Christmas this year was a little different for us, as it was mainly spent on the road. We had to catch a 10am bus and travel north to Puerto Natales – the gateway to the world renowned Torres del Paine National Park where we were planning to hike for a few days.
Our first impression of Puerto Natales was that of a ghost town… nothing moved. Of course, it was Christmas and, being a catholic country, Christmas is taken very seriously so pretty much everything was shut. This lent a strange eeriness and almost sadness to the town; the tin houses looked sad, the weather-worn paint looked sad, even the stray dogs walked around looking sad.
We headed to our hostel to drop our bags and collect our tickets for the trek, which our tour company left for us a few days before. Or so we thought. Before we started our trip we knew we would encounter some problems over the coming months – delayed flights, missed buses, etc., but when it happens, your heart sinks. Our agency didn’t leave anything for us and, as already mentioned, everything (including their office) was shut on Christmas Day. The staff at our hostel initially shrugged their shoulders, but after a few phone calls our Christmas present arrived at 9.30pm that evening in the form of all our tickets. The relief!
During the afternoon we headed to The Erratic Rock, a hostel in town known for its very helpful (and free!) talks given by an experienced guide about hiking through Torres del Paine. The talk was extremely helpful and the atmosphere very laid back with dogs wandering in and out or simply acting as door stoppers.
There are various hiking trails in the park, but we had planned to do the “W” – a popular 80km trek (in the form of a W) that covers many of the park’s highlights. The Erratic Rock was a great source of information, especially since we weren’t really sure what to expect and, crucially, what to pack. The park often experiences four seasons in one day so we had to be prepared for rain, harsh sun and extreme winds. Unfortunately, upon checking the weather it looked like we were due a minor storm for the next few days so we were debating what to take and what to leave behind, knowing we will have to carry everything on our backs!
I wanted to take the bigger bag as it was more comfortable to carry. We didn’t need two big bags so Derek decided to take his smaller day pack. After packing all our clothes I tested the backpack and it was quite light. This was going to be a breeze! But of course I did not consider we still had to pack our bathroom essentials, food and massive parka jackets.
Christmas dinner this evening was pizza – a first for both of us, but we also knew this trip was all about doing “firsts”. The local draught beer was very good so after the pizza and beer we spent the evening uploading photos and updating the blog as we have been without internet connection most of the time.
Merry Christmas!
