So, onto Torres del Paine (in the arse)....

The following are all genuine quotes from various people before we headed out to Torres del Paine...

´It´s the most spectacular walk you´ll ever do...´, ´October is the dryest month ´ and ´It never snows on the ´W´ ´

Having spent 3 unspectacular, soggy, and snowy days in the park we can unequivacally say that all the above statements are absolute bollocks. It´s worth noting that when it snows in these parts it does so in force, and then of course some of that snow melts and becomes a kind of river that runs through the easiest point which of course tends to be shaped a little like a footpath. Thus we managed to cross a few rivers that weren´t marked on the maps...but anyhow to the trip...

After a couple of buses we made it into the national park (after paying 8 quid to get in, Chilean nationals don´t have to pay, and it was pretty difficult to understand what the fee went towards, we didn´t see a ranger for 3 days, the refugios were all self-managed and the tracks were in awful condition, maybe the 8 quid paid for the guy who cellects the 8 quid´s wages???) and headed off towards Las Torres (The Towers). It was an OK walk but the snow line was at about 500m, and we had to climb to 900m to get to the viewing point. It did not bode well. After reaching the refugio half way along the track (Chileno refugio) we dumped our bags, had a quick noodle stop and headed into the snow towards Las Torres. It soon became evident that it would be more than a little difficult, adn by the time we reached the ´45 mins to go´ point the snow was nearly a foot deep and there was little or no trail to follow. It is here that the trail then decides to go pretty much vertical, climbing the last 300m in about a kilometre. It was hard enough work without the snow, but said pawdery stuff just compounded matters and we found ourselves taking an hour and a half just to get within 200m of the viewpoint. By this point the track was not visible and we had to rely on the team of French people (more later) who had forged on ahead and ´created´ a path, of sorts, in the snow. They quit about 50m from the viewpoint when a blizzard struck that looked akin to those seen on Antactica documentaries... It was at this point we decided to head back too. It was about 4.30 and we still had a 2 hour walk back to the refugio. The French (who were obviously very experienced and a good deal fitter than us) then passed us, with their guide saying something patronising about our walking style (criticism not constructive) and not even offering an ´Are you both OK, do you want one of us to walk you down the mountain...?´ type comment. So there we were, on our own and in a winter wonderland of sorts. Of course all this weather meant the Towers were completely obscured from vision so we didn´t see them at all. If we weren´t so cold and tired it would have been great fun throwing snowballs and the like but by 5.30, and still an hour away from shelter, it was the last thing on our minds. Eventually the snow eased a little and we turned the corner from which we oculd see the rfugio and we made it back, a little more than tired and cold. After a bowl of rice and veg we settled down to a game of Scrabble which we were too tired to finish and we headed off to bed at around 9pm...only to be awoken by the French guys arsing around at about midnight , and 12.30, and 1.30...if there wasn´t about 12 of them and they weren´t all 6 foot 3 and built like brick shithouses I would have had a word...but instead meekly we fell asleep only to be woken by a dorm member going through another dorm members bag...or at least that´s what I thought he was doing...I hadn´t realised that our soon to be walking partner Shana had moved beds and in my confusion at 2.30 suspected this Brazilian chap of thievery. He was, of course, just going through his own pack, but too tired to intervene I just shined my torch in his eyes for a full 2 minutes while he stood not able to say a word (7 people in the dorm) just like a startled rabbit, before heading back to his bed withour whatever he went to the bag for. I of course didn´t realise it wasn´t Shana´s bag until the morning, and thought I´d stopped some great dorm robbery...

For day 2 we were joined by Shana, and Alaskan (by moving house, Californian by birth) who was great company for the following two days. Although we felt at times we were walking a little slower than she was used to she kept to our pace without moaning and opened up loads - enough to tell us some rather interesting stuff about herself, her gun-toting hunting fiancé, a challenge they´re trying to break when she gets back and other sordid tales. The walk on day two was stupidly wet and for the second day running we didn´t get to see the rock formations we´d trekked for - Los Cuernos (The Horns), at least not until we´d made it to the hostel, and were huddled around the fire, drying clothes, boots, legs etc... and one of them peaked through the clouds for all of a minute.

Today was possiby the hardest day of all 3, due to conditions (weather - snow, wind, rain, you name it...) deteriorating even more, the fact we had to set of at 6.30, and the tracks turning from rivers to Nile-esque deltas. To cut a long walk short, the 4 hour walk to the ferry took 5 1/2 and we eventually made it back, via boat/bus at around 6pm. Unbeleievably (and perhaps a little fittingly) just as we approached the best viewpoint on the main road back the clouds lifted and we got our first and only glimpse of everything, towers, gorns you name it. We bundled out of the bus, got about 10 photos and as soon as they had appeared they were gone...on the bus back we met us with a guy (Ben) we´d shared the bus into the park with. He was thoroughly pissed off, having tented it, and then adding insult to injury having lost his bus ticket. We seemed to get on well so we´re meeting for a beer or 2 tonight. He´s from Chesterfield and likes footy so sure we´ll get on like a house on fire...

So there we go, on the whole the walking wasn´t too difficult, although we covered over 40kms in 3 days, with considerable climbs/descents (the height we got to in day one is higher than the tallest peak in England)...but the conditions...add to that the fact that until the viewpoint on the bus we didn´t see anything...add to that just how cold, wet windy and just generally unpleasant it was...well you get the picture...

I am sure in summer it´s lovely and really spectacular, but for us, from our experience, it just didn´t live up to the hype...

So back in Puerto Natales, going for a drink with Ben and...Lucy and Mark, who we´ve just bumped into in an internet cafe. They had emailed us about 10 minutes previous, saying let´s meet up and this will definitely be the last we see of them before we get back to the UK so we´ll have a few beers today and tomorrow no doubt...it´s really good to see them again...Mark updated me on all the rugby news, and Lucy and Jen have already had a good chinwag, we´re feeling better already!!