Puerto Natales (Chile) – Parque Nacional Torres del Paine
(Chile)
11 April – 14 April 2015
When you think of famous drives
you think of Route 66 in the US, the Panamerican Highway and the Sturt Highway
in Australia, but equally as impressive as those and one that has remained on
my bucket list for some time is National Route (40), or simply Ruta 40 in
Argentina. This run is one of the longest rides in the world and virtually
traverses the length of the Andes on the Argentinian side. This was had always
been a bucket list item for me, to cruise Ruta 40 in Patagonia, to take a ride
in an area that seemed like the end of the world.
Ruta 40 - Santa Cruz Province - Argentina
Heading out of El Calafate and
climbing up onto the expansive Patagonian steppe I had my right hand side drive
style under control. The topography here was mostly flat, the impressive Andes
fencing off the Western side of a vast plain that was desolate and monotonous.
Pastoral lands rolled on endlessly under broad skies as the kilometres clicked
over with hypnotic regularity. Making a short stop for fuel (and a random
police check) in Esperanza, we joined back up onto Ruta 40 as it made a
straight run for the Andes. Winding roads flowing over rolling terrain with the
Andes rising under skies of blue, if ever a road had mythical attraction about
it then this would have to be it.
.
.
For all the romantic notions of
the open road there was a place of wretchedness at the end of the world where all
things of beauty and wonder I believe went to die without a trace. The mining
town of Rio Turbio acts like an apocalyptic centre, a place where your escape
is never assured and a place where the dire images of infinite grey burn
themselves upon your cerebral cortex. Is there a reason to come to Rio Turbio?
Yes, if you’re in the mining game then this place exists for all those that
enjoy the game of metallic extraction, but if you’re a tourist it gives you
every reason to put the foot down and make a break for Chile, and 10 mins later
we were in fact at the border crossing of Cerro Dorotea and making an entrance.
Puerto Natales - Patagonia - Chile
Chile in Chilli! 'Ya get it? Do 'ya punk?
Reaching the shores of Seno Última Esperanza we also reached what
would be our base for the next few days, Puerto Natales, a town of some 20,000
inhabitants whose purpose in life I think is to come to the realisation that
its future dreams will be built on the endeavours of tourists like us. Slightly
ramshackled and derelict in part, the colourful single floor tin roof shacks
that make up parts of the town are interesting and make it photogenic. The town
itself is surrounding by physical beauty, stark, wind beaten mountains in its immediate
vicinity whilst stunning snow-capped peaks rest across the fjord as fishing
boats move slowly across this Patagonian stage. As a town it’s nice, cozy and was
interesting enough to hold our attention long enough to offer up a few places
for drinks and dinner (El Asador Patagonica was very good).
Puerto Natales - Patagonia - Chile
Puerto Natales wasn’t our destination for this section of travel however
but it did act as our launching pad for being able to make our way into the
other worldy Torres del Paine National Park and to witness in person the famous
towers of blue. The only unfortunate thing was from a timing perspective that
we had only been able to dedicate 2 days to this glorious corner of the world.
Most trekkers come to Torres del Paine to do either the ‘O’ trek or the far
more recognised ‘W’ trek, understood to be one of the top 10 treks in the
world. Still, you take what you’re given and I know that we were ready to make
the most of the two days that we had.
Heading out of our hostel before the sun had peaked through the clouds and
from behind the mountains, we were sent on our way into a morning that was
shrouded by early morning mist and steady drizzle. However, as became common
place for us during the whole time we were away, the sun rose up off the deck
like a beaten Rocky rising to shine once more (like Rocky in every Rocky movie
in fact), it was almost as if our collective will always drew out the sunshine
at the right time. Drawing closer to the mountains and national park was like a
signal that sun should make an appearance NOW.
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
The journey to the national park was not far in terms of kilometres needing
to be covered and the drive itself was perhaps only in the 2-2.5 hr range, but
turning off the main road to get into the national park was the point in time
we encountered 40kms of gravel road followed by dirt road that wound and turned
sharply in, out and over hills. Needless to say, even from a distance we could
already see how these mountains and this environment was such a draw card. Rising
high from lakes of blue, these jagged, chiselled granite blocks were majestic
and has an imposing presence.
Arriving at the north-eastern entrance of TDP (Torres Del Paine – for those
that are going to wonder), we signed in at park administration, received our
debrief and were waved away into the wild. Not having researched a copious
amount regarding the day walks in the region both Inga and I figured that
actually seeing the towers was the primary reason that we were here and that a
20km walk in one day was more than an achievable outcome for us. So with that
in mind we drove another 15kms or so to the Hotel Las Torres Patagonia which
acted as the starting point for the Circuito Torres del Paine.
Show that tree some love...
The backyard to the Hotel Las Torres were the mountains of Torres del
Paine, snow-capped, towering peaks. Standing there at the Hotel and eyeing off
the trail you knew a few things in advance of walking. One, that when getting
back to the hotel you’d be exhausted, two, the scenery was going to be
mesmerising and that three, the only way the track was going from here would be
‘up’. Indeed it didn’t take long to verify point three as two minutes into the
hike we saw the trail heading skyward above our very heads. Certainly with our
experience of Mont Fitz Roy behind us there was already the expectation that
this would happen and thus it somehow made the idea of acquiring elevation less
daunting mentally. It was also at this point that I witnessed the most ‘mental’
and severely deluded person that I saw on the whole trip! Now, just to quickly
set the scene, this is Patagonia, its wild terrain and when you hike you’d
imagine that you’d need to make yourself as comfortable as possible as the
distances you need to cover for any real return on your time investment are
usually quite far but bugger me if I didn’t see a girl making her way up the
mountain side wearing high heels!!! SERIOUSLY!!! Did this girl fail to take her
medication today or did the Dream Police just take over her mind the night
before?
The first few kilometres of the walk headed up what looked and felt like an
old river bed. Not treacherous as such but a nuisance in part for the boulders
and ‘hand & foot’ climbing needed to be done in part. This section gave way
to a rolling hillside walk up into the valley. As we slowly rose up the mountainside
the view back down the hill was stunning. Deep blue skies with heavy clouds
casting shadows over the patchwork coloured landscape. Continuing up the hill
we followed a river line formed by the melting glacial ice from the glacier
above. By this time in our walk the sun was well and truly up and the weather
was perfect, so we had nothing but good reviews for mother nature on this day.
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
As the walk continued higher we cut through lush forest which had beautifully
coloured beech trees and pine. This section was quite pleasant until the point
that the trail took a violent turn and headed in the ‘upward’ direction once again.
This time the trail called for boulder climbing and general mobility. We climbed
in this manner for near 45 mins or so until we encountered a brutal section of moraine and scree. This section, essentially
loose smaller rocks and sometimes large rock debris, made going in some parts a
little treacherous. Indeed some of the boulders were quite exposed and as we
followed the orange markers and painted orange dots which indicated that we were
still on the right trail we questioned whether in fact this part of the hike
was actually in the ‘easy does it status’.
It was a hell of a lot of fun in any case. As we topped out the climb we were
finally rewarded with our introduction to Los Torres del Paine themselves! There
they were, the three of them standing tall and proud above a lake of sapphire
blue . Towering blocks of granite surrounded by walls of bare, exposed rock, an
absolutely stunning sight.
Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
Inga and I stayed there for what may have been 35-45 mins, admiring the
surroundings and sitting there kind of in awe of our ability and may I say good
fortune to have been able to place ourselves in such a spectacular setting.
Indeed we would have stayed longer but what the photos won’t show and what the
sun didn’t assist with at the time was the biting cold that existed at that
altitude. A glacial lake exists for a reason ladies and gentlemen and ‘general
cold’ has a lot to do with it.
The walk back down was challenging in part as the ‘boulder dash’ made
movement an operation of logistics and sometimes good fortune. What I do
remember from the journey way down was a poor lady that was hopping on one leg.
Now I don’t know exactly where she damaged her foot but either way, in the kind
of form she was in and the awkwardness of her movement, she was going to have an
extremely long day!
Arriving back at the hotel Hotel Las Torres Patagonia we were disappointed
to find the bar in the hotel closed for some ‘special’ event. Ah, damn you Las
Torres! I had been imagining the taste of that first Pisco Sour from high up in
the valley, and this is how you repay me for dreaming! Still, Day 1 of TDP had
been absolutely brilliant and I had captured enough images in my mind that I’m
sure will last me a lifetime or at least until the next time I come here.
Now if Day 1 was all about hiking then Day 2 was, to borrow a line founded
in El Calafate, ‘All about the view’.
Driving out of Puerto Natales early once again we encountered the same type of
winding, biting gravel and dirt rounds for most of the journey into the park.
This time we entered through the more southerly entrance and I have to say the
more impressive when it came to overall scenery. Each rounding of a hill
brought scenery and views that literally made us stop in our tracks.
Our intention this day was to take a ferry across Lake Pehoe and walk up
the Lago Grey lake to the Grey Glacier – that was the intention. So after
undertaking a short 1hr walk to Lago Nordeskolja and working our cameras
overtime, we attempted to make it back to the dock on Lake Pehoe and undertake
the journey across the lake. Certainly we did actually manage to get on the
ferry, even though we were overly ambitious in our earlier walk with distance
and thus our timing enforced a run in order to make the final cut for the
ferry, only to find out on the ferry itself that the only return for the day
would be immediately after its arrival at Lago Grey. Had we accepted that
challenge then we may well have needed to camp out on the lake Into the Wild style for that evening.
So, resigned to the fact that we’d literally ‘missed the boat’ we drove around Lake Pehoe and found the perfectly
positioned Hotel Pehoe. This place has what I consider to be one of the best
views of the Torres del Paine in the whole park. Even better in that you could
sit back in the bar, happily order Pisco Sours whilst the sun streamed through
the large glass windows and just sink into eternal traveller bliss.
Hotel Pehoe - Torres del Paine National Park - Patagonia - Chile
Several ‘Pisco Pehoe’ sours later and feeling inspired we drove a little further
down the road and undertook a 1hr hike up to a local mirador. It would be an
understatement to say the views were simply spectacular, or magnificent, or
majestic, or ethereal, or celestial but hell, it was all that and more. Not
only was the view like a world created through poetic imagination but we were
the only two people occupying this location so the feeling we had was as if we
were the sole owners of all that we could see, and I guess in a certain way we
were, as on that day, at that time and in that location, it was only us and
Torres del Paine in that frame and that my friends is something worth writing
about!
