Torres del Paine (12th to 15th January)

Wind... Torres del Paine is a very windy place, that is my first impression of the place as we check into the park at the guardia station, along with a bus load of others. It's a popular trekking place, and pretty much the only reason why anyone comes to this part of the world. It's stunning scenery and a harsh environment – a huge mastiff rising right out of the Patagonian planes. We've planned to do part of “the W”, so named because of the vague resemblance the track has on the map.

Day 1 – Catamaran to Paine Grande and 5 hours to Los Guardas campsite

A day of fabulous if not incredibly windy tramping with all our gear, straight into a head wind. By far the highlight of this part of the tramp is the Grey Glacier, which, after tramping all day, slowly comes into view. Thankfully Los Guardas has some shelter in the knarled and twisted forest, but the view is stunning as it's right above the face of the glacier – check out some of the pictures at the usual link at the bottom of this post.

Day 2 – Los Guardas to Camping Italiano

A wild night and wet morning, we hold up until after midday before it calms down enough to retrace our steps to Grande, and on to camp at Italiano. Welcome respite in the form of snickers bars at Grande, a mere three dollars a piece, but worth it. Incredible winds along the south passage, especially with the large packs, and Celine was literally lifted off her feet at one point. Allegedly the gusts were only up to 70kph, but I'd guess they were more on occasion. Still, absolutely stunning scenery with the rock mountain ahead of us. Crossed a scarily swaying suspension bridge to reach our campsite just before 9 in the evening. Planning on walking up the French Valley tomorrow and on to Los Cuernos.

Day 3 – Camping Italinao to French Valley and Back

Started out a lovely day, but the weather progressively worsened as the day wore on, with strong winds and driving, almost horizontal rain. Our waterproof gear pretty much failed and we were soaked, re-pitching the tent in the pouring rain, and nowhere to store wet stuff (poor tent, just too small!). We'd planned to move on to Los Cuernos, but the wind was too strong, and the lack of shelter at the next site made us decide to stay another night at Italiano and retrace our steps to Grande the following day. The lesson is to allow yourself extra time in these harsh climates, and to camp and stay put if needs be. Also camp well within the limitations of your equipment!

Day 4 – Camping Italiano to Grande and on to Punta Areanas

A lovely morning following another wild night, and a straightforward trek out of the park. Should also say a big thanks to the Erratic Rock Hostel in Puerto Natalis (on Baquedano) who give a FREE full briefing of travel in the park, including how to be a conscientious and low impact visitor to the park... our protected areas need more people like this!

Onward to Puerto Natalis, a feast of BBQed lomo steak, then bus on to Punta Areanas, which felt a bit of a ghost town on arrival. Met by Pato at the backpackers, a quick beer or two, and preparation for the trip to one of “the last pink bits” belonging to Her Majesty, just a quick hop across the water...

For more pictures, click here.