DAY 7: TORRES DEL PAINE (WE MIST OUT ON THIS ONE!)

Admin overr breakfast, Puerto Natales, Chile

Turquoise river in Torres del Paine

Island in the river, Torres del Paine reserve

Appreciating the view

Colourful natural vegetation in Torres del Paine

Waterfall in Torres del Paine reserve

Our next mission was to explore the Torres del Paine nature reserve with its landmark rock formations and we set aside the entire day 7 to do this trip of more than 300km, most of it on gravel.

We decided from the outset to dress for rain, having noted the misty, rainy weather towards the mountains where we were heading. Our BMW rain suits came out and we were ready for the worst weather.

On our way to the park we had two minor incidents, one about which I do not want to talk and the second a puncture (probably a sharp stone) by which time it was raining quite consistently. By the time the puncture was fixed everything in my tank bag was wet and my camera stopped working. The photographs of the day were all taken by Dawid. The two stoppages accounted for approximately one and a half hour lost but as it turned out we still made it back to Puerto Natales by around 6pm.

We did not see anything of the incredible scenery that we have seen on the pamphlets as the mist was heavy and the mountains totally covered with a blanket of fog. The few spots where we stopped did however provide of the most magnificent scenery imaginable. As at El Calafate, the contrast in colours from the wild flowers and natural vegetation, to the almost fluorescent turquoise of the river and the various shades of grey of the mist and the mountains provided enough reward  for the trip.

The last section of the trip was on surfaced road and made things slightly easier. By this time we were frozen having faced sub 10 Deg temperatures all day and a stiff crosswind on the way to Puerto Natales. We did not manage to locate a petrol station in the very tiny town of Cerro Castillo and arrived in Puerto Natales with about 10km left in the tank.

After a hot shower to get the blood circulating again and a power nap we set out to look for a good restaurant (we still have not come across the legendary mutton for which Patagonia is apparently known for). We randomly, on the face of the exterior, picked Restaurant Angelique. Angelique turned out to be the owner and chef, apparently supported by some family members. We went for the lamb (with rosemary) and treated ourselves on the other trademark dish of this area, King Crab. Both dishes excellent and a good reward for a hard day’s riding.