Friday (27 Dec) saw me travelling again, initially back to El Calafate and then, on Saturday, on to Puerto Natales in Chile. Friday morning was spent in the hostel in El Chalten as it poured with rain. El Chalten said goodbye in the same style as it had said Hi seven days earlier. I stayed in the Schilling Patagonia Travellers again and was welcomed back like a longlost friend, they are a very friendly lot. That evening I ate out in the town and had guanaco and sweet potato stew washed down with Calafate beer. The guanaco was very reminiscent of venison.
The stop in Puerto Natales was not on the original plan but rather a necessity imposed by the lack of seats on buses on to Punta Arenas due the number of locals travelling for New Year. As I was to be in Puerto Natales for two full days, I decided to use one of them for a day trip to Torres del Paine National Park and to do the walk up to the base of Paine Towers. The other day was spent in the town with walks along the seafront which allows good views across the harbour to the distant mountains. Further interest is added by the Black Necked Swans frequenting the harbour shores and a number of interesting sculptures.
elevation change
The hike was booked for Sunday online though Denmades.com and provided through W Circuit Patagonia in PN. There was a full minibus of 14 guests and 2 guides leaving PN at 06.30. We arrived at the park, cleared formalities and started walking about 09.15. The group was mixed consisting of myself, a Japanese couple, a Swiss man, a Chilean man, two young ladies from Peru, a more mature lady from El Salvador, one other South American lady and five Chinese (4 ladies and a man). The lead guide invited us to walk at our own pace for the first section and to regroup at the second bridge after which he would lead and set the pace.
This was a good approach as it allowed him to asses the abilities of the hikers and then set a sensible pace that would maximise the chances of all achieving the goal of getting to the towers and back safely. This he managed very well. The trail was initially through rolling countryside before turning up over a shoulder, reasonably steep climb, and into the valley of the Rio Ascencio which we were then to follow up to its source of the melt water lake at the base of the towers.
The first section in the valley was undulating and high up on the Eastern side before dropping down to cross the river and, after a short climb, arrive at a refuge. Here we refilled our water bottles, had a bite to eat and then set off into a forested area which was to be the start of the real climb up to the destination. Clearing the forest we exited onto the ancient moraine which had once formed the terminus of a glacier that existed below the towers. This was by far the steepest and most arduous section of the walk in all lasting about 45 minutes until, coming over the top of the moraine you are confronted by the towers with the melt water lake below.
Above the lake, below the broken ground at the base of the towers, is a sheer face that has been polished by ice over the millennia and, as it was running with melt water, it acted as a reflector for the sun light. We had been blessed with a beautiful day.
On the way back down the group stayed together supporting the weaker members as necessary. On reaching the refuge, the guide approached me and, seeing the longing look in my eye as I observed people staying at the refuge drinking beer, suggested that, as I was obviously quite capable of looking after myself, I might like to go ahead and have a beer at the entrance whilst waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. This kind offer was duly accepted so a good days walking was rounded off with a couple of well deserved cold beers whilst watching the day unwind over the mountains.
Again, this is a ‘honeypot’ walk and consequently very busy with ques forming in some areas. This unfortunately led to the ‘idiot fringe’ of the walking community having to try to force their way through by just pushing past or going of the trail irrespective of the environmental damage caused and the risk to themselves and others. Our guide remonstrated with several of these fools but I’m afraid that he was just wasting his breath. The comments I threw in the direction of some of these morons were probably not quite as polite as those of our guide 🙂
On returning to Puerto Natales 6 of us joined up to share a meal and a beer or two in one of the local restaurants thus rounding off a pleasant day with some interesting people.
Monday, New Years Eve. After taking a final walk along Puerto Natales’ sea front returned to hostel to pack as later I was catching a bus back to Punta Arenas at 3pm. After checking into Les Voiletas hostel in PA I went out in the evening to find somewhere to eat, Punta Arenas was closed 😊. It seems that New Year’s Eve in Chile is a time for family and friends and entertaining at home. Having walked around I eventually gravitated to La Luna, a restruant which I had eaten in before and liked and which was actually open. Being New Year’s Eve, they had a fixed menu with three dishes to choose from for each course plus an aperitif and two glasses of wine for the equivalent to £54. Thought that this was a bit steep but didn’t appear to have many other options. Opted for a Pisco Sour followed by a King Crab Terrine, Shank of Lamb and Calafate cream desert. The meal was actually very good and afterwards I took a walk along the sea front to see the day fading out. Thus ended 2019, tomorrow sees us moving forwards into a new decade.
decade of discovery
The next days were taken up with wandering around PA, putting more of my thoughts down in the blog and preparing for the flight back to Stanley on 4th where I was joining Tecla for the next leg of my Southern odyssey, sailing back to Punta Arenas via the Antarctic.
A moment of reflection, having spent a little time in Punta Arenas I had been witness to some of the political unrest currently blighting the Chile. As seems to be the case in many locations today the more or less legitimate protests of the poorer people against the inequality of society have been highjacked by anarchists who have no real agenda other than to destroy. There is undoubtedly inequality which needs to be addressed at many levels but the total destruction of the prevailing capitalist system can lead to nothing other than the disintegration of society and the law of the jungle. Where will todays poor then be, in a benevolent society or under the tyranny of extreme dictatorships whether left or right leaning? I know where I believe it will lead and I suspect charity and looking to the weak will be low on the agenda.
socioeconomic groups seemed to be welcome to spend as long as they wish using
free internet. Better smash the windows then LOL
They had boarded over the lower windows but obviously overlooked the higher
curved windows until it was to late.