Puerto Varden

We have now arrived in Puerto Montt bang in the middle of Chile and it feels as if we got off the plane in Switzerland by mistake. Fantastic!
This area has had a substantial German population for over a hundred years and there is Kuchen everywhere, Hotel Frau Holle and Kasslerbraten for dinner. Am in heaven. Oh and yes, it looks absolutely stunning as well as the big lake we are on is surrounded by three massive vulcanos, one of them over 3000m high. Its peak seems to be above the clouds most of the time and it looks like it is floating on air.

I cannot upload pictures for some reason but the link below has some nice ones. The photographer, Andreas, is the cool German owner of the hostel we are staying at - Casa Azul. My favourite so far - everything works and is clean! Amazing! I have almost forgotten that this is possible!

http://www.casaazul.net/chile_photos/chilephotogallery/02_Lake_District.php3

Tomorrow we are going on a lake cayaking expedition all day - very very scary!
I will report back!

Torres del Paine - View from Lago Pahoe

This is the view of the Torres from the other side (you can see them on the far left). We were camping at lovely Lago Pahoe, a massive dark blue lake surrounded by autumnal Llenga trees. I could have easily stayed there for a week and admire the views and tranquility.

It is so quiet here - very peaceful. All you can hear is the wind in the trees or in the wings of the condors above, the waterfalls near and far and the thunder of the glaciers in the distance. No voices, no cars, no music, nothing. The nights are so clear that you can walk around in the starlight. They shine so brightly far away from big cities that you do not always need a torch. It feels quite magical - if you are wrapped up in your sleeping bag!

The little house in front is where the park rangers live. Very cosy in there! I hope my Spanish will improve soon so we can stay in there for a longer chat and maybe some Mate??? I have never been to a country where I cannot easily converse... very frustrating!

It was extremely windy during parts of our trek, sometimes you get pushed over by the wind! I watched a woman in front of me being blown over and she landed flat on her back! But inspite of all these challenges and the very cold nights it has been amazing and gave us a real sense of achievement which we celebrated with lots of beers and burgers once back in civilisation. We are very proud to have completed the "W" - a 60 km trek through the park between 200 and 1200 meters height. Very tiring, especially when you carry a 10 kg backpack! Craigo´s was probably about 20 kg!!! He is such a gentleman.... Quite a lot of heavy breathing going on!

You should go and check it out if you ever get a chance.

We are now off to Puntas Arenas where we will catch a flight to Puerto Montt half way up in Chile. We will then travel through the Lake District (yes, there is one in Chile as well) over to Bariloche on the Argentinian side and then up to Mendoza for some fine wine tasting... Yippieh!!!I cannot wait to get into some milder climate!!

Big kiss!

Rat attack!

One rainy night a nasty rat sniffed out the muesli bars in our tent (they were still sealed and wrapped into various layers of plastic bags!) and had to have them!!

I did wake up from a rustling noise and thought some animal is examining our rubbish bag outside and made some noise and torch flashes and it stopped... Thank God I did not know the wild beast was inside our tent next to my toes!!!! FRECHEIT!!!!

Torres del Paine NP - CHILE

We had a wonderful 5 day trek through the Torres del Paine National Park and I just enjoyed my third shower since we got back last night.... MUCH BETTER!

The weather was great and we had a fantastic experience climbing up and down the rugged valleys offering amazing views of the surrounding mountains, glaciers and lakes. We stayed in our tent again and enjoyed our independance and hot porridge in the mornings, yum!

This is a view of the famous Torres which give the park their name. We had to walk 900 meters in height in one day to get to see them (with our giant backpacks). I thought I had to die but it was so worth it. Just to sit there on this rock and admire the rock formations and the Condors gliding high above in the blue sky ...

The park is very impressive - I will never forget this week in my whole life.

We are on a polar expedition!

Cannot leave before taking a cheesy shot in front of the glacier!

A shop selling hot drinks could make a fortune out there but I guess.... would not go down well with the chaps running the national park and having to clean up all the plastic cups!!!

It was fantastic!

Perito Moreno Glacier

This is the famous Moreno Glacier just an hour away from El Calafate in the National Park. It is the only glacier in the world (apparently) that is still growing and is in an equilibrium. It grows 2 meters per day in the center of the glacier and massive ice towers (the size of office buildings) break off in the front of the glacier and crash into the lake making huge waves. The noise is deafening and it is a fantastic phenomenon to watch! The ice towers are up to 70 meter high above the surface of the water and continue underwater for another 200 meters!! the length of the glacier is about 200 km - you can imagine that the wind is a bit chilly....

Fitz Roy Massiv

This is the mesmering view of the Cerro Fitz Roy and its surrounding peaks (3500m).

I could not take my eyes of it. We spent 4 days hiking through the National Park surrounding these mountains and every day they look different and beautiful in another way. Menacing in grey when it is overcast and glowing orange at sunrise, or mirrored in numerous lakes.

You have to see it with your own eyes!

My knee is keeping up!

Lots of you have sent emails asking about my knee.

As you can see I am very proud of self - big thanks to John Hardy at the BUPA and of course James at Kinetic Fitness! Only 5 months after ACL replacement nothing can stop me really!

Walking up and down massively steep hills, scrambling over rocks and carrying a big backpack with equipment and food for 5 days in wilderness and the pain is bearable really...

And anyway... the knee always being a good excuse to have a rest and catch my breath! :-)))

Thanks for all your concerns.

Los Glaciares National Park - our first big trek!

Our first big trekking adventure was absolutely fantastic! 5 days of walking in the national park and 4 nights in a tent with temperatures dropping to zero in the night! Great! Ever tried washing dishes in a glacial lake??? You only have time for about 3 items until your fingers go numb. Quite a challenge! But the water tastes amazing (before washing dishes!).

We had an amazing time and the mountains are stunning. This is us in front of the Cerro Torre - very proud indeed!

Massive birds and beautiful blue skies, emerald green glacier lakes and wonderful old forests with little streams which you can drink delicious water from... Absolutely wonderful. The highest moutain Fitz Roy is only 3500m but a sheer granite face, vertical like a sharp tooth covered in snow on the top and surrounded by glacier ice at the bottom. A beauty!

This is just a quick one to let you know we made it back safely.

Patagonia´s glaciars

We have arrived in Southern Patagonia, in El Chalten, the entry point to Patagonia´s oldest National Park "Los Glaciares". The mountains are absolutely stunning and the vastness is quite awe-inspiring (for a European mind that is!). The glaciers seem endless and the air is so clean and crisp, the strong wind blows all the cobwebs out of your mind - it is wonderful!

Tomorrow we are off on a 5 day hike across the national park to explore the Fitz Roy and sourrounding peaks. Very exciting! I hope that our brand-new tent can resist the ridiculously strong winds! Very pleased now that I lugged my thermals across Brazil for all these weeks in the heat! .-))

I will report back!