Ravens Travels

So we arrived in Punto Arenas on the early evening after that really early bus after spending the bus either meeting new people or making up backgrounds for the other travelers.... the real people ((he stories are funny but crazy)... there is a young Dutch couple in front of us who are very self absorbed and have forgotten that they are on a public bus full of people, there is a Canadian dreadlocked guy who jokes about carrying a Canadian flag which he swears he would never do and when I say I’m from Dublin he claims to be from Cork, (he’s heard from other Irish people about various County jokes etc....-and no this is not the time for the cork joke about Dublin and Yoghurt !!) so after some ribbing we also meet an English girl who has been traveling for a few months and has just come off a ten day cruise of the Antarctic (at this stage we were very jealous as we would have loved to have gone there but the cheapest fare we could find was US$2000, which is way too much, maybe next time...) there is also the quiet French guy who says nothing but draws attention is his hat with a feather, also a French guy Clement who has a passion for Rugby and a lot of travelers from Israel......anyway our first choice of hostel is Punto Arenas no longer seems to exist.... so considering our bags our heavy we head to the closest one to us..... hostel el fin del mundo, its run by a young couple who live in one of the rooms and obviously love to travel and take part in outdoor sports going by the decorations and photos on the walls, a double room costs between 20,000-25,000 chilean pesos (25,000 = us$50...... its at this stage we start to notice how much more expensive chile is when compared to argentina)..... if you want to find the hostel you go to O´Higgens str, look for the Hertz Branch and its straight across the road (guys - guess what sign our view was of.... ) the hostel itself is very clean and the owners are a really nice couple....

The next day and its paddy’s days... walking around there isn´t any sign of it anywhere, and i looked!! No Irish pubs in town or in the next one (cry)...but finally when we were in the supermarket buying food for the camping to follow we spy an American lady just off a cruise ship carrying a hat adorned with shamrocks...that afternoon we got the bus to Puerto Natales (about 6,000 Chilean pesos per person).... when we arrive in town which is the main gate way to the national park we check into the Erratic Rock Hostel (6000 pesos per person for a dorm), the place is run by a group of self proclaimed hippies from Oregon, they’re nice guys and very helpful... in our room we meet Larry a lawyer from La, who tells us that his friend spotted a sign for paddy’s day...woo hook.. But they can’t remember where it is, asking around everyone says it could only be in the English pub run by Russell from Leads, Le Casa de Ruperto (I’ll correct the spelling later and no we’re no idea why he called it that, he didn’t say).... after dinner that evening we joined Larry, Tamara (crazy Australian girl who I’ve so far only seen either drunk or tired / hung-over), a couple from UK and New Zealand and a quiet guy from Denmark who has the hots for Tamara, we’re quickly joined by Clement (the guy from the bus) to talk about the French beating Ireland in six nations, its really not fair, one point, its so not fair and on an Irish holiday as well !!! (Stephane and Pascal, no gloating either, its not allowed.......... ) Anyway the conversation moved onto traveling and destinations and we spoke of his idea of heaven - Costa Rica, it’s amazing by talking to other people how many ideas you get.) Well after awhile Arjan decided it was a very sedate table and we all moved over to the table football area, the uk/nz couple had left at this stage and we were joined by Conor and his friend from Mayo (the first Irish people I’d met in 4 weeks)... after a lot of hollering and cheering we´re joined by two older chilean guys who do the funniest victory dance every time they score a goal... it was a really good laugh and at 5.30 am we decided to call it a night and headed back to the hostel to sleep a little before checking out (they were booked out the next night) , and then sleeping most of the day in our next hostel, patagonia aventura (dorms 6500)..... Most of the hostels in the area will actually store you’re bags or any equipment that you don’t need for your hiking for free when you go to Torres del Paine which is very handy, in the town it is also easy to rent anything you could need,

So the next day we get the bus bright and early at 7.30am to the park to begin a week of hiking, we had decided to trek the W trail which is one the most popular treks to do, most people start at the Torres end but we decided to start at Lake Pehoe end.

The trek takes an average of 4 or 5 days but we set out own pace and took 5.5 days, its a beautiful park and its quite strange to be walking around this protected land that pre the 80s was an estancia (ranch) for sheep...if I’m honest I didn’t do the whole w as I skipped a little bit in the middle (part of the French valley)

as the weather was very bad and it involved scrambling over sloppy moving rocks so I’m going to let Arjan describe the park in more detail then me as he did the whole thing...

the weather unfortunately turned bad in the last few days so at one stage we were walking in the torrential rain and wind for a straight three hours on the side of a cliff, but on the plus side since our clothes were wrecked we could jump in puddles and act like kids....well you have to keep smiling (no matter what), most of the treks weren’t too bad but carrying the rucksacks which feel heavier as you walk around doesn’t help. The bus to the park from Puerto Natales costs 10,000 pesos return, the cost of the boat to start on the other end is 11,000 pesos, campsites are 3,500 per person, refugios (dorms) are 17,000-28,000 depending on the location, most places had cooking facilities either free or for 2,000 pesos... there are also free campsites with no facilities! Smelly places!!! The last day we walked up to the Torres,

it was beautiful but unfortunately the sky was overcast so the photos won’t be up to the standard of the ones in the galleries on tp, but we did it...

at the end of that we checked into another hostel in puerto natales and decided to spoil ourselves with a private room, after nights of forms and camping for a week we needed to wash clothes etc....the hostel del pino was good value, friendly staff and huge breakfasts.... yumm yumm

From here we got the bus to el calafate in Argentina, the bus goes at 7.30am, the town is the gateway for glacier Moreno, its amazing to see, really huge!!! Tours average around 80-100 Argentinean peso (all prices above with the thousands are Chilean)... but our hostel arranged one for 70 pesos, wooohooo, while on the tour we did the option boat ride around the glacier for 38 pesos which is worth it for a different perspective but not necessary!!!

That night we went to a really nice restaurant which is even popular with the president.... the next day, the only day we don’t have to get up early someone rings my phone at 5.30am... (Quick reminder to the Irish contingent, I’m three hours behind you when in Argentina and 4 hours behind you when in Chile...) ... after that we traveled to el chaltan were we are now, this town is the gateway for fitz roy and more glaciers, in short its a town to do more trekking, its a beautiful place but unfortunately i´ve pulled something in my leg so today i have to take it easy so hence the update.... the glacier and lake trek we did was really nice yesterday, 6 hour round trip, nice and relaxing, Arjans doing the fitzroy trek today which is an 8 hour one (but i bet he´ll be quicker, he´s getting fitter all the time ...

We had some really nice room mates in El Chalten and went back to El Calafate, when we returned we found out that the flight to Esqual with Lade had been canceled and they were now flying us really early to Barriloche at 5am... and then by bus they would pay for us to go back to Esqual......... then an hour after this we were told on the Saturday night that we were flying with Argentina aerlineous (which is more expensive).... so anyway the flight was later at an easier time, we decided to skip the bus and stay here...... hiking tomorrow.....are you surprised