Trekking Patagonia

 Subtitle:  Single at -0, what to do ...

One of the hikes that's been on my bucket list for a long time is the W Trek in Patagonia.  Going through Torres del Paine National Park in the Chilean Antarctic region, the beauty is everywhere you look.  There is no technical climbing involved, which makes me happy, and with a lot of people along the way doing the same thing you are, an epic adventure!  I was planning on doing this as a solo trip, as the trails are well marked and this would give me time for contemplation about life and love.  

Solo didn't happen - this is on many people bucket lists, so when a friend asked if she could come, and invite other friends I thought, ok, it might be fun to be with friends :-)

That's how we ended up being four.  

The flight to Santiago was wonderful - 8.5 hours direct from Miami where I was visiting my daughter and her family, I would recommend Latam Airlines with fairly comfortable economy seating.  I arrived early AM and waited about a half hour for two friends to arrive before heading to Hostel Tambo Verde in Santiago.  They held our backpacks for us while we checked out the city and some sites.  As we were heading towards the tour, we saw a park up some steps on a hill with a building and terraces on the top, and of course we had to climb up to where the views were amazing!

Bill, Annie and I In Santiago

 I always take a free city tour when I get to new places, and this one was wonderful.  We started in the town square (Plaza de Armas) and made our way to different sites.  It was ironic that I had read Ines of my Soul by Isabel Allende for book club a couple of months prior.  It is all about Ines Suarez, who was the mistress of Pedro de Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile and founder of Santiago.  

Christmastime in Chile - summer days :-)

Pedro de Valdivia Statue in Plaza de Armas

The "four boys" statue in Santiago, Chile, often recognized near the Municipal Theater, is a historic monument representing Chile (represented by the front boy) flanked by Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia, symbolizing regional relations during the post-independence era. The sculpture reflects a period where bordering nations, specifically Bolivia, were symbolically pushing Chile.

And then it was time to search for a Chilean Empanada.  This one was tasty, with beef, peppers, egg and olives.  The pastry, however, was not as pastrylike as I'm used to. It was kind of like calzone dough - not flaky.  Still very delicious!

The next morning it was on to Puerto Natales, which is the town where you catch the 2 hour bus to the park.  I was the first to arrive because of a little hiccup in the plans :-O

While searching for flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales, Google Flights kept defaulting to Punta Arenas, so I thought that it was the correct airport to fly into.  It was not!  Last minute switching of my flight had me leaving Santiago in the wee hours of the morning and arriving at 11 AM.   This is a tiny little mountain town with souvenir shops and places to purchase trekking items that you might need.  It is where our trekking company, Vertice, was based.  That was not the company we booked through, however, it is the local trekking company.

It was several more hours until one of my friends arrived (the only one who actually booked the correct flight), and the other friends arrived late that evening after a three hour bus ride from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales.

Heading to dinner with Wendy!

We woke up the next morning early, as we had to be at the bus station by 6:55 AM for the 7:00 AM bus to the national park.  Comfortable bus, beautiful roads and too excited to rest!

On this bus with Annie!

We got to the park and checked in with the ranger station, then took a shuttle to the first Refugio, Refugio Central.  We were able to drop our large backpacks off there so that we could just bring small backpacks for our first hike in the park, which was to actually see Torres Del Paine (Towers of Blue).  This was a long day, with about 3000 feet in elevation gain, out and back to see the towers.  

We started hiking up, up, up, people coming down at the same time we were going up.  It was a very warm day (this is the middle of summer in South America).  

Beginning the trek!

We're heading up there :-D

Getting warmer

And warmer

Horse near Refugio Chileno

On the way, we went through Windy Pass, which truly lived up to its name.  The winds almost blew me down, and I ended up with course dirt in my hair.  At this point, I was trekking alone, as I decided to not try to keep up with my trekking partners and take some breaks along the way to breath, sit and drink my water.  We had most of the day as it didn't get dark until very late at night (close to the south pole during the middle of their summer).  When I finally did get to the towers, it was awe inspiring!

During the trek up

At Torres Del Paine

Torres Del Paine in the background

After hanging out for a bit, we headed back down the same route to Refugio Central, stopping at Refugio Chileno for a respite along the way.  We had to wait for some Gauchos bringing supplies to the refugio on horseback, as that is the only way to get supplies there.  

Refugio Central notes - there are no games, cards, books or anything to keep you occupied at this refugio during downtime.  The room (6 beds) was comfortable, and because we had reservations for six (two people had to drop out because of a medical issue), we never had to share a room during the entire trek.  They did try to put a couple in with us at this refugio, but we stood firm that we had six beds reserved.  Diego was great, and there was another male manager who was very helpful.  Other than that, most were not helpful and some were rude.  The food was so-so.  Pros:  Great showers that included soap and lights with USB outlets at each bed.

Another note - Wifi was not free in any Refugio - it was about $10 for an hour, $13 for three hours, and was through an outside vendor.

After the long, exhausting but exhilarating day one, day two was pretty chill.  We hike from Refugio Central to Refugio Cuernos, partially along Lake Nordenskjold without much altitude gain.  The day was still beautiful at that point, so we took our time to admire the mountains, lakes, and beautiful landscape.

On the road again

Rocky terrain

Flat reprieve after yesterdays trek up!

I think that's where we're going??

Hanging bridges

Thankful for those first couple of days, because the weather was going to change!

We were hanging out and playing Jenga in Refugio Cuernos dining room, when all of a sudden the wind started getting intense.  By the next morning, the weather had completely changed - rain, wind, cold, yuck!  But ... I was in Patagonia hiking the W Trek, so I took it in stride :-)

Notes on Refugio Cuernos:  Luz, the person who checked us in, was wonderful.  In fact, most of the people at this refugio were wonderful!  It was rustic, but very comfortable.  The food was great (Salmon for dinner, my favorite!)  Since it was run by the same company who runs Central, there were lights and USB ports at every bed.  

Dining room / Bar at Refugio Cuernos

Doing our yoga after the days trek :-)

The beginning of Day 3

Day three - rain, wind, and what would be an awesome hike with gain of about 3,000 feet up the French Valley.  We started out early, but not quite early enough, because of the horrible weather.  I believe I had all of my clothes on that day.  The hike starts in a fairly flat area.  We made a stop at Refugio Frances to dry off a bit and have a bite to eat and drink, then continued on to drop our heavy backpacks off at the Italianno Ranger quarters for the hike up the mountain.  Everyone leaves their packs there and it appears to be very safe to do so.  At first the trail goes through a forest, before ascending toward Mirador Frances and then on to Mirador Britannico.  The rain was in a lull by then, so the trek was a bit better.  By the time we got to Mirador Frances, the winds were going to blow us away and the view was not so good because of the clouds.  I decided I didn't need to go the additional mile to Britannico and three of us made our way back down the trail.  By the time we got back to the ranger station, it was back to steady rain, and the inside area was jam packed with people eating lunch after the trek up the trail.  After a bit of a rest, we headed out towards our next Refugio - Paine Grande.  

Stop at Refugio Frances to dry off a bit

Mirador Frances - the wind was blowing me away!

The trek to Paine Grande was probably the worst for me - cold, wet, muddy, I barely looked up from the trail, trying not to step in the huge puddles.  I should not have left my gators on the bed at home!  By the time we arrived at Refugio Paine Grande, I was completely exhausted and looking forward to a warm room, with radiators to lay my clothes out to dry and a hot shower. We checked into the Refugio, which was right next to the lake where we would catch the catamaran in a couple of days.  This was by far the busiest Refugio we stayed at.  I believe people come in on the catamaran and stay there for day hikes. 

There was no heat in the rooms, no radiators to dry our clothes.  There were several areas with wood burning stoves and that was how they heat this large Refugio.  We got our welcome drinks at this one, so after I laid my clothes over a railing to dry (it didn't work), and took a hot shower (note that you had to push a button and the shower lasted 90 seconds, then you pushed the button again), I got some delicious Chilean wine and hung out in one of the areas talking to some other trekkers.  Some were coming, some were going, they were from Australia, Britain, Peru, and the US.  What wonderful conversations we had about our travels!  All of us trying to get warm from the cold, windy, rainy weather outside.  

I met up with the rest of my crew to head down to the buffet dinner at the appointed time.  The food was delicious and plentiful with brisket, corn pudding, plenty of options.  Even the desserts were yummy!  

This was where we found out that one of us was not feeling well, so it was decided that two would head out the next morning on the catamaran, and two of us would continue to Grey.

Refugio Paine Grande notes: This is where you receive welcome drinks, as this one (and Grey) are run by a different company than the other two we stayed at.  Great buffet for dinner and breakfast, very busy, no heat in rooms, no USB's by the beds.

The next morning we took our time as it was a short hike up the mountain to Refugio Grey.  We had all day to trek the 11 km (about 7 miles) up the mountain.  The day began just as cold as it was the day before, and there was mud everywhere.  There were not as many people on this trail, which actually made it quite lovely!  Taking our time, going at our own pace so we weren't always hiking together, this was a wonderful hike full of solitude.  There were views of icebergs on the lake and you could see Glacier Grey in the distance.  There were times that I was climbing down what appeared to be a stream with rocks that could be used as steps.  I was already completely soaked through so what did it matter if my shoes got wetter!  We saw the area that was flattened by fire in 2011 as well as beautiful lookouts (Miradors) to just wonder about the grandeur of the Andes Mountains and Patagonia.  We eventually made it to the Refugio where I checked us in while Wendy went on to a lookout point.  I needed a minute to rest :-)

What a wonderful Refugio - Phillipe checked me in and somehow knew that I was Lynda!  Well, he knew I was with the Lynda group before he realized that I was Lynda.  Strangely, everyone seemed to know my name.  When we went to dinner, the guy there looked at us and very cheerfully said "Lynda?"  I wonder if not everyone makes it to that Refugio :-O

There we were given six welcome drinks (we reserved for six) to split between the two of us.  I believe I left at least one on the table!  

After dropping my things in the room, I went to the lookout point which was a wonderful vantage point to see the glacier and icebergs.

Glacier Grey

Iceberg from the Lookout Point

Glacier Grey in the background

Eleanor and Sam - pretty sure they're from my hood.

First hanging bridge - when I saw you had to climb up before you went over I was like, HELL NO!

The next day (after a short trek - Wendy to both hanging bridges and me to the first hanging bridge) was the relatively short 7 mile walk back to Paine Grande to catch the catamaran.  It was cold and windy, and everyone was so happy when they managed to get all who were waiting onto the earlier catamaran back to the Puerto Natales bus!  

Back at Paine Grande

Trek - done!

And this is where my trek ends.  I did continue on to Buenos Aires, which I loved so much that I know I have to go back!  Here's some pictures from a tour around the Palermo area of BA:

Behind me is the Recoleta Atlas statue.  It's holding up the oldest Gomera tree in BA, planted in 1781

These remind me of the Stolpersteine in Europe and serve the same purpose - to recognize the disappeared in Argentina during the dictatorship era from 1976 to 1983  

 

This was a wonderful trip, bookended by seeing my loved ones and a wonderful way to celebrate my -0 birthday!