Cerro Castillo
Doubts. They just keep coming back. No matter how many hikes I’ve done, problems I’ve solved and adventures I’ve lived, I always end up questionning if I’ve got what it takes. This time I’m feeling particularly vulnerable. I leave camp early and the thoughts start rolling in. Then I’m doing…
50 shades of blue in Río Tranquilo
There’s a lot of trekking on the Patagonian part of my trip. Currently I’m on the carretera austral, Chile’s southern highway, and it’s basically a string of national parks. But after many hikes, it was nice to make Puerto Río tranquilo my base for a few days of different activities.…
Patagonian challenges
Some days are tough. There’s not always a clear reason and often it’s more a feeling of being out of sorts. Of being in your head. Of not really being in the moment. And I had this the day I took all my things into the Chacabuco sector of Patagonia…
In between
Crossing the border from El Chaltèn to Villa o’Higgins I’m sitting on a big boulder. There was a sign that says “mirador Fitzroy”. I have already exited Argentina and this time even received a stamp, but although I’m on Chilean territory, the border authorities do not know I have arrived…
W-trek: glacier Grey
It had rained a loooot overnight and it kept going in the morning. I thought it was dry, went to brush my teeth, only to find out it was raining again when I left the toilet building. Waiting didn’t make sense. I had to pack up camp in the rain.…
W trek: day of the miradors
At 6am I was awake and feeling good. I’d gone to sleep early and felt great, so I decided to pack up and take my backpack down to the lower part of the campground. I brushed my teeth, added water to my mix of milk powder and oats and, after…
W-trek: a surprising day in the valley
It’s popular for people to hike up to the Torres viewpoint to see the sunrise. In December this means you have to start walking around 3am. This didn’t seem appealing to me. I hadn’t had the best view though and as I was talking to people, I started to think…
W-trek, in search of the Torres
It was raining cats and dogs and I lay in bed in Puerto Natales, worrying about my food choices, the potential of mice eating through my tent and the strong gusts of wind. So when I arrived at the bus station for my 7am bus I was far from well-rested.…
El Cañi: a mighty day on a mighty hike
Pucón has many hiking spots, big and small. My first hike there went up in the El Cañi sanctuary. It’s a private park with a lot of endangered araucaria or monkey puzzle trees. I got there with the first micro that left at 8.15am, to have plenty of time today.…
An encounter with Patagonian wildlife
Here I am in Punta Arenas. Almost in the most Southern part of Chile. I arrived by plane and had to go through all the taxi offers. There is no bus or group shuttle, so I found a shared taxi. After dropping off my bag I went for a walk…