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Chillian fjords and trekking in Patagonia
Entry 13 of 20 | show all | print this entry |
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In Puerto Montt we boarded the Navimag ferry and embarked on a 3 day journey southwards through arguably some of the most beautiful fjords and marine canals in the Southern hemisphere.
We shared our cabin with a lovely Australian couple Max and Toni who ended up becoming our good trekking buddies-read below. Our days on the ferry varied from some beautiful flat waters and clear skies to rain and some very large swells. On the second day we had sailed a little out of the fjords into the Pacific Ocean, where the swells were rather large. The Navimag staff had suggested that people take sea sickness tablets and even announced when they should be taken which was pretty damn organised. Grant succumbed, having suffered from sea sickness before, but I managed without the pills having experienced good sea legs in the past. However, after about three hours of being thrown from side to side I was a little green around the gills but got through it OK with an early night!
We went past Glacier PIO XI which is one of two advancing glaciers on the South American continent. The walls were enormous reaching apx 80 metres into the sky. You can imagine how little we felt on a rather large ferry next to such a huge block of blue ice.
We didn´t see as much sea life as we had hoped. Grant did a stirling job with his zoom lense trying to capture some of the seals that raised their heads every now and then.
This is when one doesn´t mind being a photographer´s widow!!
The fjords were beautiful with not a person in sight. The land was mostly rocky outcrops with trees and couple of waterfalls in the distance.
We came into Puerto Natales on a lovely sunny though windy day - which became a bit of a feature for the next 5 days. This port town was a bit of a tourist haven with all the shops you need to get ready for your time trekking in Torres del Paine. So we followed the crowd to get our bus tickets, a tent and some food supplies for our 6 days of trekking. Yes I had done 12 days in a tent so 6 were nothing to me at that point!
Us Taylors and our trekking buddies Max and Tony ended up planning a great menu for every meal which was well worth it even though our packs were rather on the heavy side. So with packs neatly packed, the four of us headed off for Torres del Paine on the Friday morning 7 am bus.
We were very lucky to arrive at the national park on a beautiful sunny and clear day which allowed us to see the torres in all their glory-from a distance of course, we needed to hike at least 5 hours to get to their base.
There are several routes you can take in the park and we selected the extended "W" route, which is a little harder then the basic route as you climb and camp higher but get to see the best vistas.
The first of those views was of the torres at sun rise. Yes, Dr Taylor managed to get me out of bed at 4:30 am, since the sun rises so early, in order to climb/walk up the rocky terrain for about 2.5 km.
It was well worth the VERY early start as again we were blessed by the weather and saw the perfect sunrise with the sun hitting the torres with that exceptional yellow light.
Beauty or no beauty, it was like Antartica up there (yes I wore every piece of clothing I had!!), so getting back to the camp site for some very hot chocolate and breakfast was a welcome break.
You will see from the photos that from around every corner there is yet another beautiful view. Being spring I think we were seeing Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine at it best with the Patagonian fire bush in full bloom. I don´t think I have ever been to a place which had such diverse landscapes of colour.
The blue of the glacier lakes, to the red of the blossoms, green of the valleys and the sparkling white of the snow capped mountains-a paradise to remember.
Two things which were a little bit of a challenge was sharing this with a number of other trekkers, not our buddies Max and Toni of course but the many other tourists who we often had to share a path with. The wind was another challenge. Heavy pack or not, at time we thought we all would take off like Mary Poppins, without an umbrella of course! Our second camp was so windy that we seriously thought that out North Face tent would tear apart. If it was not for my husband being a true boy scout, he had extra rope to re-enforce the guy ropes and a good head for making the plan of putting rocks on top of the pegs we would have probably been tentless.
Our second amazing view from near Camp Brittanica felt like we were in a amphetheatre surrounded by mountains. Again we had another pretty hard climb gaining 850 meters within 2 km´s. All around us were one range of mountains after the next with the most beautiful glacier lake thrown in for colour. Of course the four of us have various photo moments to try and capture the place which is almost impossible.
Our next place of rest we spoilt ourselves to a cooked dinner at the refugio (cabin where some hilers stay overnight) and a shower. I can hear those hardcore mountainees saying ´´a shower´´, well I must say it felt great and helped with the rest of the trek we had ahead of us. The next stop after many hours of walking was Glacier Grey. Another steep trek to get to the view point and yes those packs still felt heavy even after four days!
The four of us enjoyed a whisky with REALLY cold mountain water while looking at this amazing natural wonder. The blue of the cravases is really hard to describe so hopefully the photos give you some idea.
The silence is also quite special as there is not much life around except for the cracking of the ice which occurs every now and then.
It was around these lakes and in the valleys of this reserve that we came upon some wildlife. The most beautiful geese which I am afraid
are nameless until we find a bird book and another feathery creature with a firey red chest which Grant photographed while this gorgeous bird was eating his lunch of grubs.
Max and Grant also saw a torrid duck which seemed to enjoy surfing the rapids of one of the high mountain rivers - sorry no photo Grant was on washing duty!.
All in all we had a wonderful time, a place to always remember when one is stressed and sitting in an office.
We had a lot of fun with our new friends Max and Toni. We all helped and encouraged each other on our merry way particularly at the end of long days when that campsite could not come quick enough.
After a couple of days back in Puerto Natales to recover and catch up we caught a bus to El Calafate to see - yes you have guessed it another glacier-we can´t get enough of them!!
Latest Comments (2)
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Superb Photos !! (reply)
Dec 13, 2006 17:23 EST by tayls_hels
Hi GaS,
WOW, we have so enjoyed being able to stay in touch and 'experience' some of what you are doing and seeing (you have certainly sold South America to us in a HUGE way)! Please do keep the updates coming.
H, D and I are off to sunny SA on Fri and really canot wait to introduce the little guy to the folks and family.
Take care both of you and much love from all th... show all
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Hello! (reply)
Dec 11, 2006 18:38 EST by jamandg
We've just managed to be settled enough in London to actually sit down and read your blog. Its been a hard month since our return! Its been lovely to read all your travel stories - keep them coming in! They are getting shorter so get writing!! We look forward to meeting up next year on your return! lots of love, the JAM family and G xx
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