We are sailing.....

After our physical excertions in Patagonia we decided it was time to do something a little bit more relaxed - a ferry trip from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt was the order of the day. In fact we had booked it several months before and alongside the trekking it was one of things we were most looking forward to on our trip. The trip starts at 51 deg 44´ South and winds north through the fjords of Chile´s Pacific coast up to 41 deg 28´South. Taking 4 days to complete the trip.

The Navimag Ferry in Puerto Natales - tourists upstairs, cows downstairs!

We had managed to convince Annalisa, who we had met on the Galapagos so many months ago (and again in Peru and Bolivia), to change her plans to join us. She had a tight schedule to catch a complex series of flights home to arrive back in Ireland so was mildly stressed when the boat was already delayed by a day because of bad weather. Rather than boarding on Thursday evening and departing early on Friday we boarded at 3pm on Friday and left as soon as possible aftewards.

The ferry is operated by Navimag and is first and foremost a cargo ship but despite the warnings of the Lonely Planet the accomodation was surprisingly nice. The dorms were split into sections of 4 bunks and each with its own locker. The three of us had one pod of 4 bunks to oursleves so had loads of space. In fact we seemed better off than people who had paid for cabin! There was however a lorry full of cows in the cargo hold and the smell by the end of the trip was really quite distressing. Standing near the stern of the boat became less and less appealing as time went on.

As well as Annalisa we knew some other people on the boat: Emma and Jill, two Aussies currently working in East Timor who we first met in Torres del Paine & Kathleen and Jon, Scottish/Icelandic newly weds on their honeymoon. We quickly assumed seats in the bar or wandered around the deck. Emma and Jill had a travel scrabble board and as the weather was less than perfect this became the centre of attention. There were numerous queries along the lines of "is ´og´ a word?" or similar. James seemed to be the one who frequently made up words but was also the most leniant with other peoples. Perhaps the classic being when he decided to claim that ´Sexo´ was a word in order to get on a triple word score! Emma and Jill now regularly send us updates of strange words they have got away with in subsequent games. In fact today they sent us a photo of their Scrabble board at the end of a game because they were so impressed with it!

An evennig game of Scrabble

The evenings got cold quickly so we generally retired inside to open a few bottles of wine before and after dinner. We had bought a fair bit of wine with us (as had everyone else) so all was needed was to distract the bar man to grab a few glasses and we were away. The evenings were then finished off with a glass or two of Dulce de Leche liqueur - a horrendously sweet and sickly drink that some people like more than others!

The first night was especially good fun as we had discovered that it was Annalisa´s birthday so slipped a bottle of Champagne on board and when she wasn´t looking asked the barman to put it in the fridge for us. I think other passengers were a bit jealous when we popped the cork!

Celebrating Annalisa´s (21st) Birthday

It wasn´t all about drinking and playing scrabble though. The weather wasn´t great but we still saw some great views. At one stage the 30m wide ferry slipped through a narrows of only 80m. Another time we sailed close to a glacier that decended right into the sea. Also cruised past a wreck of a boat that got it slightly wrong and we now used as a marker buoy. We also briefly anchored at the small port of Puerto Eden where a few brave soles dismbarked.

We have to get through there!

On the final evening there was a beautiful sunset and then the night it was clear enough to see some stars so I took my star chart out and gave an impromptu class on star gazing. Everyone gathered round whilst I pointed out Orion, Sirius, the Southern Cross etc and answered questions as honestly as I could from a variety of people. There was quite a large group around me by the end. Luckily it clouded over before anyone could test me with any particularly challenging questions!

Star gazing - "no that one!"

When we arrived in Puerto Montt it was time to say farewell to Annalisa. She had to fly to Santiago, then onto Buenos Aires, then New York, then London and finally Dublin. It was great commitment on her part to re-arrange her flights so she could get on the boat. It was great to see her again and really cemented the friendship. As our time in South America nears its close we could sympathise with her sadness at having to head home.

Despite the weather it was a great trip that we thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone travelling in that part of Chile.

Torres del Paine

Refuelled with a good Argentinian steak, and with Fitz Roy safely under our belts, we headed across the border to Chile, home of the famous Torres del Paine (T-del-P) National Park. The night before the trek was spent in Puerto Natales, buying last minute supplies, and hanging out at Erratic Rock Hostel - lenders of equipment, providers of the best hostel breakfast possibily in the whole of South America and home of the '3pm talk', a local institution, dreamt up by the inimitable Bill, a larger-than-life Oregon-ite as a damage limitation exercise for those planning a trip to the T-del-P NP, who have no previous experience of trekking. Even for old-timers like us, he had plenty of useful tips to impart, but for some of the people who came to listen, his non-nonsense chat good be a life-saver.

T-del-P, for better or worse has achieved the status of a 'must-do' for any self-respecting back-packer who makes it as far south as Patagonia (whether trekking is their thing or not). Some of them have never been nr the mountains in their lives - and it shows!

Amoung the great examples of un-preparedness was Colin, the cheerful american, who we met on day 2, dropping his stuff all over the path, and hoping to survive the 5-day trek on the nutritional provision of a jar of peanut butter! After a cursory glance around at the other tents at the camp on night 1, we were well satisfied that should we bit hit by strong winds (not an uncommon occurrence in Patagonia) that ours would definitely not be the first tents to collapse. To give you an idea - there was one tent which was even pitched so that the doors in the outer and inner didn't line up... someone was going to have difficulties getting into bed that night!

Lisa, Guido, Colin, James & Andrew in the Quincho

For those for whom 4 nights under canvas in one of the wettest and windiest parts of the world held no appeal, there was a selection of refuges, most of which were built well, and in keeping with the natural surroundings. Although we were dismayed on arriving at the first site to find that the lodge there would have looked more in keeping next to a motorway service station in Swindon than in one of the world's most beautiful national parks. There was a distinct whiff of commercialism in the air.


After catching the bus to the park ranger station, we set off walking on day 1, trying not to let the slightly damp conditions subdue our spirits. From a distance of the Torres massif was still shrouded in cloud, and we knew that we would need luck on our side if we hoped to catch a glimpse of the the amazing mountain scenery that the park had to offer. T-del-P gets pretty crowded during high season, with more than 100 trekkers each day starting the famous 'W' route, but one of the advantages of this is that there's a great spirit of camaraderie on the trek, with evenings spent sharing funny stories in several different languages. On the evening of day 1, we sat in the 'quincho' at the campsite along with another 50 or so fellow campers, watching the cloud lift from the towering 'Paine Grande', the highest mountain in the range, and feeling lucky to be there.


Day 2 took us up to Glacier Grey, where we experienced the full force of the Patagonia wind and came face to face with huge, brilliant blue icebergs. Luckily, as we were returning to the same campsite that night, there was no need to carry our big packs, although at times they would have been handy to keep me pinned to the ground whilst being buffetted by the wind!



On Day 3 we walked around the base of the towering Paine Grande, to reach Campamento Italiano. Here we could leave our packs again before heading up towards Vallee Frances, a natural amphitheatre of mountains, which can be admired from a central view point. The weather had exceeded expectations, and we were treated to a 360 view framed by cloudless blue sky. Not even the widest wide-angle lense could do this scenery justice.


Andrew, Petra & James at Vallee Frances

After descending the valley, we continued on to finish a long day around 6pm, tired but happy with what we'd seen, at the Cuernos campsite. We found a sheltered pitch, and enjoyed our camp-stove pasta in the late evening Patagonian sun. Bliss!


Dinner at Cuernos campsite


On Day 4 we had our eyes on the prize, and were up early to set off towards the elusive Torres del Paine - the Holy Grail of our trip. We walked around the base of the Cuernos del Paine (Horns of Paine - what a great name!), on what is usually one of the most exposed and windy parts of the trek. Imagine our surprise when there was not a wisp of wind, and the lake beside us was still as a mirror. A true rarity in this part of the world! By around 2pm, we arrived at the Torres campsite, right underneath the towers. We pitched our tents at speed, and set off up the steep moraine field, which was all that separated us from the view which graces the cover of every guidebook to Chile.

Cuernos del Paine


The climb was steep enough that the Torres remain hidden until the very last minute - as if specifically designed by nature to achieve 110% wow-factor. But it was worth waiting for. We were able to bask in the sun and drink in the view, which became no less amazing in the 2 hours or so we sat looking at it. Eventually it was time to head back down to the campsite, and get an early night in preparation for another potential climb up to the viewpoint for dawn. At 4am, James was unceremoniously kicked out of the tent to check on the weather. With a note of relief in his voice he reported that it was wet and windy, and therefore not worth making the climb up to see the sunrise. Phew! Back to sleep for a couple of hours.



Torres del Paine

On day 5, we descended from the Torres, just in time, as the weather appeared to be closing in. By this time we were all dreaming of a hot shower and a pizza... As we gathered in the bus shelter waiting for the ride back to Puerto Natales, there was plenty of good chat with the other trekkers, and we even met 2 aussie girls, Jill and Emma who would be joining us on the next stage of our journey, up the Chilean fijords on the Navimag...

Chilean rumblings...

For any of you who have heard the recent news stories about the erruption of volcano Llaima in Chile, just thought it was worth a note to ket you know that we haven't been affected by it.
Apparently the column of ash and smoke was 3000m high, so not a small erruption, but luckily we are several hundred miles away from the affected area, so no need to worry!