It’s easy; travelling in 2011 that is. The days of unchartered territories and undiscovered places are just about gone – we have this whole world mapped out and the tourism industry, gleefully, makes it so easy for us now. Many people told us that we were ‘brave’ to have left our jobs and lives in England to travel South America but, respectfully, we disagree. The advent of the information age makes finding places a doddle (thanks Google maps and GPS); booking places to stay child’s play (that would be hostelbookers et al) and experiencing those magical ‘must-see’ moments, straight-forward and routine (the omnipotent Lonely Planet guide books). So there we have it, travelling the world is not the hardship many would have you believe, in fact in many cases it is not dissimilar to those paint by numbers sets you used to find in your Christmas stockings.
What is my point? My point is that this can lead to boredom, or more precisely, a feeling of going through the motions. Enter ‘The W.’ For those of you that have read about Chilean Patagonia, you will know that adjacent to the small town of Puerto Natales is a heavenly eden called ‘Parque National del Torres Del Paine’ where standing aloft and dominating this technicolour landscape are the most ancient and titanic behemoths, the granite Torres Del Paine, literally ‘Towers of Pain.’ ‘The W’ is a 5 day trek/hike/sometimes scramble, that leads you from the base of the Torres, to the top, through the 360° panoramic of Valles Frances, and finally to the magnificent Glacier Grey.
Hard.
Hard, hard work.
Yes we love the outdoors, and class ourselves as not necessarily super-fit people, but certainly healthy and of moderate fitness. The first day delivered gruelling hardships, with the entree being a 2 hour hike uphill (both of us carry backpacks laden with tent, camping apparel, clothing and supplies) which was only 1/4 of the day’s work. This continued, with us clearing at least 20km every day (the most being 28km in one day), sometimes with backpacks, sometimes without, certainly on uneven terrain and most definitely with an array of uphill sorties. But the purpose of this blog post is not to ‘yarp-on’ about the ethereal beauty of the parque, or administer a do’s and don'ts list of Torres Del Paine advice. No, this is a small but significant celebration. It marks both of us finding something within through enduring hardship; pushing ourselves physically, psychologically, emotionally and even spiritually, to achieve something special that will live-on inside us.
The first picture above is me (Jack) standing at the top of a mountain, having risen at 5am, (leaving Emma and a warm sleeping bag behind, despite having trekked for 10 hours the day and night before) to see the Torres at sunrise, as the majestic sun peels through the eastern folds to illuminate those beautiful and wise peaks. I was tired but comfortable in my tent when my buddy Dom woke me with offerings of hot maté and an extremely steep 1km, 1 hour boulder scramble. I wanted to stay. I wanted to go. I wanted to stay. I wanted to go. I wanted to go. I wanted to go. I was going.
The second is Emma. Emma will tell you (honestly) that she doesn’t like to walk long distances, so hauling herself up to the top of Valles Frances on the third day, having walked for 5 hours already, took every ounce of grit and resolve she had. The cheese and vegemite sandwich prepared for her by our Australian buddies at the top of the mirador, was a treasure she will never forget! Finally, the gongonzola grins in the last picture, marks our terminal at Glacier Grey, having completed a world-class 5-day hike, together.
What was it like? That’s just it, the pictures and our stories don’t it justice. You can’t buy this tour, you can only be sure that should you undertake this hike, every droplet of sweat and aching limb, will be rewarded with the most enchanting and remarkable sights, and go for it.
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