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!