Fri 5th Dec: To La Serena

I woke up around 6am and we had left behind the lush, green landscape of Chile´s lake district. We´re on the outskirts of Santiago now and the urban sprawl intensifies as we head towards the city and its bus terminal.

We reach the terminal around 7.30. I´m not stopping in Santiago on this occasion. I find out the time of the next bus to La Serena, about 7hrs North of here on the coast. It seems to be a nice city. Me buddy Joe recommended it so I´m hoping it will be a good stopover on the journey up to Peru. I have an hour to wait. The bus pulls out at 8.30 into Santiago´s morning rush hour but its a surprisingly quick ride out to the city´s outskirts. As we join the motorway north the driver accelerates to cruise along the open road.

The cattle, shhep, ostriches and flamingos of the south are gone. The pastureland has been replaced by a drier, brown arable land. There are vineyards, orchards and plots growing different crops. Barren looking hills and low mountains hem in the narrow fertile valleys. Most of the work in the fields seem to be done by manual labour. I see only one tractor during the next 6hrs. There are plenty of people in the fields hoeing or stooped over to tend to plants.

We leave the agricultural district and enter a barren region. The land is littered with scrub bushes and tall cactii, the mountains remain the same. Suddenly they fall away on the left handside and a view of the ocean opens up, cool grey under overcast skies. We follow the coast all the way up to La Serena, stopping once for a food break, reaching the city in the mid-afternoon.

La Serena is Chile´s second oldest city. Founded on Sept 4th, 1544, a good day!! It was built to provide a sea link between Lima and Santiago. It still retains much of its 16th and 17th century buildings so with its seaside location it remains a picturesque location. La Serena has a twin. There are basically two cities in one here. La Serena occupies a sweeping bay with 4km of beach and surf. On the south side of the bay a small headland protrudes and curves northward. Coquimba occupies this headland and faces La Serena across the bay. The town is marked by a distinctive 96m tall crucifix which light up at night. Not quite Rio but distinctive all the same.

The guesthouse I stay in tonight is brand new. This is its first night of business and I´m the second person through the doors. I take the cheapest option, a 4-bed dorm, and gamble that because the place is so new that I´ll have the room to myself. I lie down for 2hrs and struggle to get up at 6pm. I have a shower, cold, and this wakes me up.

I go out to have alook at La Serena. I first look for a bite to eat as I´m starving. A bowl of seafood soup and half a chicken and chips later my hunger is sated. With my stomach happy I go for a wander. The town does have plenty of character with its 16th century churches and fine old streets and plazas. It was a bright and breezy evening. Plenty of people were milling about the streets. Many of the bars were full with workers lounging around sipping beer and chatting after the days work. It was nice not to see throngs of backpackers in the place. There were some but nothing like the concentration in Puerto Natales and other places. As It got dark I returned to the dorm. the landlady had kindly put a tv in the dorm. I watched some tv and quickly fell asleep.

Thurs 4th Dec: Hydrospeed

I really hope there are enough people for hydrospeed today. I leave on a night bus for Santiago this evening so Its my last chance. This morning is beautiful and clear. You can see the volcanoe today. Yesterday it was smothered in cloud.

I go over to the centre and, thankfully, Hydrospeed is on at 2pm. I have a few hours to kilee so its back on to the computer to do the blog and a quick chat with Padraig who´s online again. Pad tells me the breaking news that Roy Keane has resigned from Sunderland. Its a bit of a shock. I thought he´d do well as a manager.

After a quick lunch it was onto the hydrospeed. I´m much more comfortable in the water than in the kayak and can´t wait to get on the river. Its a great buzz. THere´s 7 in the group this time including an Irish lad from Dublin. A Belgian lad and an Austrian both studied in Galway and were happy to talk about the west.

The hydrospeed flew by, too fast, again. No crashes this time. Afterwards I had a few hours to kill but by 9pm I was on the bus and leaving lovely Pucon behind. This evening Volcan Villarrica was really smoking. It looked really impressive with clouds of vapour streaming from the summit. Very soon after leaving Pucon it was dark. I tried to settle down as best I could to sleep. I´m on a cheap bus, the cheapest out of Pucon. Its not as comfortable as the other buses I´ve been on so it will be interesting to see if I can sleep tonight. The film "The Rock" with Sean Connery and ??? is on in Spanish. It makes my eyelids feel very heavy.

Wed 3rd Dec: Back in Pucon

I´m back in Pucon to do the hydrospeed again and to break up the journey north. I´m looking forward to getting back in the river. Its very overcast this morning when I get up. I buy breakfast in the supermarket and head back to tje hostel to eat. I get talking to a German windsurfer, Josh, who is the image of Liverpool´s John Arne Riise. He was in Ireland during September to windsurf, staying at Easkey and in Brandon bay. He trots out all the "Oirish" words he´s picked up in Kerry and we have a great laugh at the hilarity of it all!! He´s sound enough but the "Oirish" words come out a little too frequently.

I went over to check if Hydrospeed was on today (You need a minimum number). I killed a couple of hours on the internet doing the blog and "chatting" to Padraig who was online. They weren´t sure so I was told to check back at 1pm. When I called back hydrospeed was off as I was the only interested party. This was disappointing but they said I could try "Ducky" instead which was on for 2pm along the same stretch of river as we´d done Hydrospeed before. Ducky is an inflatable kayak, basically for learners. I decided to go along.

The others in the group were four lads from Luxembourg. They were given two 2-man rafts. I was in a 1-person kayak. There were 5-6 kayakers along for the spin as well. It was a good laugh but I was terrible. I fell out at every set of rapids. At the largest set I missed a very necessary left hand turn and got mashed as I fell into a set of rocks. It was a bit like watching Homer Simpson falling downstairs. Those who saw me winced and laughed at the same time. Apart from a few bruises I emerged at the bottom fine but gasping for air. Its great when there´s no harm done. Back at the centre there were a few beers for us. I found out that the volcanoe climb had been cancelled today due to the weather conditions. Since I left Pucon 2 weeks ago that climb has been cacelled for 6 days straight due to adverse weather so I think I was quite lucky to get climbing it when I did.

Tues 2nd Dec: To Pucon

I slept relatively well through the night, waking with everyone else around 6am. It was bright outside and we were entering the hill country of the lake district. This morning myself and Joe were a lot more chatty. Me in slow, halting pidgin Spanish and he talking rapidly. My dictionary/phrasebook was used repeatedly. Joe also used it when I couldn´t understand what he was saying. Pointing to the relevant word in spanish so I could read the english translation.

Travelling along gravel roads the bus picked up two punctures. We stopped in Esquel, a pretty town, for an hour while repairs were administered. This gave some of us time to get to a supermarket to buy bits and bobs for breakfast. Behind schedule now the bus didn´t stop again until we got to the border, passing through the lake district and Bariloche with all due haste. I got a photo with Joe at the Chilean border under a map of his home region. He was all excited now as he was going to point out all the natural splendour we were about to see. I took out my guidebook and Joe pointed out towns which were particularly nice to visit. The Chapter on Argentina was discreetly overlooked!! Then we reentered Chile. For Joe a land of milk and honey but to be fair this part of Chile is beautiful.

We got to Osorno around 6pm. Myself and Joe shook hands and bade farewell "Los hermanos del Quattro Septiembre.!!" I expected to have to stay in Osorno this evening which wasn´t the most appealing. I checked to see if there was an evening bus to Pucon and, sure enough, there was one leaving at 6.45. Great!! it means I´ll get to Pucon tonight. I paid for a ticket and bwalking away from the counter bumped into an American I had met in the Hostel in San Martin. After all the camaraderie of the last 36hrs this was a mood changer. When I left San Martin I was hoping I wouldn´t see this guy again. He was a boorish, moody know-it-all. Thankfully our meeting was brief. He was getting an overnight bus to Santiago. I made my excuses and got away from him. Relieved to be away from him.

While I waited for the bus a small pup, lost or abandoned and obviously scared crept into a corner formed by rucksack and a wall. It looked out from its alcove at the hustle and bustle of the bus terminal. When the bus arrived I felt bad taking the rucksack leaving the wee pup once again exposed.

This bus was ridiculously hot and sticky. No airconditioning on this one. I was grateful when the bus pulled away and picked up speed on the motorway, allowing a breeze to blow through the open roofhatches. Thankfully the sun went down, and with it the heat. I was tired now. It was dark. I just wanted to get to Pucon.

We arrived in Pucon around 11pm. I went to a different hostel from the last time I was in Pucon. Hospedaje Victor, just around the corner from the bus station. I went into a 4-bed dorm but had the room to myself. After a quick shower I managed a hastily grabbed snack from a shop about to close for the night. I gratefully went to sleep, 40hrs after leaving Puerto Natales.

Mon 1st Dec: Leaving Patagonia

I take the 7am bus towards Punta Arenas. I´ll change at Kon Aiken for the Osorno bus and then its the long loop through southern Argentina via the Atlantic coast, and the Andes back into Chile. The bus is full leaving Puerto Natales. As well as a sprinkling of backpackers there are a lot of very ditinctive looking gauchos and ranch hands by the looks of them. Rural people, they were berets, not in the french style but more like the caps which were so popular at home 15-20yrs ago. One guy with a wether beaten, tanned, craggy face wears a green knitted cap with a bobble on top. The conductor on this bus looks like a right character. He has almost shifty eyes with greying hair and moustache. He looks like he could be on tv as a mafia don or a new york detective (Law and Order??). He has a certain presence that tells you he´s in control.

We head south from Puerto Natales onto a rolling plain generously sprinkled with windswept trees, all leaning in the direction of the prevailing wind. The morning brightens, a sprinkling of clouds above. We pass estancias (ranches). Everso often the conductor shouts down the aisle to waken a sleeping gaucho to let him know his stop is next. There´s real familiarity here. Everybody seems to know everyone else. Translated from rural Chilean to rural Ireland the conductor´s routine might sound as follows.

"Seamie,.......... Seamie Valdez!! Your stop is next!! .....Seamie...???

"Ara Jaysus... for f**** sake is Valdez asleep again!!??

"Jaysus, Tady would ya ever give yer man next ta ya a puck and wake him up!! ........... Thanks Tady."

Seamie!!??..... Good man Seamie!! Fair play, are ya back with us??....... "Come up here quick or ya´ll miss yer stop!"

Seamie, a small wiry tanned gent, bleary eyed and dressed in cotton shirt and brown woollen jumper, shuffles up to the front with a small rucksack. The conductor, smiling, takes the rucksack from Seamie, allowing him to steady himself. Ushering Seamie into the front cab the conductor gives him a generous pat on the back. He leans into Seamie, conspiratorially, and says

"Come in here quick.... Wait´ll I tell ya..... Have ya heard the latest from the Hernandez ranch??......"

The conductor proceeds to give him all the latest gossip.

Moments later the bus stops. The conductor opens the door, Seamie steps down and the conductor hands down his rucksack, uttering a last few words of wisdom. As the bus pulls away Seamie beams a smile and waves farewell. The conductor answers with a friendly thumbs up.

This scene is repeated as the bus approaches the next estancia. Sometimes three or four ranch hands crowd into the front cab as the conductor regales them with a humorous tale. Peals of laughter from the front kepp everone who isn´t dozing amused. There´s no need for newspapers on this bus. In between times the conductor doles out drinks of coffee from a large flask into small plastic tumblers. He delivers these to all the passengers on a small plastic tray.

By 9.10am we haven´t arrived at Kon Aiken. I expected to have changed buses by now so I´m getting fidgety looking out the window. I´m sitting at the fron of the bus just behind the drivers cab. The conductor glances at me. moments later I see him writing on a scrap of paper. Finished writing he holds up the piece of paper and presses it against the cab window in front of me to read. It says "El autobus...... Punta Arenas 9.30........ Kon Aiken 10.00 horas." He nods with a knowing look, points to his wrist, gives me a thumbs up and an almost north Leitrim style wink. I have to say I was really impressed. I relaxed again in the knowledge we wouldn´t miss our connection. I had the height of respect for him. I smiled to myself. A real Character!!

We reached Kon Aiken around 9.30. About 7-8 of us got off here and the conductor retrieved our rucksacks from the luggage compartment. I thanked the conductor as he handed me my rucksack. He gave me a slap on the shoulder wishing me bueno viaje - good journey.

Kon Aiken marks the most southerly point for me. Its merely a small police/customs post in the middle of nowhere. Waiting for the bus from Punta Arenas I chatted to an Aussie couple and the first thing they commented on was how much of a character that bus conductor was. A short while later we were on the bus bound for Osorno, heading for Rio Gallegos and Argentina.

On this journey I was backtracking over the same country I´d crossed 10 days earlier so it was familiar terrain. I was sitting beside a Chilean guy. Passing through Rio Gallegos the police came on to note our details so it was out with the passports and identity cards. I had my passport open and the guy beside me started to read my details. He suddenly got excited and started talking to me. He pointed at my passport and then indicated my date of birth and showed me his identity card. His date of birth was 4th September, the same as me. Suddenly we were best buddies. He was a year older than me and it seemed therefore that he was keen to take me under his wing and look out for me. His name was Joe. Laughing he told me (in Spanish, he had no English) that it was an English name.

Joe extolled the beauty of Chile. The lovely trees, mountains, waterfalls and lakes, much nicer than Argentina!! He didn´t know I´d already been to that part of Chile but I knew he wasn´t exaggerating. He´s from Castro, a small town on the island of Chiloe, south of Puerto Montt. He indicated the food there was great. I struggled to follow his rapid spanish but I think I got the gist of it.

Other than the border checks the bus didn´t stop all day until 10pm. We stopped for a food break at a small restaurant in a town south of Commodoro Rivadavia. For the previous hour Joe had been indicating we´d be stopping for food soon. He also indicated he was starving. I sat at a table by myself while Joe, at a table chatting with others, kept a paternal view over proceedings. The waitress here wasn´t great. For some reason she appeared not to want to give me any bread. (You always get bread with your meal here). When she spoke I couldn´t understand a word she was saying (Normally I understand the meaning if not all the words when somebody speaks to me) She made no effort to clarify what she was saying to the gringo. Joe noticed this, said something to the waitress and when she still didn´t bring the bread he gave me some from his plate. It was a nice gesture by him.

By 11.30 we were all fed and back on board and the bus drove into the darkness northwest for the lake district and Chile. Joe smiled, took out a can of beer for a nightcap. He offered me one but I politely declined. He downed his drink and fell into a contented sleep.

Sun 30th Nov. Puerto Natales

We got back to Puerto Natales around 11pm last night and I got a room back in Nikos guesthouse where I´d stored my rucksack. I slept well after the Torres del Paine jaunt and today is a fairly laidback day before tomorrows long journey back north. I had a look around Puerto Natales and spent a good deal of time on the blog trying to update it. I ate well.

The weather brightened up here today, warm enough for a t-shirt. The town was very quiet today, very sleepy. It wasn´t until late afternoon that people began to appear on the streets. Puerto Natales isn´t the most attractive of towns by any means. But on a bright sunny day it does have a certain drab appeal (perhaps I´m just glad to be away from the Torres!!). On abright day its buildings look almost quaint. On a wet day they look dreary, windswept and rundown.

I have a bus ticket to Osorno for 7am tomorrow morning. Thats a 36hr bus ride back up into the middle of Chile. Most of the journey, however, will be spent through Argentina as the road network through Chilean Patagonia isn´t complete. I´m glad I´ve seen the Torres del Paine but I´m just as glad to be leaving it. I just didn´t take to it for whatever reason. I now start to head north for Ecuador. I´ll stop off for a couple of days in Pucon but otherwise the trek up through Chile is going to be pretty fast. I´ve spent enough time in the south.

Sat 29th Nov: Torres Del Paine (Day 2)

Up at 8am. I had a reasonable sleep but I´m not a great sleeper in a tent. Most of the campsite are getting up now as well. I want to be off at 9am because its going to be a long day. I have 30km to cover to the campsite I intend reaching tonight. It will be a 10hr hike so I don´t want to leave too late. Beside in a tent are three lads I was talking to yesterday. One of the lads is from Tralee and bought stuff in Lots this summer. He speaks highly of his purchases (He dealt with Kevin)....... and so he should!!! (LOTS... for the world in Furnishings www.lotsworldwide.com) Yesterday they were all friendly but this morning they are distant and off hand. I think they think that I want to join them on the trail but I have no intention of doing so. However they´re attitude hurts a little. Its another example of a "pack" attitude that I´ve encountered once or twice before this summer.

I leave the campsite with a little cloud of annoyance because of those guys attitude. By the way these guys are the only people to have brought litres upon litres of water into a park which has the purest water in the world. I took my water directly out of the streams and not once suffered any stomach upset. These guys also missed the ferry yesterday, an almost impossible task. And reckoned they´d be on the trail at 6am today. As I leave at 9am, Dads army are nowhere near ready... and planning to the same route as me??.......Good luck lads!!!

Its cooler this morning, overcast, but good for hiking with a full pack. It looks like it may rain at any time. There isn´t a breath of wind after yesterdays strong gusts. I pass by a peak which has a glacier coming down its slopes. The upper slopes are hidden by swirling clouds. I hear what at first I think are thunder claps. This makes me quicken my pace. But then I notice puffs of falling snow occur when the thunder sounds. I´m looking at avalanches.

For most of the day I follow along the base of a set of peaks which will eventually open up to form a narrow valley through which lie the famous Torres. On my right I´m following a lake. I´m tired and still irritated by the attitude of those guys. I know I´m being oversensitive but its difficult to shake the annoyance. I wonder where Fionnuala is. It would have good if I´d met up with her. I tell myself I wouldn´t be down in the dumps if we had. It begins to rain lightly. The route is undulating, sometimes flat, sometimes steep so progress is quite slow. I stop at a campsite at 1.30 expecting to find an area for cooking but I don´t see an appropriate spot. I content myself with a protein bar and some fruit and nuts. I fill my water bottle from a fast moving stream and hit the trail again.

There is a bit of climbing to be done over the next stretch and I start to meet groups coming down the slope in the opposite direction. I make way for those coming down but it gets a bit frustrating as I have to make for 3-4 groups in a row. At least today most people do say hello. I stop again at the base of another slop to make way for a new group. I´m feeling tired and irritated now as I step to one side. Next thing I hear "Oh my God I don´t believe it" I look up quickly and there she is.... Fionnnuala, looking fresh and breezy as if she were out for a morning stroll. I´m delighted. Talk about a mood swing. All tiredness and frustrations are forgotten in a moment. We don´t get to talk for long as Fionnuala´s group is pushing on to their next campsite
some hours away. We do get a photo together though. It was great to see her and it keeps me in good spirits for the next while.

Some the rain starts to come down, soft but persistent. The jacket is put on. The trail continues but it feels more like home now than South America. The clouds are sitting low on the mountains, its wet. Theres no novelty in it for me. There´s at least two more hours on the trail. I´ve been waliking for seven. I´m getting bored with the whole hike. My hearts not really in this. Suddenly I decide to cut the hike short by a day. It means I´ll miss out on the famous Torres altogether but I don´t care. I saw them from the bus from El Calafate. I´ll stop at the next campsite I´m heading towards. I can get a mini shuttle at 7.30pm which links up with the bus back to Puerto Natales. I push on for Hosteria Grand Paine and get there at 6pm. 9 hours of hiking with three short breaks. I´m quite tired.

On the bus back to Puerto Natales I talk to two Italian girls I´ve been bumping into for the last two days. They, like me were a bit underwhelmed by the park. To be fair it is beautiful but for some reason I didn´t take to it I did feel as though I´ve seen as good and better elsewhere. A myth has built up around the Torres del Paine and, like a lot of myths, I think its been exaggerated.