Torres del Paine - "W" Circuit

December 25, 2005 - Christmas Day: Refugio Paine Grande
We started our hike back to refugio Paine Grande in the morning. The weather was much friendlier this time. Very little wind and a lot more sun. Whatever wind there was was behind our backs. Today, we merely retraced our steps and stayed the evening at refugio PG. We made our dinner in the campers hut and met a young German couple. They were finishing their practicum near Santiago (doctors) and had a few days for vacation. Very nice couple. It was interesting to learn more about the political realities of Germany since the reunification.



December 24th - Christmas Eve: Refugio Grey
Our first major destination of our Patagonia trip was a 5-day trek in Torres del Paine Parque Nacional in Southern Chile. We were picked up by a bus at our hostel in Puerto Natales at 7:30am. We embarked on a 3 hr. ride through flat terrain towards the park. With the exception of the mountain range along the western portion of the region, Patagonia is flat flat flat. We arrived at Lagoe Pehoe by noon and we caught the catamaran to refugio Paine Grande, the starting point of our trek.

Our first destination was refugio Grey, an 11km trek that according to the map would take us 3.5hrs. The trek was a moderate level hike through beautiful vegetation with Lagoe Pehoe to our back and Cuernos (horns) del Paine to our right, and eventually Lagoe Grey to our left.

The wind started to pick up more the closer we came to the lake. The winds became so strong I lost my balance a couple of times. Ziad stayed strong on his legs, but I fell. He kept telling me to keep strong like him, but it was really his big belly that prevented him from falling too:-)

The highlight of the day was when Glacier Grey appeared. The winds became so strong at that point it was difficult to stop long enough to enjoy the view. Eventually, the wind died down as we entered the forested area. After 4hrs. of hiking we finally reached refugio Grey where we settled in for the evening and met with many other backpackers. Since it was Christmas Eve, the staff of the refugio prepared a special Christmas dinner: roasted lamb, potatoes, veggies, soup, and lots of wine. We were all happy people. Check out the lamb roast, and the scenery around the dinner table: