forestlake
Torres del Paine - Day 1
We´re met off the boat by our tour leader and acquire
another two park guides, Eduardo and Serkan, for our
5-day trek in Torres del Paine. I´m secretly dreading
the long hikes, described in my guidebook as
'challenging'.
A few of my friends that have been have said that
Torres del Paine National Park is stunning and even
with this in mind, I´m completely unprepared for its
spectacular beauty. It´s exactly as I imagined it,
vast windswept plains, snowcapped mountains, looming
clouds and turquoise lakes. My ideal landscape.
Sublime.
As we´re arriving late into the park we´re missing one
leg of the 'W' circuit (which I´m told is the dull
bit)
so instead we´re dropped off at Laguna Verde for a
12km walk to Rio Paine, an amazing turquoise expanse
of water fed by glacial waters.
For 4 1/2 hours I walk through undulating terrain
through open plains, forests, past lakes and meadows
of spring flowers. By the end of the 5 days I am well
acquainted with the Calafate bush (yellow flowers),
the fire-bush (Notro or Ciruelillo) and the Chowra
(sp?) berries. The weather changes from rain to bright
spells and I remove my onion layers only to have to
put them all on again within minutes. The wind is
brutal. On several occasions I nearly get blown off
the mountain. One minute you´re pushing hard to walk
against the wind and as it dies suddenly you topple
over.
I am lagging behind as I have been taking far too many
photos and make my way down the mountain on my own
after a stop at the 'Laguna Los Ciervos' viewpoint
which overlooks the stunning Rio Paine. The colours
fill my senses - yellow (buttercups and dandelions),
red (fire-bush), turquoise (lakes) - and I remember
feeling happier than I have for ages.
Burnt trees fill the landscape. A serious fire started
by a tourist two years ago affected 15-20% of the
park. Although the park is recovering slowly it has
left a legacy of dead trees that stand out like shafts
of bone.
Back at the Pehoe campsite they have laid on a spread
of cheeses, hams, chocolates and wine for us, before
dinner! This is definitely camping in style and I´m
not complaining.
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Torres del Paine - Day 1
We´re met off the boat by our tour leader and acquire
another two park guides, Eduardo and Serkan, for our
5-day trek in Torres del Paine. I´m secretly dreading
the long hikes, described in my guidebook as
'challenging'.
A few of my friends that have been have said that
Torres del Paine National Park is stunning and even
with this in mind, I´m completely unprepared for its
spectacular beauty. It´s exactly as I imagined it,
vast windswept plains, snowcapped mountains, looming
clouds and turquoise lakes. My ideal landscape.
Sublime.
As we´re arriving late into the park we´re missing one
leg of the 'W' circuit (which I´m told is the dull
bit)
so instead we´re dropped off at Laguna Verde for a
12km walk to Rio Paine, an amazing turquoise expanse
of water fed by glacial waters.
For 4 1/2 hours I walk through undulating terrain
through open plains, forests, past lakes and meadows
of spring flowers. By the end of the 5 days I am well
acquainted with the Calafate bush (yellow flowers),
the fire-bush (Notro or Ciruelillo) and the Chowra
(sp?) berries. The weather changes from rain to bright
spells and I remove my onion layers only to have to
put them all on again within minutes. The wind is
brutal. On several occasions I nearly get blown off
the mountain. One minute you´re pushing hard to walk
against the wind and as it dies suddenly you topple
over.
I am lagging behind as I have been taking far too many
photos and make my way down the mountain on my own
after a stop at the 'Laguna Los Ciervos' viewpoint
which overlooks the stunning Rio Paine. The colours
fill my senses - yellow (buttercups and dandelions),
red (fire-bush), turquoise (lakes) - and I remember
feeling happier than I have for ages.
Burnt trees fill the landscape. A serious fire started
by a tourist two years ago affected 15-20% of the
park. Although the park is recovering slowly it has
left a legacy of dead trees that stand out like shafts
of bone.
Back at the Pehoe campsite they have laid on a spread
of cheeses, hams, chocolates and wine for us, before
dinner! This is definitely camping in style and I´m
not complaining.
Send instant messages to your online friends uk.messenger.yahoo.com