Date: 20231106
Time: 9:15 – 11:10
Distance: 2,9 km
Overnight stay: Hostal Montepardo, San Pedro de Atacama
Walk
Today we have a busy day, a tour each in the morning, afternoon and evening.
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.
At some point we stop and get out of the van. Everybody gets a breakfast / lunch package and we start our hike.
The hike we do is short, around 1 kilometer, and of medium difficulty. It goes up and down a bit and we have to scramble over some rocks. we follow the Rio Puritama. Ada is steadily going forward. She manages to do the path, including the scrambling parts.
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.
Back at our van, there is a German 4×4 M.A.N. camper parked next to our van with 2 motorcycles mounted on the back. That is also a nice way to explore South America!
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 🙂
Our spot at the terrace is nice, except for the stupid dogs circling our table.
After lunch Ada is going to look for some clothes while I walk to our hostal to lose some stuff we don’t need this afternoon.
We meet up at Kankas, the place where we had diner yesterday.
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…
After a quick shower we continue our journey to Ojos del Salar, here we have to pay the entrance fee in cash, but the oldies get a discount 🙂
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.
Next we visit a big salt lake where a meteor hit the earth a very long time ago. This is supposed to be the place where life began, hence the sign Origin.
We walk along the lake and take pictures. It is very hot in the afternoon sun and there is a very strong wind.
The chauffeurs are driving fast and especially in the afternoon the bad roads make that we are quite shaken up.
To top things off, we have cocktails or rather sour and other refreshments. This works very well after a day in the hot sun.
We are dropped off nicely on time in the town center so we have ample time to go to the hostal, wash up a little and pack our stuff, warm clothes, for the evening tour.
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.
All in all two nice tours today and we get to go to bed early. Tomorrow they will pick us up at 6 am.
Weather
Like all our days in the Atacama desert, dry and hot. In the morning, during the trek, it was warm and in the afternoon it got hot. Later it became cloudy, but not too much. Alas too much for an astronomical tour.
Songtext of the day
We floated in salt water today. Here is Float On by The Floaters.
Aquarius, Libra, Leo, Cancer
Ralph, Charles, Paul, Larry
Aquarius and my name is Ralph
Now I like a woman who loves her freedom
And I like a woman who can hold her own
And if you fit that description, baby, come with me
Take my hand, come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing love with me, I want you to
Float, float on (Come on, come on, come on, baby, yeah… eah…)
Float on, float on (Ooh, ooh, baby)
Float, float, float on
Float on (Float with me), float on
Libra and my name is Charles
Now I like a woman that’s quiet
A woman who carries herself like Miss Universe
A woman who would take me in her arms
And she would say, “Charles, yeah”
And if you fit that description
This is for you especially
Mmm… take my hand
Come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing loving with me, I want you to
Float, float on (Girl, yes)
Float on, float on (With Charles)
Float, float, float on (Ooh, yeah)
Float on, float on
Leo and my name is Paul
You see I like all women of the world
You see to me all women are wild flowers
And if you understand what I’m sayin’
I want you to
Mmm… take my hand
Come with me, baby, to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing love with me, I want you to
Float, float on (So float with me, baby)
Float on, float on (Yeah)
Float, float, float on (Float with Paul, y’all)
Float on, float on
Cancer and my name is Larry, huh
And I like a woman that loves everything and everybody
Because I love everybody and everything
And you know what, ladies, if you feel that this is you
Then this is what I want you to do
Ooh, yeah, take my hand
Let me take you to Love Land
Let me show you how sweet it could be
Sharing your love with Larry, listen
Float, float on (You better float with me now)
Float on, float on (Float on)
Float, float, float on (Yeah, yeah)
(You better float on)
(Float on)
(Ah)
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.
It’s raining! We wanted to go for a walk, but the weather forecast doesn’t look too good. Instead we walk to La Sebastiana Museo de Pablo Neruda, one of the houses of the poet, consul and Nobel price winner Pablo Neruda. He build a vey nice house on the hill with perfect views over the hills and harbor of Valparaíso.
We walk back to ocean level and up again to our apartment, using the ascensor this time. It’s time for me to go. I already had everything packed for the W-trek and leave today for Santiago. I booked a hotel near the airport because I need to catch a plane to Puerto Natales tomorrow morning at 6:30 meaning that I have to be at the airport at 4:30.
I walk to the bus terminal, just to find out I have to wait for more than an hour and a half for a bus.
Today we, Sandy, Ada and I, want to walk to Laguna Verde, a 12 kilometer walk. We start by going uphill and keep to the main roads.
We continue our walk because there is nothing else to do. When we are two streets further a man from a minimarket shouts to us to get our attention. He tells us that it is not safe to go further up. If we continue we will probably be robbed of all our possessions.
Change of plans, we walk downhill a go to Cerro Alegre, one of the most touristic zones of Valparaiso, a neighborhood with lots of color, where we have a beer. From there we walk to the Piano steps and Cerro Conception where we have a very nice view on the lower part of the city and the harbor. In fact when we look down, we are directly above the Valparaíso Beer House.
The other graveyards are closed so we decide to find our way downhill to have something to drink at the Valparaíso Beer House. We find some very narrow stairs down and we descend to ocean level. The stairs are probably not meant for tourists like us but the gate at the bottom can be opened, so we don’t need to go back up.
After our pause we go to the harbor and from there we walk along the coast, or rather the harbor, to Playa San Mateo where we find nice views over the ocean and the coast line. We go back the same way we came and finish the day in a Chinese restaurant where we have a good meal.
After breakfast we go down with the ascensor and walk to Plaza Sotomayor. I decided to give Uber one last try and lo and behold, within one minute the driver shows up and delivers us in Concón. Here we start our walk, but since I gave up some random address in Concón, we first have to walk down to the ocean.
We walk along the ocean side which is very rocky here. We see all kinds of birds like the Peruvian pelican. At one point we also see 3 South American sea lions. When we continue walking it looks like there will be no bar or restaurant for quite some time, so we head back and go to the restaurant where the sea lions were. On the terrace we are very close to the sea lions and we enjoy our drinks. That is, I ordered a Michelada because I thought that it was a beer brand. The waiter pointed to the other beers they had, but I did not understand, my Spanish is not that well. 
When he came to serve, I got a glass with salt on the rim and some lemon juice (I think) in it. He then put in some sauce and some tabasco and I could choose one of the beers they had. I went for the Calafate ale and he put that in as well. Time to look up what Michelada means, apparently it is a cocktail with beer in it! Now that I had it, I also tried it. It was not too bad, but not something I will repeat. Luckily there was still some beer left in the bottle that I drank after I had finished the cocktail.
I notice that they have a lot of Hottentot Fig growing along the coast. I have seen this also in Portugal, the Hottentot Fig poses a serious ecological problem by forming vast monospecific zones and hence lowering biodiversity
We continued our walk along the coast by entering a section along the dunes of Concón. We already saw these from the car but now we walked on the other side, the ocean side. It was a nice stretch to walk with again a nice rocky coast until the road was blocked. As walkers, we could pass the barriers they put up and continued. 
But not very far because after 200 meters or so the road was completely blocked because of road works. So back again, we looked for a path into the dunes, but there were only options that were very steep and hard to do and I did not know if they would lead us to something. After a little less than 2 kilometers, there was a road going up the hill and we followed that through the sub urbs of Concón.
Once we passed the dunes, we headed down again. From our high position we could see the other end of the road block. The good thing about the detour was that we had some magnificent views from the hill over the ocean and the coast.
It started out a bit chilly today, but while we were walking it got warmer and the sun came out, which made it quite warm. I even got a burn on my face, not seriously, but still.
First we walk to the Palacio de la Moneda, the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. We also were here yesterday and now I know why there is so much police in this area. In front of the palacio there is a huge flag of Chile at the beginning of Paseo Bulnes, a nice street were you can buy a lot of stuff at small stalls. This is also the street where the beer café is where Ada and I ended up last evening.
We walk through the city and reach the faculty of natural sciences. They have a very modern building and Sandy arranges that we can go inside, after we have registered with our passports. In the basement they have a lot of sport facilities, including among others basketball, squash, judo, tennis and even a swimming pool.
Sandy has a location planned to have lunch and we take the metro from Parque O’Higgins to Santa Isabel to get there. We are now in Barrio Italia and we walk to Av. Italia where there are plenty of small bars and restaurants. The first place where we sit down has no beer. That’s no good, so we walk a little further to Malacria. Here we have a very good lunch and I can enjoy a good beer with it.
Everybody talks Spanish here and we made a nice stroll today, so here is 
