Off into the Torres del Paine National Park. Chile, Friday November 10th 2006.

Friday 10th November 2006.

As we drive out to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine I realise that there are many more sheep here than people.

The Paine range is a spectacular sight as it unfolds across our vista as we drive deeper into the park. There is something majestic about snow capped craggy peaks that awakens both fear and freedom in equal measure.

In that wonderfully South American way they have a shop here at the park entrance full of stock that you can see, touch and smell...but the assistant won't sell you anything. You can hold it, but not buy it.

Nothing in Chile can be sold without a written receipt, and the shop, though full of stock, has no reciept book. It was lovely though to at least see and smell the food...handing it back was tough though!

Today we embark on a 16km climb to the base of Las Torres and along the way see a hanging glacier at Almirante Nieto.

What a genuine treat to have your photograph taken with the torres that give the region its name. Climbing up here you feel at one with nature!

On my return I reward myself with a Pisco Sour or two. Chile is also claiming Pisco as its national drink as it was Chile, and not Peru, who made Pisco commercially successful...I must say though, that Peru does Pisco Sour better!
Along with the drinks I enjoy the largest chicken sandwich I have ever seen at Hosteria Las Torres and then it is off to our campsite for my first night of camping in Patagonia.

Tonight I will sample Hierba Buena, a local tea, made from mint that grows wild in this region.

Our local guide, Eduardo is excellent, as the local guides have generally been on all the trips I have taken. He is highly professional and efficient in judging a pace relevant to the whole group.

Saturday 11th November 2006.

After a full breakfast at the campsite its off to Pudeto to sail across Lake Pehoe to the tiny settlement of Pehoe (which means hidden in the local language).

We learn a great deal today about rock formation and get to see the clear difference between glacier and rain water lakes. The rain water lakes have that bright electric blue colour, whilst glacier water gets its colour from the sediment present. Because there is only limited photosynthesis, life is limited in glacier lakes.

Today will be much more of a trek as we make the 19km journey from our camp at Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano and up through Valle Del Frances (where once again we encounter the rocky terrain of the Morrena). Morrena refers to the sediment and rocks that are left behind as a glacier retreats.

At precisely 11am, I stopped along with Mark (a fellow British climber) to observe the two minutes silence as a mark of respect to all the brave men and women who gave so much for so many.

The Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine is one of 11 states of the Sistema Nacional de Areas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado de Chile de la Duodecima Region which consists of 5 national parks, 3 national reserves and 3 natural monuments. This park was founded on the 13th of May 1959 and was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO on April 28th 1978.

The park has a varied environment from mountains and valleys, to lakes, glaciers, rivers and waterfalls. It is home to the impressive geological structures of the Paine range and the Southern Patagonian Ice-Field, which is the third largest ice-field on the plant after Antartica and Greenland.

In terms of flora and fauna I loved seeing the Notro Firebush which blooms only twice a year, fortunately one of those occassions is in November.

With my knees and ankles bandaged and my feet cut to shreds I am having the time of my life. Eduardo turns into George Clooney today to attend to three peoples feet and I am very grateful for the treatment I receive here at Bedrock Hospital.

Our hike today has taken us along Lago Skottsberg enroute to the spectacular view of Paine Grande and the Glaciar del Frances, that can only be seen here in the French Valley.

In terms of flora and fauna, the parks micro-climate provides a diverse range of vegetation from bushes to pre-Andean forests, step vegetation and Andes desert. The park is also home to the puma, the fox (which we are lucky enough to see), many many guanaco's, the Chilean deer and a wide variety of birds...including swans and flamingos.

In the summer months temperatures range from a maximum of 15c to a minimum of 3c and in the winter the maximum is 8c and the minimum -2.5c. However, whatever the time of year, with wind gusts up to 120km per hour it often feels much colder.

Its time to head back for tea and medals before a true night of Patagonian weather when the wind howls and the rain lashes our tents...yet, next morning at sunrise it is to be another beautiful Patagonian day.

Sunday 12th November 2006.

Today is to be a day to relax and let my poor old feet recover. That said I do visit the Salto Grande Waterfall before heading back to Puerto Natales.

I cannot stress enough the value of a good guide and Eduardo Sobarzo has been excellent. Highly knowledgeable, always professional, sensitive to the needs of all the group and genuinely caring. He manages to combine all this with an outgoing and cool personality. If you are a school group interested in coming to Patagonia I would suggest you could not do better than working locally with a local guide of the quality of Eduardo. I took the liberty of getting his contact details

eduardo.patagonia@gmail.com

and remember, as Eduardo told us...never pack your pack to more than 20% of your body weight.

Dinner tonight is at La Casa de Pepe with after dinner drinks at Aqua Terra.

Traveller's tip...I would recommend that when you are in Chile you try wine from the Carménère grape...the Santa Emiliana takes a lot of beating.

Interesting Scottish Facts...The first lady of Patagonian tourism is recognised to be Lady Florence Dixie. She is widely recognised to be the first tourist to visit Torres del Paine. Whilst there had been many expeditions to Patagonia in the 19th century, Lady Florence made the first purely pleasure trip. She was the author of Across Patagonia (published in 1880)which was both a travel journal and a log of her hunting expedition. Florence was fascinated by the towers that lend the region its name and she likened them to Cleopatra´s Neddle in London.
Today the island in the middle of Laguna Azul is named in her honour.

Oh, the Scotland Link...

Florence was born and is buried in Scotland. Her final resting place though is an unmarked plot on her family's estate. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Queensberry, the family that famously became embroiled in the scandal and court case surrounding Oscar Wilde. They were not a lucky family. Her father committed suicide when she was only 3 years old and one of her brothers was killed in a climbing accident when she was eight.

Her twin brother Jim, who had accompanied her to Patagonia was later to commit suicide and it was her other brother who took Wilde to court.

Because of her husbands addiction to gambling and alcohol she lost her home due to debts and she was to die at only 50 crippled with arthritis.

Patagonia has had it all. Drenching rain, scorching hot sun and blasting winds!