2000 Miles And Back Again
Friday, February 9th, 2007Hey guys
Im nearly at the end of my trip… booo!!! Im now back in Santiago, loving the sunshine and wearing my flip flops and shorts, making the most of it as I hear that England is cold and snowy right now, brrrr!!
So from the bottom of Chile, Punta Arenas, we visited penguins. The boat trip to get to Isla Magdalena was an experience in itself. The sea looked calm but we spent 25 minutes hitting the waves and having our stomachs flipped and at one point it looked as though we might capsize as the boat went back into the water at a strange angle, but I live to tell the tale!
Penguins were great. They live on a big island all by themselves, thousands of them. They are quite shy really but if you approach them the right way they will walk with you. I got really close to a penguin and it came towards me with what I thought was interest but instead it leapt forward and hit me with its beak! It hit my water bottle though so cant tell you if it would have hurt or not!
Moving 3 hours north of Punta Arenas we arrived in Puerto Natales, the gateway to Chile´s greatest national park, Torres del Paine. Chances are if you didnt know anything about Chile you still would have heard of Santiago, the Andes and Torres del Paine. All the way down the country people have been saying to book accommodation weeks if not months in advance but we booked everything in Natales, like a day before we wanted to go, so dont always believe the hype. There´s lots of hiking up mountains and stuff to be done there with spectacular scenery.
The volcano climb had convinced me that me and uphill struggles are a lost cause so I told the boys that I would take a book and find a nice spot to sit and read while they went off on their hikes. Anyway, we decided to do the ´w´circuit of the hike which involves 3 different treks. One is uphill through mountaineous terrain to reach the base of the famous towers. Another is through woodland and along lakes to reach a glacier. The third is to walk in the valley created by the towers on one side and the glacier on the other and this is meant to be the best scenery wise.
On our first day we decided to tackle the towers first. At least the boys did. I started the walk with them, taking my copy of the Motorcycle Diaries to read when it all got too much. The weather is meant to be windy and rainy here but we were blessed with sunshine and hardly any wind. The first half hour was very flat and then it gets a bit steep and I told the boys to go on without me and I may catch them up and if not Id see them in the evening. So I continued uphill, it wasnt too bad. Some bits were steep but it wasnt continually like that so I carried on. A group of Israelis who I had seen in Natales and Punta Arenas caught up with me and I walked with them for a bit and that was good. But I was lagging in the heat so I just did it all in my own time. The last 30 minutes of the first bit was a bit hair-raising. You have to walk along a very narrow, steep mountain pass and if you miss a step, mate you are going down and not coming back up!!! The fact that it was signposted that there was a campsite at the end of this bit made me go on. Also the wind was a bit scary here but sure enough, I carried on and there was a campsite at the end along a lovely river and the boys had stopped there to have lunch. The first part of the second half was OK, through woodland with ups and downs and a bit of climbing over rocks. Again, the boys went on and I told them I would probably only make it as far as the campsite an hour before the base. The reason for this was we had heard that the final hour to get to the base was “a knee-popping scramble” over boulders uphill and that some hikers never came back!!! So we arranged to meet at the campsite. However, I eventually got to the campsite and so many people on their way back down had been saying, keep going, you´re nearly there and I got to a clearing where it said campsite 5 minutes in one direction or lookout point (the base) 45 minutes in the other. I thought, what the hell and started going uphill…
The first bit was fine but halfway up I found it harder and harder to climb over the rocks and feel confident about footing. I could see Ray up the top so I shouted up to him and that made me keep going. A girl on her way down told me to keep going. She said, “You´ve done the hardest part, you´re nearly there!”. And you know what, I made it! I nearly went back down at one point out of despair, but I did it! I cant explain on email how difficult it was and any photos you see of the last bit will never fully tell you how hard it is… you have to go there and do it yourselves! Ray made his way back down while Ben and I sat there and looked at the towers and the green lake below. It was pretty amazing. Then we made our way back down. I think going back down was actually harder than going up! We got as far back at the mountain pass when I suddenly decided that I couldnt go back. We had been walking for 7 hours and I was exhausted. I didnt even realise how hungry I was til I had a few marshmallows and ended up scoffing half the packet! Ben kept me going and when we got to the final downhill my toes felt like they were going to burst out of my Merrells!!
We made it there and back in 9 hours and its recommended the hike take 8-9 hours so I was pleased with that. Kids and old people do it too and hardcore Israelis carry their camping gear with them! It can be done. We got back to our hostel and found that Ray had twisted his ankle quite badly on the boulders back down but he´d kept going otherwise if he stopped he would never have made it back. So that was him out of action and he headed back to Puerto Natales early.
The Glacier walk was done in bursts of wind and rain. Looking back, not my favourite, plus a lot of walking in dark woodland. What I really like though was the walk to the Valley of France. I again was adopted by the Israeli group and then a couple of English girls and an older couple from Devon (I always let Ben go on ahead cos he´s a fast walker). Its a nice walk along a lake and through meadows and then you reach a roaring white river (Rio France) and I ended up sitting on a rock having my lunch watching ice fall off the French Glacier. I sat there for well over an hour. I could have sat there all day in the sun. When I was on my own, Id sing to myself apart from when walking under boulders and along rockfaces (!!!), Sam, a bit of Outkast and Hey Ya for you. And I found myself speaking 5 languages to passers by – English, French, Spanish, German and Hebrew!!! Except I cant really speak Hebrew but try telling the Israelis that – Rach you will have to teach me something smart to say next time I get told that I am Israeli and I am just joking or that my ancestors must be Israeli etc etc!
So almost 79km walked in 3 days. Everything ached. My knee is still gammy. But it was worth it! Patagonia has definitely been the highlight of my trip. Back in Natales, Ben gave me an early birthday present and took me to a place called Indigo – http://www.indigopatagonia.com/ – dead smart and great to relax and we spent a day eating chocolate and hanging out at a great Chocolate cafe – http://www.patagoniadulce.cl/ and then it was time to say goodbye….
I took a bus back to Punta Arenas and flew back to Santiago so I can fly home and Ray and Ben went over the border to Argentina. The flight was awesome, flying over ice fields and then lakes and volcanoes and eventually, dusty looking land and the Andes. I could see also how smoggy the air over Santiago is. Im in the Barrio Brasil district staying in a really smart place called Happy Hostel. I have really enjoyed Chile and after a month I am able to hold a conversation in Spanish. I just hope that I dont forget it all when I get home. South America has been really positive and in some ways not what I expected. I hope to come back and see some more. But for now… I have to go home and work to live……
See you when I get back!!
Farrah xxxx
PixieDoux