hours and continue 2 hours to Valley Frances. Hope to make it to the more distant Camp Britanico but i'm knackered and its getting dark. Instead get inspiration for an american version of a Carry On film.

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Valley Frances to Refugio Cuernos

8/4 Day trek up the valley. Stop at Camp Britanico for tea. It's a beautiful clear day.



Later, de-camp and head to Refugio Cuernos by the lake. A 'refugio' is a basic hostel/hotel in the middle of no-where. First shower after 3 nights camping, feels great. Hang out in the refugio and socialise for a change. It's warm and cozy by the fire and the food and wine is going down well. My fellow backpackers tell me there's a spare bed in their dorm, so I sneak in for a free warm-nights sleep.

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Refugio Cuernos to Camp Torres

9/4 Head onto Torres, taking care to follow the sign for "people".

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10/4 Up before dawn for the final 45min hike up to see the Torres. It'd be tricky in the dark but the route is well marked with florescent paint, and my travel buddy is equipped with a decent hand-torch. I also discover that just stuffing a normal torch under your beanie works pretty well too. Anyway we get to the top and set up kitchen, clattering about to the delight of romantic trekkers enjoying the still morning air, then settle down to some lovely hot chocolate, ahhh. It's moments like this I wish I was travelling with a girlfriend.



Back at camp I say farewell to my travel buddy who is heading on. I stay to endure another night camping at this site, but its worth it. The day trek I do now turns out to be my favourite part of the national park. Completely alone and sighting no-one the whole day, i trek north and then east into Valley de Silencio. No trail is marked on the map, presumably because its a long deadend so if you get stuck no-ones gonna come and get you. Anyway, taking care not to upset any of the larger boulders teetering on the slopes, i tred my way into this fascinating valley. Completely devoid of vegetation, the place had an other-worldly feel, the landscape seemed to have been carved directly by the hand of some god wielding a huge plough. Boulders were piled up in a massive strip down the centre of the valley, it seemed to make no sense how they could have gotten there. No doubt there's some glacial explanation. Anyway I enjoyed the peace and quiet, and it doesn't get much quieter, even the air was totally still. Finally a nice cup of tea to launch me back to civilisation.

Back at camp I chat to some of the new arrivals, including a couple of chirpy girls on holiday. One of them has a beautiful behind, and her friend is a geologist who helps shed light on some of the other peaks and troughs of the area.
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Back to civilisation
11/4 5am It's damn cold in my little tent so to warm up i get up again before dawn and hike up the see the Torres again for sunrise. Its a beautiful morning. Campstove on. Porridge out. Bump into the chirpy girls and offer them a cup of tea.



Back at camp,decamp, and hike back down the hill and out of the park. Close shave driving over a 1930's British (Westminster) railbridge. Driver gets out to fold the mirrors in. Very impressive steering, only 2cm space each side.

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12/4 Back in Puerto Natales. Seek inspiration from stuffed chicken sunning on the pier. Tall shadow follows me.

13/4 Eat. Sleep.

14/4 New theory: backpackology

Pointlessly I ponder the point of travel. We are all displaced runts.

15/4 Hang about near internet for a few days to sort out a tenancy problem back home. Tough life being a landlord.

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Isla Navarino to Puerto Natales

31/3 Navarino Island. Recovered from the sailing trip and now an urge to tred on some solid ground. I decide to take it easy the first day and go for a short stroll along the coast, but get bored and make a detour to follow a stream inland. This proves to be a bad idea, as there is no trail and the landscape quickly turns to thicker bush. Not wanting to return the way i came i decide to plough on and get pretty lost. Id forgotton my compass but luckily the sun was out so in the end i just plodded on heading south which i knew would eventually take me to the sea. I squelched through some thick marshland and finally out of the blue came across a dirt road and a holy shrine. I stopped for a prayer and followed the road, which led back into town.

Next day i head up a local mountain for some spectacular views of the island.

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1/4 Leaving the island required a little patience. There were flights every day to Punta Arenas, but the booking system hardly ever worked so I kept having to return at 4pm, 7pm, next day, when the agent is back from the airport, school drop-off, doing knitting, etc. It seemed that a single mum ran the whole airport and the travel agency. Boarding was a casual affair, and im off in a 20-seater plane cosied up with a small military troupe returning home from a demining stint on Cape Horn.

Through the plane window you can see the marina of Puerto Williams where i had disembarked from the sailing trip. I was a little afraid at first since the pilot said that there maybe some turbulance, and i'd never been on such a small place before.

Early arrival in Punta Arenas leaves me time to head to the local tax/free shopping district for camping gear.. including a rucksack.. finally i am a backpacker!

2/4 A day of depression and art. I spent the day taking pictures of random things about town. The lack of obvious tourist attractions gave a new perspective.

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And then on the way home.. a council estate for dead people..

3/4 Arrive in Puerto Natales still feeling pretty rotton, and sympathise with the local architecture.

4/4 Spend a day in Puerto Natales preparing for my first epic camping trip in probably 25 years. Buy more camping gear and a lot of porridge.

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