Torres del Paine Patagonia: The eighth wonder of the world

Hello friends and family!

Last week I went to Torres del Paine, Patagonia with 6 other students from my study abroad program (Katie, Nicole, Randall, Falon, Erica, Audrey). It was such an incredible experience and I will never forget our time in el sur de Chile.

I wouldn't change anything about the trip except our 2 day trip down there...

I flew Hartford---(3 hrs)--->Dallas (where I met up with Katie, Randall and Nicole + 7 hr layover)---(9 hrs) ---->Santiago---(3hrs)--> Punta Arenas---(3 hr bus)--> Puerto Natales---(3 hrs bus)--> Park entrance--(2 hr hike)-->starting point hostel....Que Duro! But we made it eventually and had a great time getting to know each other along the way while looking disgusting and smelling really bad. 

Starting at Los Torres Refugio, we hiked the w-circuit, approx. a 45 mile hike in 4 days and 4 nights. We camped everything outside hotels every night. Mi carpañera or tent mate was Audrey. Here is a photo of me and Audrey and our tent (carpa) 

The hiking was pretty hard in parts, especially with 35 lb packs on our backs! I was amazed by the huge variety of scenery we saw...every day felt totally different. The first day we hiked up to Los Torres lookout which was STUNNING ( see photos below). One day we hiked past huge waterfalls and over rock scrabbles and another day we went through the French Valley (so green and peaceful!!) In some locations there were miles of burned trees (arboles quemados) from accidental man-made fires. Hiking past those burned trees was really eerie and sent a strong message about how carefully we must tread in these beautiful parks. 

At the end of each day it was super rewarding to get to our campsite, eat a dinner of whatever hodgepodge of dehydrated food packs, dried fruit, bread, peanut butter and chocolate we could pull together, and relax with a pisco sour (the Chilean drink of choice). Every refugio (hostel) had a bar or dining area where the trekers would hang out. We met some really interesting people at these refugios and ended up hiking with some of them throughout the whole trip!

Below are some of my favorite photos from the trip:

The whole gang at Los Torres lookout!

Los Torres

Posing at the entrance to the park

Resting after a long day of hiking 

The gang next to a glacier-made lake mid-hike

Example of our strange dinners 

We jumped into the glacier water! brrrrrr 

One of the camping sites

I ran into Carolyn House from Simsbury High School and Tufts on the trail!!!

Some memories:

• One night Audrey and I were falling asleep in our tent when we heard what sounded like a person running in circles around our tent. I was terrified and naturally thought that A) someone was trying to kill us or B) A bear was trying to eat us. After making lots of noise and yelling at our assailant to “state your name! ” ...things quieted down and we peaked our heads out to see 5 really really big horses surrounding our tent eating grass.... 

• One day, with her mouth full of bread, Erica asked Randall to “Please tighten my backpack, gracias.” However, through the bread Randall heard “Please tighten my backpack, precious.” After this event he gained the nickname “Precious.” 

• One day I bought cheese and ham (queso y jamón) at a refugio store and was overjoyed! Everyone else thought the jamón was nasty and told my I would regret it. When packing up the next morning I couldnt find the ham and cheese and was very very angry/sad. I unpacked and repacked my bag, checked other peoples bags and grumbled about my missing jamón throughout the day. When we set up camp that night I found the jamón and queso smushed at the bottom of my bag under my sleeping bag. Against everyone‘s advise I stubbornly ate the jamón for lunch the next day, leaked jamón juice everywhere, and kept it in my bag the following night. When Audrey and I woke up the next morning the whole tent smelled like rotting jamón...it was horrible... I don't think I will ever live it down. 

• We hiked most of the circuit with two Chilean guys (Simone and Sebastian) and an American adventurer who has been traveling in SA for 16 months (Kyle-pronounces Key-Lay). Simone and Sebastian taught us chilean slang words and swears, entertained us with their knowledge of American rap, and attempted to teach us spanish songs. Kyle smiled a lot, helped us practice our spanish, and kissed me through a window (but like not really at all). Thanks for the company boys! Nos vemos!

We ate WAY TOO MUCH chocolate along the trail and our favorite was Sahne-nuss.

Chilenismos y palabras nuevas:

• ¿Cachái? : Do you understand? Do you follow?

• Po: Los Chilenos add “po” to alot of words like “sipo” y  “nopo” y “yo sépo”

• Weon: This is a a swear but young chilenos use is in a friendly manner in conversation to mean “Hi dude.”  “¡Hola weon!”   “¡Wena weon!” 

• Guagua: Baby. The word imitates the sound babies make. 

• Jote: A type of bird that keeps flying around then returning to the original spot. Jote is also used to refer to a Chilean man who is way too persistent. You can decline his offer to dance at a discoteque, but he will come back and ask again...and again...

• Andar con la caña: Hung over

•  ¡Nos vemos! : We will see each other shortly. This phrase and “chau” are used more commonly to say goodbye then “adios ” which is more formal. 

• La Carrie: Los Chilenos often put “la” before a girls name. “ ¿Donde esta la Carrie?”

• Gringa: White person...can be from the US or Europe. We hear this all the time on the street. It is a descriptor and is not meant to be offensive. Gorda (fat) , Flaca (skinny), Negra /morena (black) are other desciptors that are often used but not meant offensively. 

• Piropos: Cat calls. When a women (especially a foreigner) walks by on the street the men often call out at them or blow kisses. It is hard to get used, but just a part of the culture and happens many times a day no matter how one is dressed or what one is doing. 

Okay, well that is it for now! I have a full day of playing with my little host sister (Pierra-7 yr) ahead of me tomorrow! I will tell you all about her in my next post along with the start of classes. I miss you all! Stay in touch by Facebook/

viber/ watsapp. 

Besos y Abrazos,
Carrie and the hugging tree