As expected Isla de Pascua was fantastic. It was very hot and certainly not cheap (hotdogs for tea 3 nights in a row) but we really enjoyed visiting all the Maoi (big stone heads) which are scattered all over the island. On the first day we scaled the edge of a stunning volcanic crater and watched the sunset behind the maoi (with a few beers of course). The next day we hired scooters and zipped from maoi to maoi only stopping for a siesta and a quick dip at the beach. The museum would have been really interesting if any of us could read about geography and history in Spanish but never mind, we got the general gist....
From there it was back to Santiago for a bit more culture in the form of Andy´s walking tour of the city, where we took in sights like the site of the coup in 1973, the law courts, churches and the national gallery.
We quickly pushed on to Ushuaia which is the last big town before Antarctica and there was a dramatic change in temperature. After much deliberation and a few sums by Andy we decided not to jump on a boat to the Antarctic. Instead we did a beautiful day walk in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. It was a lovely day until about 3pm when the clouds rolled over, the rain came in sideways and we found ourselves cold, wet and stuck up a mountain. Needless to say I wasn´t impressed but luckily we got down without mishap and had a litre of red wine to warm up at the bottom. The next day we caught a boat to see the Beagle channel filled with wildlife including sea lions, cormorants, and some very cute penguins. We then spent the afternoon shopping for trousers as I accidentally put all of my clothes in the wash and was only left with
thermal leggings to wear around town, not a good look!
The next day was our first of many long bus journeys. It took 12 hours to get from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas (approx 4 hours of which was spent at boarder crossings and on the ferry with a truck full of sheep) and then a further 3 hours to Puerto Natales. During this time we were lucky enough to view some of the best quality action movies ever made, "Pistol Whipped" and "Rush Hour 3" were my particular faves. We spent our time in Puerto Natales stocking up on all things waterproof and a mountain of dried food in preparation for the big trek- the infamous "W".
The next day we were dropped off in the Torres del Paine National Park and set off up the mountain to see the jaw dropping 3 towers in bright sunshine. The boys opted not the leave their packs at the refugio at the bottom like the girls, and thought it would be far more macho and "ironman-like" carry 20kg for 22km straight up in 30 deg heat. Silly boys. Andy even bought his goggles, just in case....
That evening after walking for 8 hours Claire and I decided to take a well deserved hot shower. The amenities were a short walk via the living room from our dorm and little did we know that in the time it had taken us to grab our towels a bus load of German men had arrived. We got some unwanted cheers and claps as we emerged in only our towels and one commented that he did not realise entertainment was included!
Overnight I managed to come down with man flu so it was lucky that we only had to walk 11 km over reasonably flat terrain to our next stop. Unfortunately they had no beds left so we had to "rent a tent". The term tent is a bit generous for the soggy piece of plastic we found ourselves sleeping in as the rain poured down outside (and a bit inside). Remarkably the Shorters managed 8 hours sleep compared to our 3. We had a large bowl of porridge in the morning in preperation for the big 28km walk on day 3 up Frenches Valley. Again we were lucky with the weather and the rain held off as we walked up to one of the most increadible 360 degree views any of us had ever seen. There were glaciers and snow covered peaks in all directions. Well worth the effort. Incredibly, on this remote track in the middle of Patagonia we bumped into a guy called Mark and his girlfirend, who Claire and I have worked with in Sydney- small world. After 11 hours of walking, 4 packets of supernoodles, 6 cuppa soups, 3 packets of biscuits and lot of plasters we arrived tired but happy at our last refugio which to our delight had a bar. Unfortunately by the time we showered and ate no one had the energy to raise a glass and it was an early night all round.
Day 4 was a mere 22km walk for views of the Grey Glacier. The wind in our faces was +100km hour so it was tough going but it was amazing to see large icebergs of bright blue ice float past us in the lake. Andy threatened to use the previously mentionned goggles to swim out to the ice but thought the better of it after some gentle persuasion by Claire.
We arrived back in time to catch the last boat and bus back to town last night where we gratefully hung our boots up for a few days. The sock pile was not pleasant.
Today was for R and R and a lie in was much appreciated. Tomorrow we head for El Calafete and the famous Puerto Merino glacier- no rest for the wicked or the unemployed!
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