Another early start as had to cross the border back into Chile. Apparently there had been quite a few problems at this border and so thought it might be quite painful, but apart from lots of queuing (they love paperwork and bureaucracy over here) it was quite painless.
Had a slight hangover from a few too many beers the night before so got to Puerto Natales to stock up on food, money etc I had to eat! Which you might think would be quite simple, as I did. But unfortunately, after ordering and waiting fo 40 minutes a burger, a piece of chicken, and some other random stuff (not all for me!) still weren´t cooked!! By which time I was in a reasonable bad mood and then had to ask them if we could have it as take away. They looked at me as if i was mad (no change there then!) and then about 10 minutes later they managed to put the food in a bag! It was actually quite good and just what I needed, but trying to eat this on a truck without any forks or anything was interesting...!!
Got to Torres and set up camp, and then Linda, our guide, did a massive BBQ so we could have our last decent meal for 3 days before our long trek. Then spent the evening trying to work out how exactly we were going to manage to carry a tent, mats, sleeping bags, clothes, food, water etc etc between 3 of us that were going to share a tent and walk together. I somehow managed to get enough fruit to open a small shop and so with my sleeping bag, clothes, more food and water, my bag was quite heavy!! Tracy volunteered to carry the tent, and as she had the big bag a lot of other stuff went into it aswell, and then Vivi carried some more food and her sleeping bag etc. This walk was going to be interesting, if not quite tough and soul destroying at times...!!! So we were all really looking forward to it!! Linda had told us it was going to be tough but that didn´t really mean anything as it´s all relative and so I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.....
Day 16, Torres del Paine National Park
Start of the W walk. 28kms. We figured the W stood for Weightwatchers and were all hoping to lose a pound or two over the next couple of days!!! It was an early start as it was going to be a long day! Got driven to the start of the walk and then off we went. There was 11 of us doing the 3 day walk and 5 people doing just the first day. The weather wasn´t great, it was raining when we woke up, but I wasn´t too disheartened as it meant I got to wear my waterproof trousers for the first time which I was quite excited about! Only problem is that they match my jacket so it looks like I´m wearing a shellsuit!!! But it kept me dry so am not complaining and everyone else was jealous!!
Walked for about 10.5 hours, with only a few short stops and a quick hot chocolate at a Refugio. It was a really tough walk, and as I was carrying a lot more than I was used to, balancing and my centre of gravity started to become an issue! The weather got worse during the day and was sleeting and snowing for a good few hours whilst we were climbing the hardest bit, and it was bloody steep at times - we were scrambling over rocks to get to the top which was fun!
We managed to climb up to Mount Torres, where there was a lake at the foot of the mountain, but the weather was so bad we couldn´t see anything when we got there!!! It was so cold and windy too that we just about managed a sandwich and then had to make the journey back down!! Got back down to the Refugio where we decided to stop for a drink and try and dry out a bit before we carried on for another couple of hours to the campsite. Normally after about 7 hours walking I´m done so the thought of another few hours was not great!!! But then it stopped raining and brightened up a bit so we carried on.
The walk to the campsite was by the lake and supposedly quite easy, but unfortunately it was very undulating which none of us were expecting!!! Got to the campsite just after 7pm and then had to pitch our tent, and we managed to pick a great place with lots of rocks to lie on and in a windtrap! So that was good!, but as we arrived so late we weren´t left with much choice. Then we needed to cook some dinner - another seemingly simple thing that became quite traumatic! The place was really there for rich people who had lots of money and could buy the ridiculously expensive food, rather than bringing their own. So all the plebs had a tiny little 4 ring hob in the corner of a room and we had to wait our turn to make some rather lovely packet risotto!!!
We're already down to 9 people, the others turned back! And the boys are all quite broken after today's little adventure!! But us girls are obviously made of tougher stuff and could think of nothing we'd rather do more than get up at 6am the next morning and walk another 20 odd kms...!!!
Day 17, Torres del Paine National Park
Day 2. 26kms. After a slightly windy night the weather was so much better today, which made the walking a tad easier!!! Packed up all our stuff and then were in immense amounts of pain when I first put the rucksack on - am building up a lot of muscles in my shoulders which will look very attractive I'm sure!!!
Walked for a couple of hours to another campsite and then Steve and Rachel put up their tent and we stashed all our gear in there so we didn't have to carry it for a while. I still had my pack with me (although a slightly lighter one!) as just couldn't bare to be parted from it for 5 hours (and we still had all the fruit to eat!!)! It also meant it was a great excuse to be able to walk slow, although being my usual bloody minded self I also couldn't let anyone else carry it as if I saw then run off whilst carrying it I would've found that quite soul destroying!!!
We walked up the Valle de Frances to another campsite and then went a bit further to a viewpoint. The walk wasn't as demanding as yesterday and it was nice scenery as we walked through woods and over rocks so it was quite varied. Had a great view of a glacier and then at the viewpoint we had a 360 degree view of the galcier and lots of snow capped mountains which was spectacular. It was quite sunny aswell, although bloody windy at times, I was wondering how many people get blown of these mountains
sometimes whilst fighting to stay standing up!!!Walked back to the tent, loaded ourselves up again like packhorses and then trundled off for another 2 hours supposedly. Although by this time I was in so much pain, every step was agony and so it took nearer to three hours and towards the end I was a broken woman!! The boys could see us coming in from their viewpoint at the bar and they said I looked particularly pitiful, which was just what I needed to hear!!! I decided the thing I wanted most was my Prince Charming to come along on a horse then he could carry my bag and I wouldn't have to walk any longer. Although as someone pointed out, I'm so stubborn I still wouldn't give anyone my bag and would insist that I was just fine carrying it myself, which was a fair point I guess!!!
Finally got to the campsite sometime after 7pm and then had to go through the whole putting up the tent process (and the wind was really strong!) which was great! At least this time there was a hut thing that all the plebs could go into to cook, bad news was that there was only 4 rings again so had to queue to use them, and then fight to get a seat, although I was so tired I was prepared to eat my dinner on the floor!!! We were so knackered that after dinner we just went straight to bed at 9.30, although it was so windy that I thought the tent poles were going to snap as the sides kept blowing in!!! I was then having panic attacks that our boots were going to fly off (we had to leave them outside the tent due to the smell!!), so none of us felt like we had got any sleep!!!
Day 18, Torres del Paine National Park
Day 3. A mere 22kms. Weather was really good again today, although really, really windy again! Left all our stuff in the tent and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders - I was almost skipping down the trails!!! The trail took us up to Lago Grey and to the Grey Glacier. The lake had loads of mini icebergs in which looked really bizarre to see these big chunks of ice floating, I imagine the lake must be pretty bloody cold for the ice not to melt!
Sat by the glacier for lunch and chilled out for a while before walking all the way back. But the thought that it was our last leg of the journey gave me renewed enthusiasm and I was literally running up some of the really steep bits, ignoring the pain in my feet as every step was a step closer to finishing!!! It was a really lovely day and a really nice walk, so a good way to round off the three days. I felt so proud of myself by the end, it was such bloody hard work but we kept going and we did it! I think it has to be one of the hardest things physically that I have ever done, and apparently you're supposed to do this walk over 5 days, which would've been so much more enjoyable but nevermind we did it!!! Whilst I was on a roll I packed up the tent, packed up the bags and then treated ourselves to a celebratory drink!!!
Caught the ferry back and then Drew our truck driver came to pick us up and take us back to camp. We got a heroes welcome from everyone else which was really nice and it felt like we hadn't seen everyone for months, rather than days. Linda then cooked us a feast of soup, curry and chocolate cake which was soooo nice after our rations! I think everyone did lose a fair amount of weight too so would definately recommend this weightwatchers programme, although it might be a bit extreme for some!! It also feels like my calves and shoulders have bulked up too which is always nice, so Tracy and I are considering entering the next women's bodybuilding competitions!!!
Just about managed a beer with everyone in the bar and then went back to the tent and passed out! A hotel would've been nicer after all our antics over the last few days but I was so tired I was past caring!!!!
Day 19, Torres to Puento Arenas
No rest for the wicked, up at about 5.30am! Drove to Puento Arenas, got to stay in a hostel which was fantastic!! Was still pretty knackered though so just about managed a wander round the town and some food and then went back to the hostel to take full advantage of the hot showers, letting my hair dry indoors, and a lovely comfortable bed!!
Day 20, Puento Arenas to Ushuaia
Up again at 5am for a long drive day. Drove, got on a ferry, went over the border again in to Argentina (passport is getting full of Argentina and Chile entry and exit stamps!). Stopped off at a penguin colony which felt like a bit of a school trip to start with and no one was really that fussed about seeing a few penguins, until we got up close to them and they were actually pretty cute so was worthwhile seeing them in the end!!!
Arrived in Ushuaia, where it was pissing with rain and was freezing cold aswell so not too impressed!!! Well I guess that's what you get at the end of the world (this is the southern most town in the world apparently!)!! Really not happy about camping in this, so just praying that the tents don't leak!! Five of us girls decided that we would go into town and find a hostel but every man and his dog had the same idea!! They found room for four people so I decided I would be brave and go for the tent option!!! Had a great indoor BBQ with big slabs of meat and a few beers and then went to bed in the freezing cold!! Oh the joys of camping!!
Day 21, Ushuaia
Really crap weather for most of today so just wandered into town and pottered around there. Went to the Maritime museum for a bit of culture!!
We all decided to go to a club in the evening as it stays open so you can watch the sunrise there. Nice idea so thought we'd give it a try! Was so cold and wet though I really couldn't be arsed to go, but then figured that at least we would be in the warm if we went into a bar, so that was enough to convince me!!! Had a few drinks in an Irish bar and then went to this club... It was pretty bad music and even though we stayed until about 4.30am there was no sign of the sun! But we had a fab time, was grooving away to lots of really bad Spanish music, wowing everyone with my moves!!! Have really missed dancing, not that I do it much in the UK, so regardless of what was playing I was up on the dance floor for most of the night!!! Definately an interesting experience!!!!
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