Chile, Torres del Paine (Part III)

No turning back now.

All uphill.

Our place of rest for the night.

Christmas Eve would be our last and most difficult trekking day as we attempted to reach the base of the towers, the famous three granite peaks which give the park its name, Las Torres Del Paine. The best time to attempt the climb is before sunrise, supposedly to catch a glimpse of the morning sun hitting the peaks. Alarm bells went off at 3am. The ascent to the towers was approx 2 hrs and with the sun rising at 5am there was no room for slacking. Trying to brave the bitter cold in the dark was pure hell but we kept our thoughts on the sunrise. We started off at a good pace, perhaps too eager, using all our energy before the final horrendous part of the trek which was a never ending steep incline full of huge boulders. When we finally reached the top, the sun was trapped behind clouds which moved in from nowhere and we felt a little cheated after putting in so much effort.

Las Torres Del Paine

Minus temperatures with cutting winds, numb fingers and icy toes. I was cursing everyone who had promised us the glorious sunrise as it never appeared. The trek was worthwhile for anyone who likes to suffer was my initial thought, as the biting cold just had me thinking in one thing, Christmas Eve! I could feel the heat of a roaring fire in my mind with Ella Fitzgerald in the background. Oh how I longed for a Black Russian. Despite my wondering mind torturing me, the views were breathtaking and you can't help but feel a sense of achievement. The most enjoyable part for us both was making our way back down the mountain watching the many suffering trekkers who still had a long way to go.

Coming to the end of the entire trek, a huge Christmas dinner was waiting for us in the lodge at the bottom of the mountains. Poor Bruno got food poisoning and spent the rest of the day in bed missing out on the huge banquet of delicious food.

Christmas day there was no trekking allowed. Instead we went horse riding through the most incredible scenery. The perfect end to our Torres Del Paine adventure.

Chile, Torres del Paine (Part II)

Early rise for another 14Km trek. Our delightful bunk bed dorms, luxury in comparison to the unfortunate souls who dared to camp outside.

The park became a whole new world when the sun finally made an appearance.

Although the clouds always seemed to loom over the mountain peaks.

Keep moving.

Doesn't he look the part!

What is trekking all about? Let's face it, walking can be so boring and exhausting, but with rewarding views like the one below, you are always eager to see what the next turn has to offer.

Never a dull moment.

Wild flower

Chile, Torres del Paine (Part I)

Las Torres Del Paine - National Park in Southern Patagonia, Chile

While most of you were buying your last gifts for Christmas or enjoying a few drinks in the pub after work, myself and Bruno braved the cold like two lunatics in an attempt to complete the famous W trek in four days. Neither of us had ever trekked before, especially not in such bitterly cold conditions and we certainly felt like two novices among so many hard-core trekkers dressed in their North Face fancy gear.

Our starting point was a night stay in Puerto Natales, a sad little town several hours from the park and our last taste of civilization, if you could even call it that. This was to be our luggage drop off point and a place where we could prepare for the trek. Our hostel had a prep talk for fellow trekkers, to give advice and inside tips on how to conquer the route successfully. One great tip was to remove the waterproof cover from your rucksack, as these apparently have a tendency to fly off with gale force winds and litter the park. Instead the solution given to avoid wet clothes was to line the contents of your ruck sack with black bin bags. Great idea, or so we thought until we realised after our first day of trekking in non stop rain that we were the only fools who had left it behind it.

The W route below in red - mission completed in four days after one case of food poisoning, some painful knee joints and extremely tired feet. Although the great feeling of accomplishment and the laughs we had along the way certainly made up for all our moans.

View from transfer on our way to the park entrance.

Doesn't it look like it's going to be a great day...

Bruno trying to look like a pro.

Fresh glacier waterfall.

Time for the bathroom - in the bush.

Having lunch huddled under a tree for shelter from the blustery winds when a mini avalanche came thundering down the valley in front of us. Amazing!!

Wild berries.

Enjoying some rest.

Sharp peaks.

Wait...

Enough, I need to rest my backside. As we lay on the edge of the lake ten condors circled over head. Wonderful moment.

We only caught one on camera though.

Almost there.