One thing about being in Peace Corps is the ability to travel to nearbye countries and share your experience, info about Paraguay to others abroad. For example, I was asked by a Chiliean about Paraguays beaches.... I feel its important part of my peace corps experience to share my trip to Chile. Traveling is apart of our time here, and sharing our time in paraguay to everyone.
Torres del Paine Park, in Southern Chile was the most beautiful place ive been to in my life without any doubt. It didnt feel like i was on earth. I traveled through neverland, wonderland, through flora ive never seen before, glaciers, ice burgs, avalanches, rock formations, glacial caverans. Some vistas I felt i could see the dinosaurs walking around. They seemed to fit with the barren glacial environment. Scrambling over painful granite rocks, stumbling down canyons of rock tore my knees and puncured my feet even through the thick hiking boots. We were sooooooooo lucky with the weather, everyone kept telling us that. It rained only one night and it wasnt that cold.
But first where is Torres del Paine? Find the Strait of Magellen, then drag your finegar north, find Punta Arenas , then Puerta Natales, then more north. Picture a cold, beautiful, peaceful shore with curvey brown hills and small homes with bright blue triangular roofs, as you move up to the park. Driving to, we passed fluffy sheep on green hills over looking the stait and then the many guanacos: llama like animals with fuzzy tan wagging tails, big ears, long proud necks and white faces.
The very first day we saw an andean condor sweep over us, as we were making our way down the valley to the glacier off in the distance. I never realized glaciers were so beautiful. Ive heard people talk about glaciers but i never thought i would see one, people on cruises see them not backpackers. After a full days climb, to end next to a glacier was spatacularly quietly mindblowing rewarding. Glaciers are not just one color, they can change blues, whites with the caves, cracks, the valleys. He spoke to everyone, all hikers were silent as the giant slowly dwindled before our eyes, the giant would be smaller tomorrow, grateful for today.
The second day was rough, the hardest, arriving at camp (almost dead) via wooden swinging bridge passing a giant waterfall didnt even phase me. the world around me didnt matter intil i got my boots off and sat and ate.
The third day i remember one of our breaks consisted of watching for avalanches (which you heard before seeing), on a giant flat rock. I remember the extremes of weather and flora, the bright Ozono lacking sun with the racing wind, the wildflowers that ive never seen anything like, the orchids and the ancient wind blown trees.
The third night we were at a large campsite, and it happened to be New Years. The refugio has places to stay for $$$ but we camped next to it, brought their beer, and were soon given masks, cheap campaign, noise makers and plastic horns. sadly we were exhausted and mac n cheese was wanted even more than all of that combined, only to be seconded by sleep. but well, happy new year. it was the most beautful new year of my life with Los Cuernos (the horns) mountain behind us, capturing the sunset, pinkish glow falling on our tents trees and faces. Everyone had a genuine smile. a look of natural restful beauty before the annoyance of the noise makers began. Sleep was soon afterwards, midnight not to be made, but memories of the warm rock nap that day looking at the avalanches from the gods above, came, and soon my sleep was mixed with what was reality from that day and what was imaginatory.
The fourth day was an up constant climb, via valley, to a tiny campsite, in which the next morning we would get up at 4am to hike 45minutes in the dark UP UP UP UP UP the granite sides, losing the trail of headlamps and ending climbing ten minutes out of your way with rocks falling on the person behind you, to finally reach the TORRES ( towers) at sunrise. We jumped into our sleeping bags we brought per advice, made coffee and saw the towers change pink.
The aw that striked us and didnt stop through out our 5 day bagpacking trip was the mountains of colorful shapely rock with snow, and then the bright lakes of all different blues surrounded by prehistoric rock formations, hills, landscape streching on till there was nothing else but more land and more lakes of darker blues. I will never forget the magic.
The great thing about torres del paine is the WATER. ALL (basically) water sources are drinkable instantly (no iodine, no pumps) . It was so wonderfully fun to drink out of water fall fresh from a glacier, snow, sometimes getting a brain freeze. Literally it was the best tasting water ive had in my life!! it was almost sweet, it stayed cold in your water bottle for hours afterwards. Fantastic and plentiful every 2 km or so.
Another thing thats amazing about torres del paine, is that there is no need to rush to camp, rush putting up your tent, cooking food, etc because it doesnt get dark till ELEVEN. So sit back, drink some whiskey to forget your hurting feet, knees or if you are near one of the refugios buy some beer, sit, put on a jacket (its cold as soon as you stop, sweat is terribly cold instantly) and relax. During the hike, you can take your time, swim in the torquoise lake, take photos, cause you have all day to get there and you can even sleep in!
Iits literally wonderland for backpacking. Every camp site is astonishingly new, towers of rock, of snowy mountains. The small odd plants speak to you like in wonderland as you make your way down the rabbits mountain to make it up another adventure, another world.
Torres del Piane was the most mystically changing place ive been to
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