Datum: 20231221
Tijd: 10:40 – 16:20
Afstand: 19,9 km
Wandeling
Kerstvakantie, tijd voor nog een wandeling. In Utrecht deze keer, een Trage Tocht.
Ik pak de trein van 9:06 in Blerick en de reis verloopt voorspoedig. Hoewel dit de trein naar Dordrecht is, gaat hij niet verder dan Den Haag Holland Spoor. Voor mij geen probleem, ik hoef niet zo ver. Wel weer een teken dat het niet goed gaat met het treinverkeer in Nederland, zoals ik in mijn recentelijke treinreizen aan den lijve ondervonden heb.
In Utrecht is het even zoeken naar welke uitgang van het station ik moet hebben. Mijn TwoNav helpt me en even later ben ik aan de wandel.
Ik loop vandaag voornamelijk langs water, kanalen, vijvers, vaarten en de Kromme Rijn. Ook loop ik door de nodige parken. 
In één van die parken, het Griftpark, wil ik een pauze inlassen bij Peter’s Bistro. Die is echter gesloten, dat is jammer. Het Griftpark is overigens gesitueerd op de plek waar vroeger de Gemeentelijke Gasfabriek en de Vaalt stonden. Dat was de reden dat de grond op deze locatie erg vervuild was. Uiteindelijk hebben ze de vervuilde grond ‘ingepakt’ zodat deze geen schade meer kan aanrichten. Inmiddels is er een bacterie gevonden die zich voedt met de vervuiling en die, langzaam maar zeker, de vervuiling opruimt. Daar hebben we dan weer mazzel mee…
Net voor het volgende park, Park Bloeyendael begint het flink te regenen. Gelukkig is bij de ingang van het park Hotel Mitland, tijd voor een kop koffie.
Als ik weer verder loop, kom ik bij een stuk dat is afgesloten. Ze zijn aan het snoeien en er kunnen takken vallen. Ik denk dat dat gevaar vandaag op veel meer plekken aanwezig is gezien de takken op de grond die ik op mijn weg tegenkom. 
Ik loop aan de andere kant van het water en ik pik de route even verder weer op.
Ik zoek intussen een plek om te lunchen, maar alles is vol. Dus maar gewoon doorlopen. Als ik langs de Kromme Rijn loop, hebben de duuvelkes kermis, de zon schijnt en het regent tegelijkertijd. Ergens moet er ook een regenboog staan, maar die zie ik zo snel niet. Wel zie ik een bord met lunchcafé en ik besluit de route even te verlaten en het bord te volgen. 
Ik kom uit bij Lunchcafé de Moestuin, een groene oase met sociale oogst, een plek waar ze vooral de eigen oogst verkopen of gebruiken voor hun gerechten. Vegetarisch dus, maar ze hebben wel Gulpener bier en dat maakt veel goed. Ik ga voor een luxe tosti kaas tomatensalsa en die is goed te eten.
Vegetarisch blijkt ook hier weer voornamelijk een vrouwending te zijn. Van de 20 gasten die verspreid over diverse tafeltjes zitten, is nog geen kwart man.
Als ik na deze welverdiende pauze weer verder loop, kom ik langs Galgenwaard, het stadion van FC Utrecht.
Na een tijdje kom ik bij de Lunetten van Utrecht. Deze zijn gebouwd rond 1825 als verdedigingswerk om een eventuele aanval vanuit de Houtense Vlakte te pareren. Daarna gaat het weer richting centrum, langs enkele oude fabrieksgebouwen van N.V. Draadindustrie „Neerlandia”, fabriek voor spijkers en draadstaal, en de 
Eerste Nederlandsche fabriek van Gereedschappen, opgericht in 1916. Via de Veilinghavenkade met enkele historische rijnaken uit de vorige eeuw kom ik dan weer bij het spoor en even later ook het station uit.
De vorige keren dat ik in Utrecht was, ben ik bij Taplokaal Gist geweest en ondanks dat dat erg goed bevallen is, heb ik nu geen zin om daar een flink stuk voor te lopen (en straks ook weer terug). Ik loop daarom het centrum in en kom uit bij Little Dublin, een Irish Pub. Hier kan ik onder het genot van enkele Guinness deze blog verder uitwerken.
Weer
Ik heb een mooie dag uitgezocht om te gaan wandelen, zie hier een stukje uit het nieuws van vandaag: “Donderdag staat in het teken van storm Pia. In het hele land is code geel van kracht. Naast zware windstoten is er ook aardig wat kans op regen en soms zelfs op hagel en onweer.”.
En dat klopt, in Utrecht aangekomen waait het flink en het regent. In de morgen en de vroege middag heb ik de nodige regen. ’s Middags blijft het droog. Af en toe komt zelfs het zonnetje even door. De enige constante factor is de wind. Ten minste de aanwezigheid ervan, de windsterkte varieert van een flinke wind tot harde windstoten.
Eigenlijk vond ik het vandaag prima weer om te wandelen, lekker uitwaaien en die paar druppels regen mochten de pret niet drukken.
Songtekst van de dag
Vanwege het mooie weer vandaag en Pia heb ik gekozen voor Riders on the Storm van The Doors.
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm
There’s a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin’ like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah
Girl, you gotta love your man
Girl, you gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we’re born
Into this world we’re thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan.
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Ik heb al vakantie voor de rest van het jaar, tijd voor een wandeling dus. Ik besluit maximaal gebruik te maken van mijn 1ste klas keuzedag en naar Emmen te gaan. Daar ga ik de Groene Wissel langs de hunebedden lopen, Groene Wissel 185: Hunebedden, grafheuvels en onderduikershol.
In Nijmegen wordt ik verwelkomd met de mededeling dat er een stroomstoring is en er geen treinen van en naar Zwolle rijden. Ook rijden er door capaciteitsproblemen geen vervangende bussen. Dit duurt tot ca. 8:30. Dat zou voor mij net goed kunnen gaan… Tegen de tijd dat ik in mijn trein naar Zwolle stap hebben ze blijkbaar toch nog ergens bussen gevonden.
De reis naar Zwolle gaat verder zonder bijzonderheden voorbij. De stroomstoring is blijkbaar verholpen. In Zwolle heb ik weer mooi tijd om koffie te scoren voordat ik de sprinter naar Emmen neem.
In Emmen aangekomen begin ik meteen met wandelen. Ik loop door het centrum van Emmen en dan naar Westenesch. Hier tik ik meteen mijn eerste hunebed af, D44. Hier is niet veel van over omdat men de stenen voor andere doeleinden heeft gebruikt. In één steen zitten zelfs geboorde gaten om hem in kleinere stukken te breken. Zo ver is het echter niet gekomen.
Ik loop over een veldweg en er staan vrachtwagens midden op de weg. Dat is niet zo moeilijk, het is maar een smalle weg. Ze worden geladen met bieten.
Ik check op Google Maps waar de hunebedden zijn en denk slim te zijn door een omweg te maken om zo nog drie hunebedden te bezoeken. Pas als ik daar ben, besef ik dat ik daar op de terugweg ook voorbij kom. Tja, terug naar de oorspronkelijke route dus.
Ik loop door het Valtherbos en nadat ik hunebed D35 bezocht heb, zwaai ik af richting Valthe. Hier zit een bakker, Ambachtsbakker Kuipers, en daar hoop ik iets te eten en te drinken te krijgen. Helaas zijn er in de winter geen belegde broodjes of koffie, in de zomer wel. In plaats daarvan neem ik een luxe krentenbol met abrikoos in het midden die ik buiten op eet, erg lekker.
Terug naar de route alwaar ik al snel bij het Onderduikershol kom. Dit is een reconstructie van het onderduikershol waar tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog diverse Joden ondergedoken zaten.
Deze zijn duidelijk zichtbaar in het bos. Ze zijn veel jonger dan de hunebedden, zo’n 1000 jaar jonger, en er liggen vaak meerdere personen in begraven.
Nog een stukje door het bos en ik kom weer in de bebouwde kom. Bij het station aangekomen volg ik het begin van de route nog een keer om in het centrum te komen. Hier ga ik bij de Brasserie zitten voor een welverdiend biertje en erwtensoep. Hier werk ik ook dit verslag verder uit en zet het op de blog.
Today we are going up Cerro San Cristóbal with Sandy. There are several ways up, by funicular, a type of cable railway, by teleférico, a cable car, or by bus. We however go up walking, the road is closed for cars and not too steep. We take regular rests so Ada can keep up.
At the top there is a big statue of Maria watching over Santiago. This is the third highest point in Santiago at about 850m or a prominence of 280m.
Once we finish our drink, we walk back the same way that we came and go to Sandy’s room to see which things we need to leave for Sandy for the travels in South America that she is planning, sleeping bag and such. Also Sandy is sorting through her stuff to figure out what we have to take home for her. In the mean time we have a drink at the Sinatra Restobar further down in Sandy’s street. Here they also have their own beer, Pukalan. And again I need to add the beer to Untappd, just as in the Snowbar.
We collect all our own stuff and the things that Sandy doesn’t need any more and take an Uber to our apartment to drop the heavy backpack.
We walk a bit through Bella Vista, to the place where you can go up the hill, Serro San Cristóbal, and from there through the streets where there are small stalls with art, handmade objects and other stuff. It’s a nice and relaxed stroll and we have a coffee and a smoothie at one of the small bars in one of these streets.
On advise of Google we walk into Patronato, there should be a crowd there and where there is a crowd, something is happening. We find a stage in the middle of the street and a lot of people who are painting the houses. Not exactly graffiti but more controlled and planned art.
We continue our walk to Cerro Santa Lucia, a hill with a park in the middle of the city. A remnant of a volcano 15 million years old! From here we have beautiful views over Santiago.
Basilica de la Merced, and we can go in. At first it looks like a normal church, but then we see that we can enter a nice garden via a side door. From this garden we can enter Museo la Merced, a museum with all kind of religious objects and paintings. A nice surprise.
Now it is time to get back to our apartment to get rid of some things we bought and head for the Snowbar to get a few beers.
Relieved that everything is ok, we go for sushi at Patio Bellavista. The first thing that happens is that we get a complimentary Heineken. I think they are giving the stuff away just to get rid of it. But nothing could be farther from the truth. We are celebrating 150 years of Heineken, here in Chili!
We start with a trekking tour. Pick up time at the hostal is 8:00-8:30 but they would make sure we would be picked up last so we can get some breakfast, which is also from 8:00. We are early at breakfast which is good since at 8:15 the van to pick us up is there. There are only two girls in the van… They picked us up as one of the first!
When everybody is on board, we go in the direction of the Tatio Geysers. We will visit these the day after tomorrow.
We reach a nice spot in the valley with a natural pool. This is our destination and everybody can get into the pool. Ada puts here feet in the water and I talk to Victor, our guide, and make pictures. Then, after consulting Victor, I walk further up the valley. Victor accompanies me for the first part, he probably wants to make sure I can deal with the terrain. After 20 minutes or so I return, I don’t want everybody waiting for me. I meet Victor after a while, he looks relieved that he found me 🙂 We walk the remaining part back together and he points out a huge cactus. According to Victor the cactus is about 400 years old.
When we return everybody is already coming out of the pool and when everybody is dressed we start our way back.
They drop us in the town center. The first thing we do is look for a farmaciá to get some extra sun block. Then we walk to the town square and find a spot on the terrace for lunch. They don’t have any new beer for me, except for one, Stella. So Stella it is. I undoubtedly have had a Stella before, but not since I use Untappd. So I had to go to the other end of the world to get my first Stella check-in 🙂
This afternoon we are going to float in salt water. We report on time at the booking office and are brought to a pick-up point. The van is already almost full. We drive to Laguna Cejar and Laguna Piedra. Here we make a short walk before the clothes go off and we can go into Laguna Piedra to float. This is indeed a nice and a little bit weird experience. Without any effort whatsoever one keeps floating. Maybe we should also add some more salt to the swimming pool next year…
First we go to two small pools of salt water that are connected underground. These pools get deeper every year because the bottom of the pool is dissolving in the water and partly evaporates.
To top things off, we have cocktails or rather sour and other refreshments. This works very well after a day in the hot sun.
Alas the evening tour, an astronomical tour, is cancelled due to clouds. We reschedule to tomorrow evening. Instead we go for a drink and again we end up in a restaurant where we cannot get a drink without eating, so again we go, to Kankas where we are always welcome. Kankas is a Peruvian bar / restaurant and we seem to be selecting these while we are in Chili.
I start the day with packing my stuff so I can start walking immediately after breakfast. Breakfast is sober but ok and one of the girls brings me scrambled eggs.
There are quiet some people coming down already, they must have started early. I also meet Renate and the girls on their way back. They left at 4 am!
From here on out it goes up more steeply. It is very well doable, it is mostly rocks where you have to make big steps. After a short section that is not very steep the real scrambling begins a the side of a rock field and then through the snow. Now a section follows were I scramble over a rock field. Somehow I get a little off the path and end up in a part where all the rocks are loose and have the tendency to slide down. Not good. I consider my options and decide to go straight up where the path is. I do so very slowly to avoid sliding down with rocks and all. That would be a pity, I would have scrambled up here for nothing…
Once back on track the rocks are more stable, as expected. I continue over the rocks and snow and finally reach my destination, mirador Base las Torres, I did it in a little more than 2 hours. It is a little colder up here, but not too bad. The lake is frozen however. The three granite peaks look very spectacular with some moving clouds around their tops.
There are not many people up here, two couples and a solo hiker. One of the girls asks if I want my picture taken so today there are again pictures with me in it.
Back at Chileno it’s time for something to drink. No beer yet, I still have to go down to the park entrance with my backpack. So it’s a Coke, or actually 2.
I pick up my backpack and start my way down. I arrive at Hotel Las Torres Patagonia where I ask for a transfer to Laguna Amarga. They tell me that I have to walk for 15 more minutes to reach the welcome center where I can get a transfer. Since I have time enough and since they have a bar, I decide to first have a beer. The bar is called Pionero and they have a beer with the name Pionera, so that is what it is gone be. The beer is served with a hopbel in it. According to the info on the placemat they are the only beer and gin producers within Torres del Paine National Park, so I picked the right location.
After this very nice rest, I continue through very flat terrain for about 20 minutes to arrive at the welcome center. There are not too many people here, yet. I drink another beer and have an Empanada.
The bus trip to Puerto Natales is uneventful and a few minutes from the bus terminal is my hotel, Big Bang Patagonia. I can still check in and the first thing I do is a shower, no not a beer.
Today I am not only blown away by the scenery but also literally by the fierce winds. I already think the wind is strong, man am I in for a surprise later today.
I meet the couple from Utah again, they stayed at Cuernos and are now going up to Britanico. They made it to the first suspension bridge at glacier Grey.
Before I leave, I put the rain cover on my backpack because there are some dark clouds in front of me. But luckily they drift away from me. I only feel some drops. This is good because the rain cover comes of the backpack, probably because of the shrubs and trees that are growing over the path.
Just like yesterday I take a break after I cross a suspension bridge, here I notice that I am off track, but given the amount of other hikers I don’t worry. There is also a horse track here and I think Gaia took that one when it created the route. A little bit later I am back on track again.
I decided to have a big break when there are less than 7 kilometers to walk. When I do there are 6 kilometers left and I sit on a rock and have my sugar shot and a protein bar. A couple passes by that I already met a couple of times today. The guy asks if he should take a picture of me. So today not only scenic pictures, but also one or two with me in it.
Raindrops are falling but not too much and they are welcome to bring some extra cooling.
At first I sit outside but with these winds that is not very nice. So I go inside the overcrowded restaurant and I find a spot to sit. Here I meet Renata who is walking the trek with here two Brazilian friends. I passed them a couple of times today and she asks if it was easy for me because it looked like I was walking the trek without any difficulty. I assure her that it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Renata is originally from Brazil and we talk about al lot of things. Sitting with Renata and her friends is a couple with a woman from Peru. She tells me to go to Peru, like Lise and Sven did last year. She also tells me to go to restaurant Central in Lima, the number one restaurant in the world. Expensive but worth it. I checked it and in 2023, it earned the No. 1 spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking.
Today it was mostly cloudy with some short sunny periods, some drops of rain and a lot of wind.
After breakfast I pack backpack and leave for Britanico. It is a bit of a puzzle how I have to start. They changed the paths. But I find my way.
With the heavy backpack, walking sticks are definitely a good idea. Yesterday I had them with me, but didn’t need them. Today I do!
I see again a lot of dead trees.
Campamento Italiano is only a short distance away and I have a break there as well. My shirt and the inside of my coat are soaking wet.
It goes up and up and I have nice views on the mountains, the river and glacier Frances. It is a touch hike up. I would have never done this with the backpack.
I reach Italiano again, pick up my backpack and walk the rest to camp Frances where I booked a tent. It is a tent on poles and I have one whole tent by myself, which is nice. Yesterday I got an email that they upgraded me. No idea what that means, but I do have the tent closest to the reception and not one all the way down or up.
I follow a rocky path. Early in the day I don’t meet a lot of people. That changes when it gets later.
It is warm in the sun, but chilly or even cold in the shade. That also changes during the day. In the afternoon it is f*cking hot in the sun and there is almost no shade.
I made GPX tracks of all the planned routes but they are not really necessary. One cannot get lost here because there is only one path. However, I get other useful information like where I am and what altitudes to expect.
I meet two Australian guys and talk a bit to one of them. He has a good tip, at the end of my route I have to continue for about 5 minutes after the 2nd suspension bridge to get good views on the glacier.
I pass two suspension bridges. The first one crosses a small stream that probably can get bigger. The second one is longer and higher and has its own private glacier coming down from the mountain. Probably a temporary glacier.
The way back to Refugio Grey goes way faster than the way up. I meet the couple from Utah again. They are on their way up but they don’t know if they have enough time. They also have to go back to Paine Grande. I tell them how far it is and that there are some steep sections. I am afraid they are not going to make it.
The rest of the track back to Paine Grande is rather uneventful. I refill my water bottle once more and I don’t stop at all the viewpoints, I did that already the first time around.
The last part up is hard, I already walked 25 kilometers through harsh terrain and I feel it in the legs. Once I start going down, the last kilometers, it gets better. Even though I am tired and my pace slows down, I still overtake a lot of people. That means their normal pace is less than my tired pace…
The hotel shuttle brings me to the airport, a quick transfer over roads that have definitely seen better times and I have the shuttle to myself.
The trip with the bus from Puerto Natales to Pudeto was spectacular with all the mountains covered with snow and the lakes surrounding us. In total there were about 20-25 passengers on the bus. About half of them leave the bus at Laguna Amarga.
In the distance I see a bird circling in the air. Given the distance it must be a huge bird. Might be a Condor but I can’t make sure from the bus.
I think I can see the route that I am going to take the day after tomorrow. I do see the occasional Lama, or Alpaca, and then there is a bunch of them and they are in the middle of the road.
What strikes me is that all trees are dead, they are just white skeletons. I have seen this before in the Czech Republic and it was caused by acid rain. I ask one of the park rangers why the trees are dead. Alas she doesn’t speak English but Google is your friend, if you are a park ranger and have Internet here at the end of the world. She explains that there was a fire caused by humans in 2011. It burned 17000 hectares and lasted for 2 months.
Time to catch the catamaran. The trip takes half an hour and we get spectacular views of the mountains from different sides. There are not many people on board. I talk to a couple from Utah, they arrived yesterday and it is also their first time in South America. She takes my picture and I take one of them.
I check in at the refugio and they show me ‘my’ room. It’s not mine of course, I have to share it with 5 other people, although I am the only one when I get there.
