#rioserrano

Boat up the Rio Serrano

Trip Diary for 5 days in Torres del Paine in December 2017

I started an incredibly long journey from London to LA on 8th December, had a short overnight stopover to pack for winter, then flew via Santiago to Punta Arenas finally arriving in the afternoon on the 9th December. In Santiago I had to clear immigration, pick up my bag, pass through customs, and then re-check-in for the domestic flight to Punta Arenas. They have McDonald’s, Starbucks and Fauchon at the airport, a mix of the USA and France?

From Punta Arenas airport, we passed the beautiful Strait of Magellan (home to some penguins) and I checked in to the Hotel Isla Jorge. It was a cute, clean and unassuming hotel. All hotels are central because it’s a small town. I noticed that cars stop for pedestrians at the crosswalks and even turn on their hazard lights as they slow down. It was a nice change from Paris, where I was living at the time, and had to dodge getting run over nearly every day even when crossing at the crosswalks with a green man.

On my first evening, I walked up to the viewpoint and the city is small but colourful. The local football team Colo Colo played a match and must have won because everyone was in the streets celebrating. They were singing, honking car horns and waving flags. I went out to eat at a local diner-like place called Lomito’s. I had a churrasco (steak) sandwich with avocado and the local Austral beer. The sun was out until after 22h since December is summertime in the southern hemisphere.

The next day 10th December, Hotel Rio Serrano transfer came for me at 8h30 and I was the only person in the big van. We stopped once during the 5 hour journey in Puerto Natales. The view along the way was scenic and varied from flat grassland to hills and then mountains in the distance. I saw a lot of sheep and lambs in the fields and a condor soaring overhead. The approach to the hotel is impressive as you look down at it right next to the blue Serrano river and with the snow capped mountains in the distance. I opted for a semi-luxurious all-inclusive stay for 4 nights to relax after the long journey and before I thought I would be roughing it on a small ship in Antarctica... more about that trip later.

I dropped my bags to the room and enjoyed probably the best view I have ever had from a hotel! The snow-capped peaks of Torres del Paine. I changed to hiking boots and joined the Santos Serrano hike from 15h. The hike was very easy and flat and it was through the woods so there were lots of mosquitoes. There was a small waterfall at the end then we turned around to go back the same way. The guide Jaime was very friendly, and there were 4 other guides with us for training so the guests were outnumbered by guides. It was meant to take about 3 hours but took 5 since we went slowly, so we only got back at 20h! The dinner at the buffet had a lot of choice including barbecue chicken, beef stew, salmon with mushroom sauce, lamb, potatoes, vegetables and desserts. They had pisco sours which tasty and easy to drink! It’s originally from Peru but I also had the Chilean version called a Calafate sour with Calafate (berry) liqueur.

11th December- We got my national park pass (21,000 pesos for 3 days but included in my package) and the driver dropped us at the start of the trail. I had Jaime as my guide and Vanessa in training. I was again outnumbered by the guides so lucky for me I learned a lot about the area, culture and nature along the way. We saw a Condor soaring overhead, huge, beautiful, graceful. The water of the lakes is cloudy but bold turquoise blue and full of minerals. We had amazing views of the mountains with snow on the horns and the towers. Torres Del Paine means towers in the blue, because the whole area used to be just water and ice. The mountains were made from a magma bubble and rose out of the sea so there are sea fossils and many layers of sediment with different colours. We walked down to the Lake Sarmiento and it’s “Chico” section and the water was amazingly blue. Jaime explained that the water is from the rain and there is no inlet or outlet so when it evaporates the minerals remain. The water is very basic and only supports Cyanobacteria and a few small living things. There is a type of rock that looks like coral but is made by the bacteria. The wind was very strong so we had to be careful on the slopes. We saw some wild orchids and most plants are low to the ground due to the wind. One yellow flower plant Paramela is eaten by animals and also people to improve circulation and Jaime said it is like natural viagra! We went to the shore of the lake to dip a finger in, and the water was cold but not freezing. When we got near the road we saw some lamas called guanacos. The afternoon was rainy so it was a good time to read a book, and enjoy the view until the clouds and mist covered the mountains.

12th December - I woke up at 6h30 and had breakfast at 7h so I could join the hike departure at 7h30 to the towers. Jaime was my guide again and there was just one other couple in our group. It was a 1.5 hour car ride to the starting point of the trail. We were so early that the ranger station to check tickets at the entrance wasn’t even open yet. The ride through the park was stunning and the weather was sunny and clear. So lucky! Our driver dropped us at the entrance of the Hotel las Torres because it’s private property leading to the trail and we aren’t allowed to drive but can walk. I borrowed walking sticks from Jaime and they were very useful for the big rock steps and steep parts, especially going downhill. We started with a steep incline and had to shed layers, but put them on again when it got windy. That’s Patagonia! We walked to the Refugio Chileno then we hiked through a beautiful forest of straight lenga trees, some hundreds of years old. Jaime knows a lot about the area and wildlife and he said he often studies in his free time. We got to the base of the rocks leading up to the viewpoint. That was a tough uphill climb but the views were amazing even before we got to the top. Other hills with waterfalls, a river in a valley below and lots of trees. We got to the top and sat near the lake and behind a rock to block some of the wind. It took about 3.5 hours to get there. We took a lot of photos and ate lunch there while enjoying the view then hiked back to the car. It felt good to be tired!

13th December - I met the group for the morning Aonikenk tour. We had Valeria and Carolina as guides and we drove about an hour to the starting point. The weather started out sunny and clear but halfway through we had a little rain and more wind. We saw a lot of guanaco including baby chilengoes. We also saw some dead carcasses, possibly killed by puma. We saw two grey foxes and the second one seems to be chasing something in the field. We could see condors flying in circles above. The hike was an easy 7km. We saw some ancient cave paintings of animals and possibly a painting of a man. On the way back we stopped to take photos of the massive & water from the Paine and it was such a beautiful view. The weather turned rainy and windy in the afternoon but luckily the horseback riding wasn’t cancelled. I rode on Porteno and he was really sweet except he was always trying to eat grass. We rode on the grass and through water which involved a lot of splashing. It was an enjoyable 1.5 hours riding through the areas around the hotel.