Day II & III: Torres Del Paine National Park

No the weather did not cooperate next morning. Those who had made loud promises the previous night were found lounging around in the dining hall next morning. No one had gone anywhere. The rain was invincible. It was time for us to move on. We had reservations at the next refugio which was a good six hour hike. No sight of the Torres for us this morning either.

The hike started out wet but thankfully downhill this time. There were no trail markings and we had to pretty much tread along the path most travelled. This worked fine until we hit the first of several streams or mini rivers that we had to cross with great caution. The trails seemed to disappear completely around these streams and we even went off track a couple of times. We were hiking in complete wilderness with no one in sight for a few hours. It was magical.

The rains had cleared quite a bit by now and the sun started to tease us. The vegetation was glowing green and the streams were gushing. We were soon rewarded with the view of lake Nordenskjold (we still haven´t figured out how to pronounce this, so don´t stress). The rest of our hike hemmed around the blue waters of this lake backed by tall peaks playing hide and seek behind the clouds.

Five hours and a picnic lunch later, we caught the first glimpse of the Cuernos (horns). The peaks were still shielded by the clouds but there was a promise in the air. The refugio Los Cuernos was situated at the foot of the cuernos and the banks of the lake Nordenskjold.

We spent the rest of the evening walking by the lake and waiting for the grand unveiling of the Cuernos. On a side note, taking our own food to the park was well worth the effort. Fellow travellers were complaining about the high prices and inadequate quantities of food rationed out to them.

We woke up at the crack of dawn next morning to catch the virgin rays of the sun on the Cuernos. Our hike was six hours long this morning and we had to make it to the ferry docks by afternoon. The hike started off along the rocky shores of the lake and meandered into the thick lenga forests. This was a mean hike for this early in the morning. As the day progressed we got spectacular views of the peaks and glaciers around us.

Six hours later just as you would think the panorama could not get better, we were astounded by the emerald green waters of Lake Pehoe. It seemed like a canvas - so unreal. We caught a ferry from the docks here across to the transfer point where the buses would pick us up.

The ferry ride was the icing on the cake. The peaks, waters, glaciers, all of nature in its glory against clear blue skies. This was the reason we were here. How could we say goodbye without a glimpse of the Torres? They peeked out to say hasta luego as we turned back to catch a last view of the park from the bus.