A mountain escape to Bariloche, Argentina

By now we've learned to expect that 20+ hour bus rides will arrive a few hours past the scheduled time, and our 23-hour (27-hour) trip to San Carlos de Bariloche, also known as Bariloche, was no exception! Thankfully our AirBnB hosts welcomed us at 2230 and had pasta that we could cook up!

This is our first time in the lakes region of Argentina so we planned to stay for two weeks in this mountain town and enjoy its Bavarian-influenced culture, natural beauty, and of course, chocolate. I chose our AirBnB about three kilometers from the city center because it was one of the most affordable I found for the time we wanted to be there and from the pictures it looked like it had amazing views of Nahuel Huapi Lake. We were not disappointed! We found the place to be comfortable with a great kitchen and crazy good views, it was close to a decent grocery store, and we could walk into the city center in 40 minutes or take a bus. All good, plus the kids had a great space to do school. And that's just what we did for our first few days! 

Our first "excursion" was to a mate (mah-tay) lesson that I found through AirBnB. We opted to book this as a private experience and I'm so glad we did. It's not that we don't want to meet other people, but we've had mate before and love the taste, but had so many questions about how to prepare it correctly. This way we got to do the whole lesson in English and really experience the ritual of Yerba mate, which is a social ritual that involves sharing the drink and sharing a straw and with COVID they have altered the class. Since we are a family, we were able to practice the full, shared social experience (fun fact--we definitely shared a mate with several people 16 years ago). Our instructor, Melanie, was amazing! We learned about the history of Yerba mate, where yerba is grown and how it is dried, about different mates (the cups) and bombillas (the straws), how to properly prepare the drink, and how to share it. We tried three different types of yerba, both alone and paired with a snack specifically chosen for each type. It was an AMAZING experience and we learned so much. 

We really loved learning about yerba mate with Melanie!

We also booked a local walking tour, "German Footprint and Nazi Presence in Bariloche" with Diego as the guide. This one is available through AirBnB experiences or local travel agencies (we used Zig Zag). Though the group was pretty big (maybe 20 people) and the information was delivered in both Spanish and English, it ended up being a super informative, super engaging walk with some really nice travelers from all over the world! Diego is a master at delivering bits of info in each language, rather than huge chunks, so that we all were listening for the next tidbit. We learned all about how the town was founded by German-Chilean Carlos Wiederholdt, the three waves of German immigrants to Argentina, and the Nazi's who were caught living in Bariloche. We really loved that it wasn't just about Bariloche, but rather incorporated what was going on in the world during each of the immigrant waves so there was much more context. And this was a fabulous tour given what the kids are currently studying in history (and Trent just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank" in English). We also watched "Operation Final" on Netflix the night before this tour and Diego enhanced much of what we learned in that film. We were honestly very pleased with this experience.

Diego was a fantastic guide and taught us so much about the German presence in Bariloche.

While in Bariloche we also had to try some chocolate! It's the chocolate capital of Argentina and honestly I would die if we tried every chocolate shop, but we hit Patagónico, Del Turista, Rapa Nui, Mamuschka, Frantom, and the Museo de Chocolate Havanna. The museum tour was actually pretty cool--all done in Spanish (but we understood most of it!), they served an amazing hot chocolate, and at the end they have an exhibit of local animals carved from chocolate. We picked up some alfajores from the museum (think cookie sandwich of dulce de leche dipped in chocolate or meringue), and while they are popular in Argentina, they aren't really our favorite. But they were good. Since it's so hot here we actually hit up the ice cream stands at the chocolate places more than the chocolate!

CHOCOLATE!

Hiking is also pretty big around here. We didn't do nearly as much of that as I would have liked just because of family preference and the desire to focus on school, but the boys and I did do a nice hike that combined the Sendero de los Arrayanes with the Lago Escondido Trail. A few hours on the trail and lunch on a lakeshore was just what I needed!

Loved this day on the trail with my guys.

Top marks for fun went to Cerro Viejo, a small, cheap, old teleférico close to our place that gives you stunning views of Lago Nahuel Huapi. You ride an old ski lift to the top the hill, then you have the option of walking down or riding the giant toboggan slide, and of course we chose the slide. It was such a good, old-fashioned fun time! There was also a little forest of arrayanes (myrtle) trees on the hillside and it was beautiful! We actually went back for another visit on our final day to determine the toboggan champion. Frank won, but only after Trent wiped out in the final corner, skinning every joint and tearing his shirt!

So much simple fun, but dang, Trent!

We also headed out to Colonia Suiza (the Swiss Colony) one day as it was rumored to have great Swiss architecture and was famous for its curanto, a local meal of meats and vegetables that is cooked in the ground. We ended up really enjoying the meal experience at Colonia Suiza Resto-Bar. You book a table for the curanto and they explain the whole thing--how Polynesian influence came to Chile which then came over to this little town, how they layer the meats and veggies, how it is covered with dirt and burlap, and then they uncovered the glorious spread of food! We went to our table and they came around with platters of food...three times! We gals had the vegetarian version which was honestly awesome with potatoes, yams, apples, onions, corn, carrots, and squash. The guys had all of that veg plus, chicken, pork, stuffed pork belly, lamb, lamb ribs, and chorizo! It was a crazy amount of food! The rest of Colonia Suiza? Uh, not really our thing. We walked all around and I can't say we saw a ton of interesting architecture. All we found were a ton of food vendors, a few small craft stands, restaurants, and a crazy crowded beach. It also took us a ton of time to get there and return via bus as the busses were full and infrequent. Add in that we had to wait for them in the blazing sun and I'm not sure we would do this again, at least not at this time of year. But the curanto was good.

Meat is a big deal in Argentina and curanto is the way to eat it in Colonia Suiza!

Our house is about a three-to-four minute walk to the lake. It's beautiful. The water is honestly a bit cold for me to head out and go for a swim (I saw one guy swimming in a wetsuit!) and the shores are rocky, but it's lovely. We are right by a marina so we get to stare dreamily at boats every day, too. And we can walk all the way to town on the road that runs along the lake. It's not bad! We spent a few afternoons walking around town and seeing all the touristy things there.

Beach days at the frigid lake. Frank made it in the furthest!

Around Bariloche...the Civic Center, the Cathedral, the lakefront, and the most awesome waterfront skate/bike park I've ever seen!

Restaurants here are supposed to be good, too, but honestly we only went out once for burgers after a tour! Why? Well, Argentinians complain that the food it expensive in this town, but it's honestly because we have a really awesome place! Every time we think of going out for a drink at one of the bars down on the lake, we realize that we can get drinks cheaper at the grocery store and enjoy them in the peaceful comfort of our own home with fabulous views of the lake. And I like to cook and this kitchen is good so yeah, we were homebodies. I think we will dine out a bit more in our next place...

Our little house was just perfect for us!

There is really so much more to do in this area and if we did it again, I would come during shoulder season and have a car to reach further and explore the many trails in the area without relying on tours on the public transit. 

A word about the bus. Argentina public transportation requires the use of a SUBE card--they don't take cash--and it's not like in D.C. where you just get a card from a kiosk. Here, you have to get your card from an official distributor with your passport in hand, then go somewhere else to charge it usually. I've read there are some automated top-up places in Buenos Aires, but mostly you have to go to kioskos (think convenience store) to top-up your card. The good news is that as long as you have money on the card, multiple people can use it. Frank and I set off on a SUBE card expedition only to have the official place be out of them, then about 10 kioskos that were supposed to have them also be out of them. The last place we tried said they didn't have them, but the guy next door did. Here's where big warning flags should have gone off--no "SUBE" sign in that guy's store window, but he had them and was selling them at only twice what they should cost. We paid $3 for the card, then went back next door to charge them with $3 each, and we were off! We boarded a bus, tapped our cards, and all was good. A few days later, we walked to town with the kids, but opted to take the bus back and...whammo--cards wouldn't work. We kind of knew they were used cards, but a trip to the "official" place the next day confirmed they were registered in someone else's name and had been blocked, the balance transferred away. Ok, so we got duped to the tune of $10. But you know what's awesome? The official place had cards again so we got two real cards and haven't had any problems since! But seriously, this "register with your ID" method and short card inventory makes it pretty hard for tourists to use the public transit system. Makes me miss the ease of use in DC, NYC, and Athens.

One of the more empty buses we rode on.

This also marks the end of our two months in Patagonia as Bariloche is the northern end of the region. It was wild, wonderful, and there is so much more to explore. Next stop--Mendoza!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma

El Chaltén, Argentina

From El Calafate it was a pretty quick 3.5 hour bus ride up to El Chaltén, the village that marks the north end of Los Glaciares National Park and is known as the National Capital of Trekking in Argentina. Why? Well, walk in just about any direction from town and you are on the free trails to amazing views of the Andes, glaciers, rivers, lakes, and so much more. It's definitely the "high season" in Patagonia and even though we booked a long time ago, we were only able to get four nights in a place that met our needs/budget. No worries--we skipped school and made this a hiking/birthday celebration vacation! Given our bus timetables, we were actually able to work in five solid days of hiking along with ample rest. Our home base at El Chaltén Aparts was perfect--space for everyone, very comfy beds, fabulous shower for post-hike recovery, a small yet functional kitchen, a short walk to groceries, and the most amazing daily breakfast that was so big, it also provided our daily trail snacks! So how did we spend our time?

The area we focused on for hikes around El Chaltén.

Day 1: Check in, check out the grocery situation, hike! We opted for a short hike (6km round-trip) to Chorillo del Salto, a nearby waterfall. We were going to go to the "Condor View" hill, but we saw condors right from town so opted not to! The walk was hot and dusty as part of it was along the gravel road, but the waterfall was spectacular. It was also super crowded! This is definitely one of the stops for the day-tour buses so the crowd ebbs and flows if you just hang out. It was also a beautiful Sunday afternoon and many locals were there enjoying yerba mate. But the best part?  On the way back to town we saw a flock of Austral Conures (parakeets)! Frank has been wanting to see them in the wild and we finally did!

Just a nice afternoon at a waterfall, with a bonus bird sighting!

Day 2: Loma del Pliegue Tumbado. On the recommendation of our apartment host (who is also a mountain guide), we set out on the Loma del Pliegue Tumbado trail. The draw? Rather than being at the edge of Laguna Torre, this trail leads you to a viewpoint over the laguna more at the level of the mountains. It was labeled as a "hard" trail, 24km round-trip, and should take us 7-8 hours. It ended up being a hot, hard hike! There were a few nice, wooded sections, but most of the climb was done out in the open under the full sun. Add in tons of horse flies and uneven, rocky terrain, and it was definitely a tough one. Unfortunately, Cerro Torre remained covered in clouds the whole day, but Fitz Roy made some nice appearances! The best part of the trail was getting to see down into Laguna and Glacier Torre, with a clear view of where Frank and I hiked and did ice climbing on the glacier 16 years ago. The glacier is definitely smaller now, and it doesn't seem that they are doing the climbing there anymore, but it was still fun to show the kids how we made it through the valley from the viewpoint above. But oh, the heat and the flies! 

Not so easy on a hot day and Cerro Torre remained shrouded in that cloud to the left.

Day 3: Recovery/Birthday at Laguna Capri! After those first two hikes we laid out a plan for our remaining time and decided that we would sleep in, do a "moderate" hike, relax, and celebrate Frank! Our chosen hike was Laguna Capri, a beautiful lake that has great views of Fitz Roy when the weather cooperates, and we had a FABULOUS weather day! It was hot again, but the climb out of town on this trail is shaded in the woods so that helped. We opted for the full loop of Laguna Capri, putting us around 9km on the trail for the day, and also putting us face-to-face with another of Frank's target bird species, the Magellanic Woodpecker! We had such a great view of two stunning, red-headed males and a female and lingered for several minutes. It was a perfect birthday present for our guy! We found a peaceful spot on the shore of the lagoon to enjoy our lunch and then found a geocache in honor of Frank's mom on his birthday--she is a serious geocacher! We left the lagoon just as a large group showed up (this is also a usual day-tour trail) and enjoyed a fairly peaceful hike down. Then Frank and I enjoyed a beer at La Cervecería Chaltén which we are 99% certain is where we first connected with our guide, Pedro Fina, 16 years ago! (We happily learned from our host that Pedro is still in the area with his family!)

I really enjoyed this hike and celebrating Frank!

Day 4: The long loop--Río Eléctrico - Piedras Blancas - Fitz Roy view - Laguna Madre y Hija - Cerro Torre view. It took some time on the trails, some wine, and a trail map to figure out what Frank and I had done the last time we were here. We are pretty sure this is the path we followed, staying at Camps Poincenot and D'Agostini, but also doing the full treks to Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre. We opted to do the loop without those treks to the lagoons and ended up having a wonderful day with spectacular views and lots of good memories! We started out by getting a ride up to the Río Eléctrico bridge, 15km outside of town. We definitely remembered that bridge! The hike began along the Río Blanco valley, passing Laguna and Glaciar Piedras Blancas with great views of Cerro Fitz Roy. The second third of the hike took us south for a lunch with stunning views of Fitz Roy and then along the shores of Lagunas Madre y Hija. It was fun to visit this area with my hija! We chatted with a couple from Maryland along the way and saw more Magellanic Woodpeckers. As we approached the junction that would take us on the final third of the trail and back to town, we instead opted to head up toward Cerro Torre for a bit. The views continued to amaze us, but after getting distracted by a low-flying condor for a solid 10 minutes, we opted to take our tiring feet back down the trail and toward town. Besides, it was one of only two days a week that the Mexican restaurant is open and we needed our Mex fix! The trail back to town was rockier and harder than I expected, but it was probably just because we were tiring. 2/3 of the day's trails had been advertised as "moderate" and as we went over the 20km point I think we were all feeling it. 

Río Eléctrico to Laguna y Glaciar Piedras Blancas. 

Great views of Cerro Fitz Roy all morning led us to a nice lunch spot near the junction of the trails.

Madre y Hija!

Madre y Hija connector trail between Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre (and our first great view of Cerro Torre!).

Cerro Torre was simply stunning that day!

Day 5: Check out, hike, depart! We slept in, packed up, and slowly made our way back to Chorrillo del Salto for a lazy afternoon at the waterfall. We spent about two hours there having lunch, chilling our feet in the water, and watching the hordes of people come and go. It was super hot that day so we made our way back to town for ice cream, a little shopping, and finally settled in to La Vineria for drinks, dinner, and games before getting cleaned up and boarding our overnight, 24-hour bus.

One last trip to the waterfall!

Snacks, games, and our final look at Southern Patagonia from the bus.

This stop was almost all that the parents dreamed of, and was enjoyed by at least one kid! We definitely adjusted our plans as we went to account for the health and happiness of the crews. Did I want to hike the lagoons? Yes. Did I want a happy daughter? Also, yes!

At the risk of making this a ridiculously long post, the following are Katreina's reviews of the hikes we did. We showed her the funny U.S. National Parks reviews and sometimes would make them up for the trails we were on to try to lighten the mood. I am pleased to offer her contribution to the blog and really hope you enjoy it!

These hikes have been rated as if they are out of five stars--keep in mind I am not a huge fan of hikes. ~Katreina 

Chorrillo del Salto, 4/5: This hike was definitely not bad, very flat and a short hike (one hour). Once you find a good rock, it's very easy to spend hours looking at the waterfall. However, it's often busy with tour buses coming in and out, several people running around for photo ops and often times you end up staring at someone's arse instead of the waterfall. Not to mention for about 0.5km you are walking on the dusty road, which is very unpleasant with cars speeding by. This can all be looked over though once you have some quiet time with few people at the waterfall.

Loma del Pliegue Tumbado, 1/5: This hike is 12km going up for 4hrs to a lookout of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy. The entire hike is a gradual uphill, which got tiring after the first hour. Upon reaching the 3hr mark, we were able to see Fitz Roy from where we were, which was good enough for me (it was very pretty at this point).

BUT my loving family decided that we would keep going, there was a lake that we would see at the lookout, creating the perfect scene. Thus we moved up into fly hell. Horseflies were on us as if we WERE horses, I had had it. I was screaming every five seconds as one entered between by eyes and glasses. My parents asked if I want to go back, I said "I mean we've already seen it, I'm good." But we continued. There was a steep increase, my legs were dead and walking along a bunch of tiny rocks was horrible. We got to the viewpoint, seeing the lagoon, which I had hoped would look better considering the difficulty to get there. Overall, it was a nice view but it did to outweigh the flies, steepness, and rough terrain (near the end). 

Laguna Capri, 2/5: The hike wasn't bad, but there was a lot of uphill at the beginning. It's also one of the busiest trails, making it hard to maneuver around other people. The lake was very pretty, and we saw interesting birds along the way. However, what was really horrible about this trail was the amount of poop you find on the trail--human poop. When we got to the lake we found a nice little spot to have lunch, but the mood was ruined when right behind us we saw a large turd with toilet paper right next to it on a rock--needless to say, we moved. The amount of poop just ruined the vibe and even at lookouts it was hard to enjoy because right next to us we would find poo. The lake is beautiful, but it's ruined by those who pass by. 

Cerro Fitz Roy (Piedras Blancas to Torre trail), 3/5: This hike also wasn't too bad in terms of steepness, it was just long. We got to see Cerro Torre, which was pretty, along with Fitz Roy. However, the viewpoints I really likes (Mirador Piedras Blancas and just on the Cerro Torre trail) were either near the beginning or end of our hike. It's easy for a long hike, but it seems like I could've seen the same views in less than ~7hrs. That being said, there were less horseflies and poop (great success!).

We love you, kiddo, even if you don't love all the activities we do!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma (and apparently over-hiker to good views 😁)

El Calafate, Argentina

The next stop for us along our Patagonia adventure was El Calafate, a town (or at least an airport) we remembered from our previous travels yet almost immediately didn't recognize. Having arrived by bus, we opted for a taxi to our AirBnB since it was over a 20-minute walk away and learned from our driver that the town was four times bigger now than it was when we had previously visited! Seems that airport, which had been new when we were here last, really opened the area up to more tourism.

Our plan for El Calafate was simple--do school and see ICE! El Calafate is known as the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park and specifically, access to Perito Moreno, Spegazzini, and Upsala glaciers. There are other things to do in the area (estancias, a petrified forest, day trips to El Chaltén), but the glaciers are the main draw and you can see them from boats, catwalks, or treks onto the ice. And having fond memories of our previous trek on Perito Moreno, we booked the Mini-Trekking expedition for our family (there is another trek, Big Ice, but the kids were just shy of the age minimum for it)! The expedition began with a walk along the (very crowded) catwalks. This is a great feature of Perito Moreno, really letting people get up close to the face of glacier without a ton of physical effort. Our guide provided information about the lifecycle of the glacier and led us to the catwalks with views of the north face--the most active area of the glacier--where we saw several calving events! We ate lunch watching this spectacle and just listening to the creaking and cracking of the this massive, active, glacier. 

Perito Moreno Glacier, as viewed from the catwalks. Stunning!

From there, we headed to the port, boarded a catamaran, and sailed along the south face of the glacier on our way to the trekking portion. We hiked through the woods and along the beach for about an hour before arriving to the outfitting area where we were fitted with crampons and helmets. And then, we were off! Our guides led us over the glacier, around forming crevasses, through old crevasses, and up to a "peak" to get a good view. The kids loved it! And then we wound our way back down to happy hour! THIS is a part of the experience I definitely remember--whiskey on glacier rocks! The guides chipped away fresh ice and served up drinks and bon-a-bons (and I realized that THIS is where I first had one of those tasty little treats--love them!). While water was available, our entire crew had whiskey because, well, why not? How often in life will the kids really get the chance to sip whiskey over glacier ice? We wrapped up the experience with another hike through the woods, a return boat and bus trip, and our first night dining out in a while--pizza! What an amazing day. I'm just so thrilled that we could do this with our kids and even more thrilled that they really enjoyed it!

Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier with the whole family was EPIC!

As for the rest of our time in El Calafate, it was mostly low-key. We walked around town, shopped various local grocery stores, watched lots of fútbol, went bird-watching along the lakefront (flamingos!), completed a puzzle at our AirBnB, and worked on school. But we also had an awesome surprise--we got to hang out with some of my former coworkers (fellow retired Navy METOC's and super world travelers!). Thanks to the joys of social media, my friend Amy and I realized they would be passing through town on their way to Antarctica while we were there so we made plans to meet up. Amy, her husband John, and our family passed a lovely evening at a local cerveceria catching up and swapping travel stories. It was great to meet up with familiar, like-minded people and the evening really filled my "happy" cup!

Hanging out around El Calafate was pretty fun! And we made a cute friend while bird-watching!

So happy that we got to spend time with Amy & John!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma

The W--Torres del Paine National Park

We did it. We really did it. We hiked the "W" in Torres del Paine National Park with our children. Almost 16 years ago (and when we only had one kid), I remember lying in a tent on this very same trek and saying to Frank, "I want to bring our kids here someday." And we did it. A real dream come true.

The "W" trail (in yellow) and the "O" trail (in red) in Torres del Paine National Park.

Our 5-day trek started with an early morning walk to the bus station, a bus to Laguna Amarga where we checked in to the park, then another bus to the Welcome Center for Torre Central. We only had to walk about 10 minutes to the camp registration office where we checked in, got our meal tickets, and were able to drop our bags for the day's hike to one of the most famous views in the park, The Towers. We crossed a hanging bridge that we totally remembered from 16 years ago and we were off on our trek by 1000. We hiked about two hours to Refugio Chileno, then about an hour through the woods (my favorite!), then began our final hour's climb to the towers. This is where we got the first big surprise of the trip--SO MANY PEOPLE! With people coming down and people going up, there were several points of stand-still bottlenecks. The wind was whipping for our final 20 minutes of climbing, but we were blessed with clear skies and amazing views! But with so many people clustered around the lake we opted to hang back and enjoy a little solitude on a big rock with a pretty awesome view. I cried! It was so great seeing our kids there and seeing them witness the majesty of Torres del Paine with their own eyes. Our hike back down took just under four hours and we "moved in" to our tents just as hot water was turned on at at the campground. Perfect! And the tents were cozy! We opted for the full gear campsite--tents, pads, and sleeping bags all included. And dinner? Delicious AND there was a bar! I think this was "glamping" rather than camping as we had fabulous weather and slept under a glorious southern sky.

This bridge brought a flood of memories! I remember starting our other trek here!

Entering the park and hiking up the valley along Rio Ascencio.

The famous Mirador de las Torres!

Our first campsite had a wonderful view of the towers!

Our second trekking day was an "easy" day with a five-hour hike to the Cuernos campsite. While short, the trail had plenty of ups and downs to keep it interesting. We arrived at the Cuernos Refugio about an hour before campsite checkin so we ordered some anniversary margaritas and settled in for a family game of Farkle under the Cuernos. It was awesome and I definitely think I remembered this place! Our tents were far from the refugio and the bathrooms, but the campground was small and it all worked out fine. We napped, showered, and relaxed. Dinner was excellent again (both the food and the company of a nice couple from Park City!) and we slept great ahead of our next long day on the trail.

We had great weather and amazing views of Los Cuernos as we hiked past Laguna Inge and along Lago Nordenskjöld for the day.

Thanks to the other Americanos for our pic with Lago Nordenskjöld!

The campsite at Los Cuernos was super fun and cozy (and was a nice place to mark our anniversary!).

We expected the third day to be a challenge and...it was! But it was also amazing and Frank recalled it being his favorite day from our previous visit. We hiked a few hours to the new Camp Italiano, dumped our big bags, and headed for Mirador Frances, location of a very cool Earth Cache with stunning views of Frances Glacer! We heard and saw many ice falls on our way up the valley, and got hit with some strong winds right at the viewpoint for the glacier. We opted to continue on another two kilometers to Mirador Británico which we didn't visit during our previous visit due to poor weather and a lack of time. The hike was through some pretty gorgeous woods and the view was absolutely worth it. But 1/4 of our crew was done with heading further for more views so we had lunch (BTW, box lunches were AMAZING) at Británico and made our way back to Camp Italiano to collect our big bags. From there, we had a 7.5km hike to the Paine Grande Refugio. I totally recognized this one! We checked in, picked out our four beds in a six-bed room, showered, and went to enjoy our free welcome drinks at the bar. We again had fabulous view of Los Cuernos and Paine Grande, and could see the wind whipping up the water. We ignored the 70+km/h forecast for the next day, enjoyed a big buffet dinner, and slept like babies in super cozy, warm beds. I think the kids were sold on refugios!

An early start took us right along the shore of Lago Nordenskjöld on the way to Camp Italiano. 

A windy stop at Mirador Frances!

Mirador Británico was amazing!

Packs back on, over some bridges, and into the wind as we made our way to Paine Grande.

Refugio Paine Grande was sweet (and very familiar!). We had great views of Paine Grande and Los Cuernos from our room and saw a beautiful rainbow over Lago Pehoé!

Day four FINALLY brought us some "real" Patagonia weather! We had to hike 11km into that sometimes 70km/hr cold wind to get to Refugio Grey. It was cold, hot, windy, sunny, rainy, hard on the face...everything we wanted the kids to experience from this trek! We arrived at the refugio ahead of check-in, but that was ok--we ate our lunches and hiked about an hour north (and uphill) to a suspension bridge with an amazing view of Glacier Grey! It was so windy on the water, but the hike through the woods was nice and afforded lots of time to reflect on the journey so far. When we returned to the refugio we were surprised that the rooms were four-man and we had one all to ourselves! After hot showers we settled in to the bar for a round of Farkle, snacks, and a World Cup semi-final! Argentina beat Croatia and the bar was lit!

Walking into 70km/hr was a challenge at times, but Lago Grey was spectacular!

Just enjoying the view of Glacier Grey.

We had time before check-in (and the fútbol game) so we hiked up to one of the suspension bridges for better views of the glacier. I loved it!

Refugio life...satellite tv, cold beers, fellow travelers, and plenty of relaxation.

The last day was...easy! We had a late breakfast, a slow hike back to Paine Grande refugio, a fantastic game of Farkle with our hiking friends Oscar and Sofia, and another crazy World Cup semi-final where France beat Morocco before we had to catch our ferry out of the park. I cried again. I love Torres del Paine. I love the challenge it gives my body, the time it gives my mind, and the beauty that it leaves in my memories. And after a half-hour ferry ride we were on the bus that would take us back to Puerto Natales. That bus ride has some stories of its own that I will leave for the boys to tell when they are ready... ;) 

A beautiful hike along Lago Grey (with the wind at our backs!).

Lunch in the forest and our final look at Los Cuernos before boarding the catamaran to cross Lago Pehoé  for our return to Puerto Natales. 

Did the trip live up to all of my expectations? No. I had built this up so much in my head…full of romance, life-changing for the kids, glorious views, new traveling friends, tons of laughs…that’s a lot to ask out of any trip and it’s part of the danger of dreaming about something so hard for so long. But it was many of those things, and that’s enough.

Thank you, Torres del Paine. You were, and remain, a dream come true.

THE DETAILS: There are so many ways to hike the "W" or the "O" in Torres del Paine that fit a range of budgets. When we were here 16 years ago we had a guide, private transportation, didn't worry about any tickets of any sort...we blissfully hiked from bed to bed and were fed! You can also self-book transportation, refugio/tent sites, carry all or some of your own gear and food, and follow the well-marked trails. Or you can go somewhere in between, which is what we did this time. I was trying to self-book the trip, but the booking site was down for quite a while and we were busy enjoying Peru so I started to shop for a tour company. We ended up booking the Classic 5-day W Trek through Vertice Travel. You can opt for camping with or without your own gear, refugios (think hostel) with full bedding or use your own, and with as many meals as you want. Given availability, we ended up with two nights at campsites with full equipment (tents, nice mats, and sleeping bags all set up and ready to go) and two nights at refugios with full bedding. The package included bus tickets from Puerto Natales to the park entrance, the park tickets, tickets for a shuttle bus within the park, catamaran tickets across the lake at the west end, and bus tickets back to town. We opted for the "full board" option, provided us with breakfast, a bag lunch, and dinner every day. And I can honestly say, it was worth every penny (hit me up for price details if you want, but the tour websites all give pretty detailed quotes). Vertice is VERY organized and at our orientation meeting the evening before we left, they gave us a perfectly ordered packet of tickets and vouchers for the entire trip, just like how I would have done it! They gave us some dry bags, water bottles, buffs, maps, and our lunch for the first day (fun fact--the vegetarian sandwiches were often better than the meat ones), then stored the luggage we weren't taking with us. Easy peasy! I personally am comfortable booking all of that myself at this point, but for those new to the park/area, we can definitely recommend Vertice as a reputable tour outfit. Also, no matter how you do it, BOOK EARLY! The best weather is limited to about two months and that overlaps with Southern Hemisphere summer vacations so popular routes/tours can sell out.

FUN SIDE STORY: When we first visited Patagonia (and did the W) in 2007 we carried LLBean packs and trekking poles. We have that same gear with us on the return trip in 2022! (I mean, why else would I have a purple pack?!?!)

That's me in 2007 (upper left) enjoying my first trip to Patagonia with my LLBean pack! And here it is again, in 2022 (and Frank's equally old pack) along with our 16 year-old LLBean Vario Hikelite trekking poles. Good gear lasts (even if the colors are a bit dated!)!

~Jo, Nomadic Momma