Torres del PaineDec 9, 2005
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Setting off!
View from outside the park
Heading in
| The second most popular trekker destination (to Machu Picchu) and largest gathering point for backpackers in the Chilean Patagonia is the trekking juggernaut Torres del Paine. I planned to ¨do the W¨ with my British friend Keith, but after one day trekking together, we split directions and I was on my own. The fault was my own as I packed my bag too heavily and was forced to spend a night lower than originally planned in order to rest my swollen feet and rearrange the contents in my bag (I didn't really need that carton of dulce de leche, or that can of peaches). Upon embarking my pack weighed a whopping 26 kilos. Combined with winds strong enough to knock me to my hands and knees, I had a rough first day. Torres del Paine is so popular that it often feels like one is walking down a busy avenue rather than a national forest. After a while I just stopped saying hello to every person I passed. Its popularity doesn't come without merit as Patagonia's most beautiful natural scenery can be seen here: turquoise lakes, glacier fields, and of course the famous irregularly shaped peaks, the Torres. I wasn't alone in the park for long, bumping into an Australian couple I had met in El Bolson, and joining up with an American, Jake, and a Dutch girl, Marlies. It turned out the three of us were headed along the same route at the same time, so we decided to stick together. I also knew of a couple of ¨sneaky¨ camps where you didn't have to pay, so they gladly let me tag along. The three of us grew quite close after five days of fierce winds, rain, beating sun, inspirational scenery, and a bottle of whiskey. After the trip was over the three of us returned to Puerto Natales for a hot, pasta-less dinner and some cold beers. Marlies and I hit it off well and decided to continue traveling together to Punta Arenas and on to the end of the world. |
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