Patagonia

After a short 3 hr flight to Punta Arenas I was welcomed at the airport by a driver holding up my name. In the afternoon I was supposed to be going on a tour of Isla Magdelena which houses a large colony of penguins. However I was told 1 hr before the trip that it was cancelled due to bad weather. Something smelt a bit fishy to me as the sky was clear and the sea looked dead calm... certainly fine for a zodiac boat trip. Anyway I couldn´t argue in Spanish and they offered me an alternative trip overland to visit some penguins at the Otway peninsular. There was no real alternative other than sitting in the hotel room so I took the tour.

You can hardly call it a tour however as they load a few people in a mini-van and then drive you to your destination which then involves walking around on your own for an hour before heading back. There was no English speaking tour guide. After doing the Australian Phillip Island trip a few months ago this trip came up short. The only difference really is that this time I could take a few photos. Although a few people have commented they liked the shots I was somewhat disappointed and annoyed I had missed out on the tour to the island. Since this was my first trip you begin to wonder if everything else will go to plan...

Day 1 - The next day involves a 3 hr drive to Puerto Natales where I joined my guide and tour group for the next 4 nights in Torres del Paine. My group consisted of tour guide Mickael (originally from Brittany, France) and two older couples, one from the UK and one from Canada. Everyone was friendly enough. It takes about 2 hrs to drive to Torres del Paine and our accomodation called the Ecocamp. On the way was a short stop to a cave and a few stops to take photos. The weather had been unusally great the past few days which was unfortunate in a way because you know it will never last, especially in Patagonia.

The famous Torres del Paine towers were clear when we arrived at Ecocamp and the view from the camp was amazing. Ecocamp as the name suggests is a (5*) basic setup which is self sustaining and minimises environment impact. They use compost for the toilets, hydro power and everything is raised above the gound on walkways. I had a dome all to myself with a double bed whereas the other couples had 2 singles. Of course being older you know how people like to moan but I´m sure they will enjoy their next stop at the Sheraton.

The domes themselves are just a metal frame with a layer of insulation and tent like material covering the outside. Inside there are many round windows, a few chairs and a bed. Because you cannot cover the windows I was awake pretty much at sunrise each day. This was lucky in a way as on the first morning the sky was clear and I grabbed a few great shots of sunrise on the Towers at 5.30am. You only have 5 mins of red light hitting the tips of the towers before the sunlight disappears.

Day 2 - After a hearty breakfast (they sure to like ham and cheese slices) you make your own pack lunch sandwiches and set off to catch a ferry to the start of our first walk. This was supposed to be an easy 8 hr walk up to French Valley with a view of French Glacier. The weather was sunny but there were customary Patagonian high winds. Upon arrival at the Glacier we had the option to climb closer to it but upon doing so it started to rain. By the time we reached the viewpoint the weather was decidedly nasty to we made haste and decended quickly. Typically as soon as we reached the bottom the weather cleared again. It is not unusal in Patagonia to have 4 seasons in one day (a la Melbourne style).

You retrace your steps back to the start of the walk at the lake where there is the planned overnight accommodation at a Refugio (hostel). The scenery was excellent through out the day as the barren landscape was covered in bright red fire bushes. These are only in bloom a few weeks so it was good timing. The Torres del Paine mountains tower 9000ft above you and it is very hard to get the impact of this despite all my best attempts at photographing them. On the numerous lakes we passed the wind was so strong it was blowing vast amounts of spray into the air and the sunlight reflected off it creating a magical rainbow effect.

By the time we arrived back at the hostel around 7pm the soles of my feet were burning. I hoped they would recover quickly for the hike the next day. In the hostel the group shared a room of 3 bunks. Two of the party were snorers and so it was a battle to get a few hours of sleep. The following morning I got up feeling decided groggy with a sore throat and blocked nose. This was as I discovered later the start of a cold virus.

Day 3 -The day involves a 12km hike to Grey Glacier where you hope the ferry is running to take you back to the start and a mini-van pickup back to Ecocamp. The walk was again in strong winds but at least there was no rain and we could see the Glacier looming in the distance. To be honest I was praying the ferry was running as my feet were not liking the prospect of another 4 hr walk back if it was not. Although 12km may seem like a stroll the terain is a little hard going with losts of up and downs. Something you see that may look about a 10 minute walk away takes you about 1 1/2 hrs to cover.

We reached the ferry pickup point with about 15 mins to spare and luckily despite fairly strong winds it arrived on time. You take a small zodiac craft to actually board the ferry. The ferry then sets off to the foot of the Glacier for a fantastic up close view. This for me was one of the highlights. The sun was shinning and the blue of the Glacier looked fantastic against the towering mountains behind.

Day 4 - By the fourth day of the trip the weather had closed in and my cold had got a lot worse. Today was supposed to be one of the highlights with an 8hr trek to the base of the Towers. It´s the most popular walk in Patagonia but sadly for me I was too sick to attempt it and due to the weather the rest of the group didn´t attempt it either. That night the temperature dropped to freezing at Ecocamp and it snowed on the mountains. As we were leaving on the final day the looming Towers appeared one last time to tease us. Alas I´m not sure I will be back but I was still satisfied that I got to see them as many people stay for a week and do not see a thing.

I´d like to say a special thanks to our tour guide, Mickael, who was very friendly and enthusiastic (esp. for a Frenchman). I´m amazed by this guy doing the same walks week after week and yet he still manages to explain everything with passion and you really feel his genuine love of the land that is Patagonia.

Now I´m back in Santiago in 30 degree heat and still trying to shake off this cold. The flight back was painful to say the least as I couldn´t get my ears to equalise with the pressure. I couldn´t hear anything for about 1hr after landing. I also had the frustrating part of 2 hrs on the plane with a 17 yr old trying to communicate with me using his mobile phone. All in all a converation that would have taken 1 minute dragged on for 2 hrs.

I will attempt a jump on/off bus tour today to see some of the older part of this cosmopolitan city. A wine tour would have been good but I can´t taste a thing due to this bloody cold. Tomorrow I fly to Lima, Peru where the next stage of my trip awaits....

New Record for Time Spent Sleeping on a Plane.

Well I've arrived safe and well in Santiago, Chile. Only one casualty so far and that was my amazing Suunto Watch which I forgot to pick-up going through my first security check on the flight from Melbourne to Sydney. Doh! Hopefully it will be handed in and a friend can pick it up.

The flight from Sydney to Santiago was great. Business class makes a huge difference. The food is as good as a 4 star hotel and the leg room is 5 times that of economy. You get proper pillows and a duvet which combined with a near flat reclining seat meant I slept at least 8 hours straight (although I can't be sure as I couldn't tell the time!)

Currently i'm staying the night in an airport hotel and had a nice spa and sauna. Another 4hr flight tomorrow takes me down to Punta Arenas where I start a tour to a Penguin colony and then the real fun begins....