We ate a breakfast of eggs and mystery meat, then started our 11 hour hike into the French Valley. It was the most incredible hike we've ever done. It starts out with long flat paths weaving along the crystal-teal lake. Then the path climbs up and down for about 2 hours. We would stop along the way and fill our water bottles with rushing water from the glacier. Definitely the best water we've ever had. Next the path was all uphill, through forests and boulder-fields. The rocks were small and slippery so we would slide around as we went up and down. Our destination was a viewpoint on top of a giant rock that gave a 360 degree view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. We left our camp at 830 am and after 7 hours of solid hiking, we finally reached the viewpoint. The view was incredible. We would hear bursts of thunder in the sky and look up to see an avalanche on one of the nearby mountains. The entire trek through the French valley was so surreal, and our ridiculously aching bodies is a fair trade for the incredible experience.
French Valley
Hike to Grey Glacier
Laguna Amarca
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Patagonia Trek Itinerary
Since we will not have internet or electricity we've posted our itinerary for our trek in case you want to follow along :)
Monday, we fly to Punta Arenas and take a 3 hour bus to Puerto Natales.
Tuesday, we will take a bus to Torres Del Paine and trek to the Grey Glacier.The Glacier is in the south end of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
Wednesday, we will trek 8 hours to the French Valley. French Valley is the most beautiful valley in Torres del Paine National Park, located in the middle of the “W” circuit. It is the best stretch of the route because of its scenic beauty. The French Valley offers a panoramic view of huge granite walls, hanging glaciers, forests, shaped by the wind and lakes with beautiful colors.
Thursday, we will take a catamaran across the Pehoe Lake, then walk to Pinturas Rupestres.
Friday, we will hike 8 to 10 hours to the beautiful Torres Del Paine.
Saturday, we will travel to El Calafate, a beautiful glacier.
Sunday, we will be hiking to Perito Moreno and trekking on the glacier.The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing.
After that we will be flying to Buenos Aires!
Monday, we fly to Punta Arenas and take a 3 hour bus to Puerto Natales.
Tuesday, we will take a bus to Torres Del Paine and trek to the Grey Glacier.The Glacier is in the south end of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
Wednesday, we will trek 8 hours to the French Valley. French Valley is the most beautiful valley in Torres del Paine National Park, located in the middle of the “W” circuit. It is the best stretch of the route because of its scenic beauty. The French Valley offers a panoramic view of huge granite walls, hanging glaciers, forests, shaped by the wind and lakes with beautiful colors.
Thursday, we will take a catamaran across the Pehoe Lake, then walk to Pinturas Rupestres.
Friday, we will hike 8 to 10 hours to the beautiful Torres Del Paine.
Saturday, we will travel to El Calafate, a beautiful glacier.
Sunday, we will be hiking to Perito Moreno and trekking on the glacier.The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing.
After that we will be flying to Buenos Aires!
Santiago, Chile- Day 2
We met up with four Aussies and Brits from our tour for "terremotos" and salsa dancing. Terremotos aka earthquakes are local drinks made with a mixture of drinks and pineapple ice cream. Our tour guide took us to a local salsa club and taught us all how to salsa dance onstage. It was a blast! We all played "who am I?" (with names on our foreheads) and it was very funny. Our favorites were Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. One of the Aussies is an ER doctor and he was showing us super gross cell phone pictures of things he has come across. One was when there were tons of locusts in Australia, and he pulled two legs, then a huge body of a locust out of a girl's ear. Another one was when a guy split his head,from forehead to the base of his skull-- still not totally sure how he did that... Needless to say we all had a lot of fun talking and dancing together.
This morning we decided to hike up a local mountain called, San Cristobal. We were initially going to mountain bike it but decided just to hike because it was really steep. We set off around mid-day, not a very good idea because it was about 90 degrees with no shade. After about an hour we made it to the top of the mountain which has a massive statue of the Virgin Mary on it (similar to the Jesus statue in Rio). We sat down and at lunch with a guy we met who is from San Fran but now works with a marine biology company in Patagonia. We had mote, which is a cup filled with tea, chunks of peaches, and something similar to a cereal. It was very good, oh and an empanada! After our hike we checked into our new hotel to meet up with our tour. Now we are packing and getting ready for an intense 5 day trek through Torres Del Paine national park on the W trek. No internet for a week will be really weird, but also very exciting to finally be off the grid :)
Love you all!
Ciao
This morning we decided to hike up a local mountain called, San Cristobal. We were initially going to mountain bike it but decided just to hike because it was really steep. We set off around mid-day, not a very good idea because it was about 90 degrees with no shade. After about an hour we made it to the top of the mountain which has a massive statue of the Virgin Mary on it (similar to the Jesus statue in Rio). We sat down and at lunch with a guy we met who is from San Fran but now works with a marine biology company in Patagonia. We had mote, which is a cup filled with tea, chunks of peaches, and something similar to a cereal. It was very good, oh and an empanada! After our hike we checked into our new hotel to meet up with our tour. Now we are packing and getting ready for an intense 5 day trek through Torres Del Paine national park on the W trek. No internet for a week will be really weird, but also very exciting to finally be off the grid :)
Love you all!
Ciao
Santiago, Chile
After a brief stint in customs (who knew you couldn't bring almonds into Chile?), and a crazy cab ride ( he tried to make us pay him $60 for a $20 ride), we embarked on our first adventure in South America.
A glance through the downtown blocks of Santiago reveals a mighty circle of mountains - the Andean peaks to the east, and a smaller coastal range to the west - that frames the Chilean capital... That's only if the smog miraculously clears (school kids even draw the sky a murky gray color). Santiago is loud and dirty, but also artsy, young and full of life. Or as our guide book says, "Santiago is a thriving metropolis, home to a third of Chile's population, but it is one if Chile's least popular tourist destinations."
We started our first morning off on a walking tour through downtown Santiago and the Bellavista neighborhood. We met in the Plaza de Armas which is the city's historic centre, each side bounded by interesting buildings. The 18th century Catedral Metropolitana stands facing east - as churches must. The north side is where you will find the early 19th century Palacio de la Real Audencia - home now to the Museo Historico Nacional - and the 18th century Town hall. There is an eclectic mix of characters who spend a portion of their day here: soap-box speakers and shoe shiners, charlatans and religious fanatics, garrulous old men playing chess and young couples embracing on park benches, streets photographers and artists hawking paintings.
Next we made our way past the old congress building, the supreme court, and the Palacio La Moneda. The Palacio La Moneda is where the president of Chile resides. Because of recent student protests there was an army truck that shoots tear gas just parked on the corner next to the building. The protests are about student's discontent with lack of public universities and also about the social inequalities in general. Our guide told us we wouldn't be around for any protests because all the students are on holiday break (typical students : )
Our favorite part of the tour was eating lunch near Santa Lucia Hill. Materializing as if out of nowhere on the edge of the city's downtown limits, the lavishly landscaped and historically significant Cerro Santa Lucia is a triangular-shaped hilltop park. It is where Pedro de Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile, founded Santiago in 1540 for the crown of Spain. For centuries, the rocky hill was seen as more of an eyesore than a recreational area (the local Mapuche Indians called it "curse," until 1872, when 150 prisoners were put to work landscaping the hill and carving out walkways for everyone to enjoy.
We visited the colorful and chaotic Mercado Central (seafood market) and La Vega (fruit market). Chile's economy depends on the exportation of natural products such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood. The markets display everything the country has to offer. Lively and staffed by pushy fishmongers who artistically gut and fillet while you watch, the market displays every kind o fish and shellfish available alongside Chilean coast. At the fruit market I got a fresh watermelon juice, they tossed watermelon chunks into a blender with water and voila!
Tonight we are meeting up with some friends from our day tour for drinks and salsa dancing!
A glance through the downtown blocks of Santiago reveals a mighty circle of mountains - the Andean peaks to the east, and a smaller coastal range to the west - that frames the Chilean capital... That's only if the smog miraculously clears (school kids even draw the sky a murky gray color). Santiago is loud and dirty, but also artsy, young and full of life. Or as our guide book says, "Santiago is a thriving metropolis, home to a third of Chile's population, but it is one if Chile's least popular tourist destinations."
We started our first morning off on a walking tour through downtown Santiago and the Bellavista neighborhood. We met in the Plaza de Armas which is the city's historic centre, each side bounded by interesting buildings. The 18th century Catedral Metropolitana stands facing east - as churches must. The north side is where you will find the early 19th century Palacio de la Real Audencia - home now to the Museo Historico Nacional - and the 18th century Town hall. There is an eclectic mix of characters who spend a portion of their day here: soap-box speakers and shoe shiners, charlatans and religious fanatics, garrulous old men playing chess and young couples embracing on park benches, streets photographers and artists hawking paintings.
Next we made our way past the old congress building, the supreme court, and the Palacio La Moneda. The Palacio La Moneda is where the president of Chile resides. Because of recent student protests there was an army truck that shoots tear gas just parked on the corner next to the building. The protests are about student's discontent with lack of public universities and also about the social inequalities in general. Our guide told us we wouldn't be around for any protests because all the students are on holiday break (typical students : )
Our favorite part of the tour was eating lunch near Santa Lucia Hill. Materializing as if out of nowhere on the edge of the city's downtown limits, the lavishly landscaped and historically significant Cerro Santa Lucia is a triangular-shaped hilltop park. It is where Pedro de Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile, founded Santiago in 1540 for the crown of Spain. For centuries, the rocky hill was seen as more of an eyesore than a recreational area (the local Mapuche Indians called it "curse," until 1872, when 150 prisoners were put to work landscaping the hill and carving out walkways for everyone to enjoy.
We visited the colorful and chaotic Mercado Central (seafood market) and La Vega (fruit market). Chile's economy depends on the exportation of natural products such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood. The markets display everything the country has to offer. Lively and staffed by pushy fishmongers who artistically gut and fillet while you watch, the market displays every kind o fish and shellfish available alongside Chilean coast. At the fruit market I got a fresh watermelon juice, they tossed watermelon chunks into a blender with water and voila!
Tonight we are meeting up with some friends from our day tour for drinks and salsa dancing!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Plan
Santiago, Chile.
Punta Arenas, Patagonia.
Trekking for 5 days through Torres Del Paine National Park.
El Calafate.
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
New Years Eve on the beaches of Punta Del Este, Uruguay.
Adios!
D and K
Punta Arenas, Patagonia.
Trekking for 5 days through Torres Del Paine National Park.
El Calafate.
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
New Years Eve on the beaches of Punta Del Este, Uruguay.
Adios!
D and K
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