southern chile is a wonderful place with a memorable national parks, the navimag ferry and the charming island of chiloe the following is the verbatum daily diary I kept covering the period visiting puerto natales and the torres del paine national park
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15th October Day 32
Up very early as we had not noticed the one hour time difference between Argentina and Chilie. Hence the comments on the sleepy start to the town yesterday! We left hotel at 7.30 am, nearly a two hour drive into the park ( with the obligatory stop at the souvenir shop). Paid 15,000 pêso each to enter the park, they would not accept dollars. This has left us short of cash. The 2 hour walk to the refuge ‘Chileno’ took us 3 hours. Jenny did very well but has not yet fully recovered her form. Very strong winds made crossing a long ridge a bit hairy. The refuge is OK but basic with the kitchen offering a ‘greasy spoon’ menu. We will try to survive on the food we have brought with us and just buy breakfast. Only two other couples staying overnight so all is a bit quiet. On the way to the refuge, in the first bus we saw a large group of Condors very close to the road – one in particular only 20m away perched on a rock. Many Llamas as well.
16th October Day 33
Slept really well in the hired sleeping bag. Jenny feeling a bit better but still suffering from difficulty digesting her food. I took the cooked breakfast (cornflakes, fried eggs and pancakes) for 4500 peso as I was very hungry.
Then a super walk upto the approach to the Les Torres, three adjacent summits. I climbed the scree slope to reach their base ( many photos to prove it). A medium scramble in effect through largish boulders with occasional loose scree which was best avoided. Quite a view from the top. Returned to hostel arouind 5.00 pm with Jenny pretty tired.
The Torres are very spectacular but its too early in the season to see climbers. They are virtually sheer faced and rise I would guess over 1000m.
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Even at this time of year there were many walkers at the top of the scree admiring the the view. It must be shoulder to shoulder in the high season.
17th October Day 34
Jenny had a bad reaction to her tummy pills, taken on an empty stomach. After only one hour or so she was unable to climb any more. So we found a sunny spot to rest for several hours. Fortunately the effects wore off a little and she was able to eat a little bread and jam. We returned to the refuge around 4.00 pm and she felt well enough to have some bread and soup and coffee. This doesn’t sound much but its a big improvement in her appetite. I am less concerned about the walk back to the bus, which at 11.00 am this morning looked a difficult proposition. Fingers crossed for tommorow for both Jenny and the weather. It has been gorgeous today but it threatens to break tommor
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Earlier, I was up at around 6.00 am to watch the sunrise. It turns Los Torres red and pink and was very spectacular. The photos I took are unlikely to do it justice.
Also, on our return, was a group of special needs children who had been brought up to the refuge as part of their holiday. We communicated with them a little, told them we were English, knew of David Beckham and Zidane etc. They all shook hands and kissed Jenny when they left. Very sweet.
English group staying in the refuge tonight , one of the party has his birthday today so it might be a noisy night.
Australian couple in love with Bolivia gave us a list of the best places to stay there.
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hostel natales is new, clean and comfortable
hostel chileno in the national park is basic but clean with dorms to sleep in
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try the el maritimo on the sea front in natales for good fish. Don't forget to try the pisco sour, the local beverage!!
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Published on Tuesday January 8th, 2008
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Tue, Jan 08 2008 - 05:17 PM
 by rangutan
| This information would make great entries in your "travel log" feature. Backdating is possible. Nice tips. Photos greatly enhance reports but are not essential. |
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