DAY 8 - The stunning snow capped peaks/towers, turquoise lakes and breathtaking Grey Glacier of the famous Torres Del Paine National Park!! A scene and experience we will never forget.....
 
Eyes almost shut and very tired the two idiots attempted to start our new car but it wouldn't go, bugger! We knew it was a race against time to get the midday catamaran to the starting point of our hike but things weren't looking good and a Spanish car manuel was not helping, I wonder why!! So we sat and waited for the car hire place to open when Ads had a sudden brain wave .....some new cars need the clutch held down to start and sure enough the bl***y engine started!!!
 
So rather embarrassed and like Schumacher, the lovely car we had hired so we could take it slower than the local bus and stop at all the beautiful vistas was a thing of the past, the accelerator pedal was now rammed to the floor and off we speeded towards the NP! We had heard the new road had opened a few weeks ago and that this was the most stunning drive to take in but for some reason they had only put road directions if you were coming OUT of the park so we ended up missing it completely. The only way you could find directions was to drive past side roads then turn around to read the direction signs, madness!! Not to worry I had seen a dirt track round one of the southern lakes ?? we could take as a short cut, uuum!
 
The scenery as we got closer to the park though, despite the bumpy dirt roads that resembled the highway, were beautiful and just got better. Bouncing along the dirt track skirting the lake, ahead of us was 'Castillo' Mountain and just like its name it resembled a castle shape dominating the landscape ahead . After Ads nearly ruining the entire suspension by not seeing some huge potholes in the road, then having to navigate round the local traffic jam, ie cows and sheep, it was proving a hairy ride!! What struck us though was how you had vast mountains on one side of you yet behind were rolling green fields like England, such a contrast of landscape highlighting even more how the mountains of Torres Deal Paine, different to the Andes Range had risen from the interaction of Plate movement thousands of years ago in what I expect might have been fairly flat before that......A bizarre unexpected contrast
 
As we circled the lake to the side of us we suddenly got our first views of the famous 'Cuernos del Paine', the famous 'horns' or 'swooping buttresses' of the NP, at this point we had no care for making the catamaran and had to stop to take the sight in front of us in. The mountains were just incredible, I know that mountains are mountains and they all can look pretty alike but these one were different, so unique in stature and formation, just spectacular .
 
Now even more excited about getting closer to them we bumped along the dirt track some more and finally reached the so called 'new road' which was as bumpy and as pot holey as the last so not sure how this was termed new. Racing once again, as we were nearing the park, we then came across the most turquoise of lakes, Lago Torro and wow the scenery was just out of this world. With the famous horns in the background and glaciers flowing in-between, many pictures and videos later we finally dragged ourselves away from the view point and speeded on. WOW.
 
Then at last we reached the famous Torres Del Paine NP and we were in, ahead of us was a panoramic vista of incredible unique shaped mountains, snow capped peaks and breath-taking beauty which would only get even more incredible as the days went on..... Racing up the visitors centre where upon the lady looked at us with madness when we said we were trying to get the catamaran, then we were off again, navigating the windy gravel roads ahead as we passed over small bridges and had our breath taken away again by the turquoise waters all around us, almost running over a mountain fox in the process! Set within the granite rock formation, a greyish brownish mix, the lakes were vibrant and beautiful; this place was out of this world!
 
Madly jumping out the car grabbing anything and everything we finally made the catamaran with 10 seconds to go, phew! Now we could really relax and take in the wonders around us some more .... Our first hiking day consisted of taking the catamaran across the most stunning of turquoise lakes, 'Lake Pehoe' then walking from here through the valley and along th side of Grey Lake to Grey Glacier, the first day of the 'W' hike (dependent of which way you walked it), only 4-5 hours hiking today so a gentle start....
 
The boat ride across the lake was just amazing; it reminded me in many ways of the Rockies in Canada and Lake Louise, just beautiful. As we curved round the lakes edge the horns took on a different appearance from this angle and again amazed us even more, bizarre in shape, a unique master piece in the world! Funnily enough we recognised half the people on our boat, Navimag was hitting the NP! Half an hour and a few million photos later the boat docked. Stopping briefly at the Refugio Pehoe which on all accounts was more like a swiss chalet 4 star hotel, it was beautiful, if this was the accommodation for the hike then we were laughing! The sun was out but it still had that winter feeling as we watched many hikers put up their tents ....brrrrrr!
 
Then finally the idiots were off, laden with about 12kg each, not the lightest of bags but good for toning the muscles me thinks.....uuum! The first part of the hike as we left the green lake behind took us through the rocky valley as we headed upwards where we came across another lake, 'Laguna Los Patos.' Not green this time but a beautiful deep blue set amongst the snow mountain peaks all around, the view just got better. As we were out of season too it felt pretty remote with hikers still so most of the time we had the mountains all to ourselves.
 
At the top we decided to stop for lunch and a coffee break as both of us already were feeling the tiredness from lack of sleep and wondering how we might finish 4 days trekking when our legs were lead weights already! I clambered up a rock off the path to find a good spot and literally got blown away at the view ahead of me. Right in front was the spectacular pastel green Lago Grey with mountains all around and a few icebergs thrown in for good measure floating in the lake!!! I almost screamed to Adam when I saw it all . Blown away too we both just stood there feeling so lucky and high on life, this place was just a dream. Not a bad place either for a cuppa as we got out our new steel flask number 5 that was 'unbreakable' but which was already leaking, can you believe it!!! Cheese and dry bread sandwiches later, we sat taking the scene in, thinking that there was no way this could get any better but how wrong we were....
 
Moving on we headed closer to the lake where the 'official miradors' were and the lake was just amazing. The walk too was ok, not as flat as we thought it might have been but not bad for a first day if perhaps our bags had felt abit lighter! We were carrying about 6 litres of water though for the 3 days so that was a weight in itself. Lots of stops later as millions of pictures of lakes, mountains and icebergs were taken along with the rocky 'Cerro Paine Grande' range on our other side, we continued on for another hour. At times the wind really got bad though and you could almost stand on the side of the lake on the rocks and lean right backwards! I almost lost my entire buffalo jacket which would have meant freezing for the next 3 days but thankfully as it blew over the rocks Ads managed to scramble over and get it without being blown off ....all was very safe Pauline/mum promise!!
 
Carrying on trekking smiling lots, we were then headed up the valley slightly and the scene ahead was without doubt our most staggering and mind blowing on this trip to date and that's a tough one to beat with all the wonders we have seen......ahead of us was our first glimpse of the infamous 'Grey Glacier' and when our well travelled American friend Travis said it was the best scene he had experienced in the world, we could definitely see why! Ahead of us was this HUGE expanse of glacier, exuding down not one but THREE mountain valleys it was just indescribable!!!!!! Amongst the mountain peaks, this big expanse of ice throughout the entire valley, a scene you would normally only get from a helicopter, then flowed down the valleys as if someone had suddenly pressed pause on a video and hence dramatically they just stopped at the waters edge of the lake. It was indeed mind blowing and for both of us a scene, an experience, a feeling and an emotion we will take with us to the grave. Bit dramatic to write but that's how it felt!! Our pictures just don't and can't do justice of what we saw, you will all just have to come and experience it for yourselves one day, we were so glad we had chosen this part of the 'W' hike not to miss!!
 
 TO BE CONTINUED