Punta Arenas - flew from Buenos Aires via Santiago & Puerto Montt down to Punta Arenas. Chilled out for a day in a nice hostal - where incidentally we were the only ones staying and had booked into a hostal so we could meet people! Made good use of the kitchen and TV and bought food in supermarket and cooked dinner - afraid to say you do get fed up of eating out every night after a month.
Took bus couple of hours north to Puerto Natales.
Puerto Natales - base for trek. Got accosted by a little old lady as we got off bus and she persuaded us to stay in her tin-hut-house-for-a-hostel called Nico´s! We stayed one night getting supplies together and got a bus into the park the next morning. Very quiet little place - Ben says reminds him of Northern Exposure.
Torres del Paine National Park - 4 day Trek along the "W" Circuit
Absolutely fantastic views! When it wasn't snowing and raining and cloudy that is. Got the best pictures the first day. We were dropped off at the left side of the mountain range in the above picture and trekked along the bottom and out the right hand side. Had hoped to go up one of the valleys to see the Torres up close but snow came down and it wasn't possible to get up there. It is off season at the moment - just crazy westerners out there on the trail - with tents too as only one lodge on the circuit is open this time of year.
Spent 4 days and 3 nights camping. Very cold when you stopped walking but we had our down jackets and sleeping bags so were snug at night. Very glad we had brought all our outdoor gear - we were wondering why we had bothered when we were sitting on the beach in Brazil but we so needed all the kit out here.
Thanks Ben & Kathy for the gluhwein!
Thanks Adrian, Yann & John for the waterproof overtrousers, silk sleeping bag liners, fleeces, water filter and rain jackets!! We were probs the best kitted out on the mountain! Some silly people were up there in trainers and had wet feet for 3 days!
Taking the Navimag boat tonight up the west coast of Chile from Puerto Natales (Number 9) to Puerto Montt (Number 1). Takes 4 days. Hope to see dolphins and whales.
http://www.navimag.com/
Best wishes to all.
Sam & Ben x
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