Getting ready for the W
Day 85, Tue Nov 23 Puerto Natales
I liked Puerto Natales. It is a nice little town with some gorgeous views of fjords. It is also the starting point for most people who trek in the Torres del Paine national park. Most of the people either do what is called a “W”; the heartier souls do the full circuit.
After a hearty breakfast at Erratic Rock hostel (great home made bread), it is time to wander around a bit before meeting together to decide the plan over the next few days. The group of 10 split into two as some folks have time constraints and fancy doing the W in 3 days instead of 5. The afternoon is spent putting together a shopping list for the 5 days, visiting the supermarket, renting equipment (tent, sleeping bag, mattress, cooking material). The erratic rock is also famous for the lectures they give on trekking: they focus on what to take, how to pack. Pretty informative talk and well attended.
Busy evening getting everything organised and packing. After packing, it is a late dinner with the entire group of 10. We went to a small restaurant run by two women, who were run ragged by attending to the 10 of us. They were very nice and offered us a few different dishes to try for free to make up for the delay. They had some good wine as well.
I went to bed looking forward to the next few days with excitement and some trepidation as well, since this would be my first real camping trip.
Tags: Travel
Damu