We flew from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Chile on the 6:30 AM flight. That meant for a 4:15 pickup from the hostel and a quick ride to the airport. On a side note, LAN played the hidden video show that I have mentioned earlier. It has continued to follow me (or me it) around the world. It is very popular in Thailand as well. I do not understand the Worldwide popularity of this show.
When we arrived in Punta Arenas, it was really cold with freezing rain, which was a big change from warm and sunny Santiago. Sarah and I had done a bit of research and we were pretty confident that there was a bus that went from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales that stopped by the airport on the way out of town. We asked some guys at the parking desk about the buses and they told us to wait, one would come around 11:20. One came around 10:15 while we were sitting over the heating ducts blowing out lovely warm air in the airport. Caught off guard, we picked up our gear and ran outside as quickly as possible. Then the unexpected happened; a conductor on a bus in South America told me I could not get on the bus because it was full. I did not know buses ever got “full” based on earlier bus experiences. Chile seemed to be different.
Confused, we walked back inside and waited for the next one, but we did not know exactly when it was going to get there. We waited inside for a while and then after about 45 minutes, I decided to wait outside with the bags so we would not miss the next bus.
When the larger bus pulled up, we ran up to it, threw our bags in the hold and jumped on. We waited nervously as the conductor was taking tickets from all the other passengers. When the conductor came up to me, I said “sin boletas,” and handed him some cash. He made change from his own wallet and we were on our way. We rode three hours to Puerto Natales and it continued to rain.
Sunny Patagonia
We were eventually left off at a bus office somewhere in Puerto Natales. We had a reservation, but no idea where the place was and no map. I asked someone from another hostel and she pointed me in the right direction. The rain had picked up considerably and we were getting soaked in the cold rain. We tried to hail a cab, but they would shake their heads and drive by, occasionally spraying water from the street in our direction.
We made it to Erratic Rock around 2:45, just before their amazing 3 o’clock talk about the hike in Torres del Paine. The fire was roaring and it was very warm, comfortable, and inviting. We dried off, warmed up, unloaded our stuff in the room and got ready for the talk.
We went over to the talk, which lasted about an hour and was full of great information about hiking in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (TDP). Based on the information they gave and the current conditions in the early spring, we decided on a West to East route of the W trek in TDP. We would hike for five days and four nights camping every night.
We met some people at the meeting which quickly formed into the rag-tag group that we would be with for the next five days. Then we rented a tent, stove, and cookware at Erratic Rock Base Camp and went out in Puerto Natales to pick up some other essentials.
We went out with the group to a Chilean parrilla, had some good food and a few drinks. Everyone started to tell stories, inappropriate jokes, and we quickly got to know one another. I had a great time and before long, it was time to go back to Erratic Rock to pack up for the 7:30 AM bus the next morning.
We took the bus to TDP which took about two and a half hours, bought passes for 18,000 Pesos a person, watched a video about fire prevention, and took the bus to the boat across the lake at 12:00. We got on the boat that was a mix of hikers and day trippers. Most of the people going for the day brought along the biggest cameras I had ever seen, which I started making jokes about to Sarah. You know, something about penis size. Then we started talking to the girl next to us before she pulled out this monster.
Look at the camera and all the Gore-Tex
We got off the boat at Paine Grande and started the 11 KM walk up to the camp site at Refugio Grey. It was cloudy, but at least it was not raining. The hike up to Glacier Grey is through the part of the park that burned in a forest fire in late 2011.
We walked with our group and met Erin and Nate from Connecticut on the trail. They were headed in the same direction as us, so we saw them the rest of the trip.
As we hiked up to Glacier Grey, we walked along Lago Grey, a beautiful blue lake dotted with icebergs that calve off Glacier Grey and float down the lake.
We had to cross a few bridges along the way and were greeted by this one that was for “1 persona.”
I’m not even sure the broken bridge was suited for that task – definitely no large people. We walked up along Lago Grey the entire day and I was continually surprised by the amazing vistas along the way.
I didn’t realize it at the time, and Sarah did not bother to tell me, but the “Ray-Buns” I bought in Argentina made me look like the late Kim Jong Il – luckily those things would break a couple days later. We made it to camp with Wim, a new friend from the Netherlands, and set up our tent in a choice spot next to a picnic table and no other tents. After camp was set up, we walked up to the terminal face of Glacier Grey and enjoyed the view.
I continue to be amazed by the places I have been and the things that I see on this trip. While we were there, we saw a huge piece of an ice calve off of an iceberg in the lake. It was a pretty impressive view of the glacier.
After that, we walked back down to camp, hung out and talked with Nate, Erin, Leah, Kristin, Wim, Diana, and Filippo (Timmy).
Oh look, Sarah is talking with her hands. Also, the sandflies were really starting to bite so everyone is covering up.
Sitting at the Kids' Table 
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