Anyway, when we arrived at Torres del Paine National Park I couldn’t believe our luck because the weather was perfect. Blue skies, hardly any wind, good temperature. I thought to myself that it was just a fluke and tomorrow we would have winds that blew me over and freeze our butts off. But it wasn’t! We had casi (almost) perfect weather all 6 days! Que suerte! Day one was fairly easy and we had plenty of time to enjoy the weather and hangout by the river near our campsite in the glorious Patagonia sunshine. However since we were so far south the sun didn’t set until 10 o’clock and then it rose at about 5:30 or so. Which made sleeping schedules difficult!
Day 2 we hiked toward Glacier Grey. IT WAS AWESOME! We saw icebergs and avalanches. So cool!!!!! It was a pretty long day of hiking so we rewarded ourselves with a delicious dinner of chili in Chile! (okay I can’t take credit for this it was all Andrew’s idea. Emily and I didn’t want to carry all the cans.) But I’m so glad we did because it was delicious! Que rico!
Day 3 we had to back track a bit so we passed by all the icebergs again and let me tell you it was still totally awesome the second time around! Even though I’d walked that path the day before I was still in awe of how beautiful it all was. Day 3 was kinda long too so we soaked our feet in the freezing river and it was glorious! Except for when I took my shoes off I discovered a few blisters. So I went to the Guardaparques and he bandaged me up! What a swell little man named Mauricio he was. Props to him for touching my nasty feet!
Day 4 was a shorter hike up in the Valle Frances! It was just a day trip without our packs because we stayed in the same campsite as the night before. Everything was still beautiful and amazing and life was good! Instead of our normal pb&j tortillas we splurged and had sopa de zapallo (pumpkin soup) with some noodles. But it accidentally turned into something that tasted like mac n cheese! A happy accident if you ask me.
Day 5 My blisters were at their worst and we had a long haul. But with the encouragement of Emily and Andrew I made it to the base camp of the torres! I am very fortunate to have such patient friends! Not to mention the breathtaking views that would put even the grouchiest person in a better mood. Those helped distract from my feet that were on fire
Day 6. Our last day did not exactly go as planned. I ended up getting sick and feverish. I wasn’t able to do the 45 min climb to the Torres because of this. And we still had about a 4 hour hike back down the mountain to catch the bus back into town. So I very slowly made my blistery feet and fevery body move down the mountain. Once again Emily and Andrew were the best friends to backpack with because they were so incredibly patient and understanding. And even though it took longer than originally thought we made it down in one piece safe and sound!
After six days of backpacking in Patagonia I can say that without a doubt it is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. And the perfect ending/last hoorah of my time in Chile. The good, the bad and the ugly included, it was the most incredible journey ever.
Besitos,
Gaby
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