Travel in Chile: Patagonia / Torres del Paine
Have you ever felt a love so powerful that it shoots from your heart like a star and yet stays deeply rooted in your spirit?
Patagonia.
Patagonia is the wild in my heart and the peace I seek in my soul.
I find that I feel balanced in mind, spirit and body under the Patagonia sky.
When do you feel balanced?
I try to balance in yoga and it isn't easy for me! I fight gravity and fight weakness and usually come out a bit stronger and temporarily calm and empowered. But what does it feel like to be organically balanced? I believe that Patagonia is that example for us. A garden of unparalleled balance in beauty, power, and life.
 |
| My camping partner. Good thing he's a Boy Scout! |
The W
We decided to complete the W Trek and to do that we would be carrying all our supplies: tent, food, clothes in order to camp over the course of 3 nights and 4 days.
I planned our meals so of course they were healthy and included lots of chocolate! Lots of oatmeal, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, Snickers bars, cookies and ramen, instant soup and instant taters. Starbucks Via, you are the best camping coffee!
Getting There
We arrived to Punta Arenas late at night, stayed in a B&B with hopes of being on the first bus out of Punta Arenas towards Puerto Natales. There are no direct buses from Punta Arenas to the park. Gotta love the free market monopolies in the transportation industry in Chile.
Of course we missed our bus in the morning because our alarm clock was my running watch that was an hour off!
Lesson #1 in Chile: If you have a plan, Patagonia has a better one for you. My advice? Less planning for your Patagonia trip leads to much more fun!
We laughed it off, got tickets for the later morning bus that would still get us to our connecting bus and enjoyed the morning in Chile's most southern city.
Once we were in Puerto Natales we took another bus to the park.
Quick note on Puerto Natales. The whole town closes for lunch from 12 - 3 pm. If you get there expecting to do last minute shopping, make sure you are there in the early morning before your bus or are there for the evening before you head to the park. We didn't consider this and needed some essential camping gear that we couldn't get. We prayed we could find those items in the park.
And then we started Day 1 of Hiking.
We started off heading up and away from one of the main lodges and into a valley. This is the day our packs were heaviest so we struggled and quickly were sweating as we climbed up into the river gorge.
Did I mention we did not have gas or matches? Those were our missing camping supplies! I had read that the lodges may have gas canisters and give them away free as a result of hikers dropping them off.
Our first hike of the day was an out-and-back to see the Torres. We followed the river into the valley. I am going to sound so cheesy describing this hike but it was magical. We passed through dense forests, crossed wood bridges and drank from baby waterfalls. I felt like I was in the movie The Hobbit or in some Disney forest. This has to be one of my favorite hikes ever because I felt like my spirit met its match in a forest at the end of the world. Each bridge was built a little bit different and each one was fascinating. Whoever built those bridges - some simple and others complex - for all of us to cross should feel proud. Thank you!
And then....
Today was a hilarious day. Probably the most I have laughed hiking in my life. Patagonia delivered her winds to us and she was fierce. Strong. Unpredictable. And it was a blast!
And to think we were swimming in a crystal clear turquoise lake just the day before. Today was our coldest hike and I was grateful for it! I didn't want to have bluebird skies and hot weather the whole time, where's the fun in that?
We decided to complete the W Trek and to do that we would be carrying all our supplies: tent, food, clothes in order to camp over the course of 3 nights and 4 days.
I planned our meals so of course they were healthy and included lots of chocolate! Lots of oatmeal, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, Snickers bars, cookies and ramen, instant soup and instant taters. Starbucks Via, you are the best camping coffee!
Getting There
We arrived to Punta Arenas late at night, stayed in a B&B with hopes of being on the first bus out of Punta Arenas towards Puerto Natales. There are no direct buses from Punta Arenas to the park. Gotta love the free market monopolies in the transportation industry in Chile.
Of course we missed our bus in the morning because our alarm clock was my running watch that was an hour off!
 |
| Day 1 heading towards Refugio Chileno |
We laughed it off, got tickets for the later morning bus that would still get us to our connecting bus and enjoyed the morning in Chile's most southern city.
Once we were in Puerto Natales we took another bus to the park.
Quick note on Puerto Natales. The whole town closes for lunch from 12 - 3 pm. If you get there expecting to do last minute shopping, make sure you are there in the early morning before your bus or are there for the evening before you head to the park. We didn't consider this and needed some essential camping gear that we couldn't get. We prayed we could find those items in the park.
And then we started Day 1 of Hiking.
We started off heading up and away from one of the main lodges and into a valley. This is the day our packs were heaviest so we struggled and quickly were sweating as we climbed up into the river gorge.
No, we didn't plan on our matching orange shirts and red packs. The more I look from one picture to the next I laugh even more. Out of all the colors and shirts...
- My orange is from completing marathon #4 in Concon just two months prior.
- Pablo's is probably from when he was a Boy Scout 20 years ago.
 |
| So sunny at this was at about 7pm! |
Our destination was Refugio Chileno (private, $$ campsite) and if you follow Pablo's soulful gaze, you'll see where the sun and shade meet. That's the campsite location!
The path was narrow and the ledge is close to the side of the mountain. If you don't like heights, don't do this hike! I bet this is a trip when it is raining.
When we got to the campsite, it was quite full but we got a great spot in a mini forest and close to a little creek.
Did I mention we did not have gas or matches? Those were our missing camping supplies! I had read that the lodges may have gas canisters and give them away free as a result of hikers dropping them off.
We found a spot at a picnic table with some guys that we met along the trail. We laughed a lot with them! They gave us a box of matches! Camping kindness is one of the reasons why I enjoy camping. Kind people camp. Now we just needed gas to start a fire, boil the water and make our ramen.
Camping kindness wins again! The lodge handed over a full can of gas. And the guy may have looked at me crazy for not having one.
Day 2 of Hiking: The longest hiking day!
total time hiking was about 12 hours. 12 hours of walking with a backpack. and I loved it.
Most travel guides, blogs and TDP hikers tell you to hike to las Torres for sunrise. I bet it is amazing. But we like vacation pace mornings so we cooked a slow breakfast of yummy oatmeal, chia seeds and dried fruit with some tea and coffee. For the record, I wish I could brush my teeth at a creek every morning.
And then....
The math teacher in me wants to ask you - where is the line of reflection? At what point can you fold the real rock to meet its match in the water?
And even the symbolic Patagonia condor did a fly by just for us. According to Pablo, the condor dropped the leis for its morning visitors. Maybe they do sprinkle some magic...
I could have stayed there for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But the show must go on and today was the longest hike. We have 18 kilometers to trek so we could camp for f.r.e.e.
Lunch break was in a meadow, shoes off and leis ON. We made people smile :) We even had live music, thanks to the glacier and its avalanches right behind us (above photo). We ate a LOT during that lunch. Lots of dried fruit, PBJ on tortilla wraps and chocolate. Even Pablo ate some chocolate today!
Day 3: Valle frances / French Valley
We slept in campamiento italiano (free, CONAF) just 100 meters from rushing rapids and under a canopy of trees. Our campsite was one of the last flat spaces left because we arrived pretty late - almost 8pm; most people were cleaning up their dinners when we got there!
Campsite to Campsite : 12 hours.
The coolest part of the whole day? Pablo and I did it as a team. I think we underestimate how powerful today was in our relationship. We smiled, laughed and sometimes just walked in silence. We ate, took breaks and posed for pictures all with love, patience and joy. We did a physically grueling activity with pura alegria. Maybe we are supposed to reflect on the habits of mind that allowed us to have such an incredible journey. Maybe we should talk about what makes our work styles mesh so well. Maybe we should talk about the depth of trust we have for each other.
After some chocolate and tea I fell asleep to the sounds of avalanches and the river rapids they produced. I also was freaked that there would be mice trying to eat through our tent all night because of other blogs I had read about the rat problem. We slept rodent-free.
The hike today was lots of boulder jumping and then walking along a ridge. Today was our only day with the threat of a Patagonia rain storm. She stayed mild and comfortable with just light showers and some wind. I love that Pablo's jacket is Patagonia forest green. That should be a Crayola color.
We were a bit tired today and I am pretty sure I ate more Snickers today than any other day. This is a there-and-back route and once again, did not disappoint. We walked through full grown trees no taller than my hips and fought strong winds along the ridge. There were viewing points to watch avalanches crush down the sides of the glacier. As we watched, we wondered if we were seeing waterfalls or if they were blocks of ice free-falling.
Each mountain demanded respect. These peaks are majestic and sexy.
This is God's amphitheater and He blessed us with an awesome cloud show.
We had fun running through the rolling trails, side-stepping through a rock field with a fierce wind and scrambling up to Pablo's new nap spot. Of course he took a nap on a rock in Patagonia, who doesn't want to do that?
French Valley is raw beauty. We are amazed, grateful and full of love for this place!
Day 3: From French Valley to Paine Grande
Once we made it down from the French Valley, packed up in a bit of rain, ate, and crossed another suspension bridge we started heading to Paine Grande, our next campsite.
We were HOT and so when I saw this white rock beach ... we went swimming!
We had our own private beach! One of the many bonuses of hiking with a basic plan of wake up, eat, hike, eat, set up a tent, sleep and repeat means detours are welcome! This was a delicious dessert of ice cold water in Patagonia. I went swimming in Patagonia!
 |
| Pablo modeling the new look: sun-kissed in Patagonia |
This is Midnight Blue Lake or the Lake of Rainbows. We saw a few rainbows - maybe the same one? as we followed the trail around the lake. It is hard to believe that just that morning we were on the other side of those mountains that look like Oreos.
The forest we were walking through was actually mostly dead from a forest fire the year before. Those red flowers are the shoots of new life. This reminds me of the story that God prunes things in our life so that we open up space for whatever he has planned. Even though pruning back may look damaging or make us feel vulnerable and exposed, God plants something else for us.
Fun things that happened today...
- I got knocked down from the wind! More like I was pushed down and landed on my booty sitting straight as a board, pack on my back and cracking up.
Today was a hilarious day. Probably the most I have laughed hiking in my life. Patagonia delivered her winds to us and she was fierce. Strong. Unpredictable. And it was a blast!
Why do I look so silly? The wind was so strong! If you had seen me, you would of thought I had finished off a bottle of tequila because I was walking like a drunk college kid. Which led to some not-so-confident climbs and descents. There were some narrow trails along the high ridge and the wind switched directions in a millisecond. I was walking in a semi-squat the whole time. Great for the core and quads!
We battled fierce winds to get here! That little iceberg is about 1 / 1,000,000,000th of the front shelf of the glacier. And I am pretty sure that iceberg is the size of a few yachts. Why does Pablo look so cool and collected and I look so uncomfortable? I probably thought the wind could blow me over the edge.
And to think we were swimming in a crystal clear turquoise lake just the day before. Today was our coldest hike and I was grateful for it! I didn't want to have bluebird skies and hot weather the whole time, where's the fun in that?
We had the most AMAZING time. Pablo was in his element. I was a happy camper. Except for the night the wind was so strong I was convinced our rain cover blew into the lake. Pablo wasn't too happy when I woke him up because I thought the rain was going to drown us. But there was no rain. It was just lightning rods of wind coming from our friend Grey.
I think we both shine like icebergs under the sun here. Probably because we just finished four days of intense hiking and know that a boat is taking us to a bus that is taking us to another bus and then... showers and a big, warm meal!
Our next adventure? Packing up our lives in Santiago and heading to San Francisco, California! Next up: the USA together!
If we can have this much fun living out of a tent, eating ramen and not using a hair dryer for four days, what else can we do together?
