Torres del Paine
Trip Start
Jan 23, 2006
1
17
28
Trip End
Jan 31, 2007
Puerto Natales,
Chile
Monday, March 13, 2006
After the first bus decided we were not good enough for them, we made it onto the second and last bus of the day - setting us back an entire day! A few short hours later, we were in the Park, craning our necks upward, looking up at the 3 Torres (Towers) - or at least trying. Twas a misty night, thick like pea soup... it really screwed up our view of the 3 towers! After firing up the gas cookers, and doing our Gordon Ramsey impersonations, we chowed down on some gourmet camping nosh, played some cards and drank some Gato Negro vino (Black Cat wine). The heavens then opened, forcing us deep into our sleeping bags.
Dawn broke, and the mist was even thicker. I had been looking forward to seeing the Torres for 6 months, so was somewhat put out by the weather thrown at us - but what can you expect from Southern tip of the world! We pushed on with a hike to the foot/feet of the 3 towers, but sadly we couldn't see a damn thing. Because we weren't suffering enough yet, it then started to rain, followed by snow and a howling gale. Little did we know it was to get worse a few days later. Around dinner time, a nasty wind immerged from deep inside the nature park. It seemed to come from the Diablo's belly, threatening to uproot and dismiss our tent across the tundra. It must be what Lance feels in the discovery channel's wind tunnel.
3 Towers in the clouds
That was also when the rain started...Day 2 kicked off with a blue sky, and I grabbed the opportunity to snap a few shots of the towers - very impressive.
We had intended to hike to the top of Valley Frances (Camp Britannia) today, but the weather had other plans for us. It started to rain about an hour before getting to camp Italiano, which is at the entrance to Valley Frances. We abandoned our plans to go on, and hastily set up our tents. Dinner was prepared in our tent again due to the driving rain. At some stage during the extravagant main course, we noticed some water entering the tent from underneath. A full external inspection was initiated, and the cause was found immediately. The rain had caused a river to spring up, and our tent was in the middle of it! There was much cursing, some laughing and a healthy portion of envy at the campers who had found higher ground. As the rains subsided during our later courses, the river lost its momentum and decided to divert its flow elsewhere. Despite it's goodwill we woke up in a wet tent with damp sleeping bags and a puddle of mud surrounding us.
Day 3 was a 9 hour hike to Gray's glacier, which we were all psyched to see. We hadn't been hiking for more than an hour when the rains started. By the time we got to the halfway mark, the rain was coming in sideways, so we stopped at the camping ground (and ferry terminal) for some protection from the rain and a healthy lunch. Striding out confidently after lunch, the weather gods had a further laugh at our expense. They turned down the temperature, upped the volume of rain and prepared some more snow. We were still 4 or 5 hours away from the next camp (next to the glacier), and quickly loosing our moral, when we spotted the ferry coming out of the distance. Good judgment prevailed, and with much regret we abandoned the hike. It was sad not to make it to the glacier, but we were badly under prepared for the weather thrown at us. Due to all the cloud cover, we were also not able to see the great views surrounding us, so it was a bit of a waste of time anyway.
Once back in the metropolis of Puerto Natales, we booked our tickets to El Calafate to see the Moreno Glacier, choosing the early bus - 7:00am start! We woke up early, had a bite to eat and made our way to the terminal. The streets were suspiciously empty for 7am, and when the bus had not arrived a 7:30 we started to worry... That was when the Seniorita that runs the bus bookings arrived, and looked slightly confused to see us shivering outside her office. She told us that it was actually 6:30, and that we had been operating on Argentina time for the last week! It did explain a few curious events...
So, now for El Calafate and the Moreno Glacier, which is a calving glacier of epic proportions...
Take care readers
