Wednesday 28th November.
An early start (again!). We had breakfast and met our fellow trekkers in the 'El Rincon de la Estancia'.
There we found only 5 of us signed up for the epic French Valley trek - and we had 2 guides allocated to us - Rodrigo who guided us yesterday, and Valentina, who had booked the excursion for us. The weather was perfect!
We were escorted to the minibus with our packed lunches, and set off for Pudito on Lake Pehoe, to catch the first catamaran to the Paine Grande refuge about 40 mins away. The minibus roared its way over the dirt roads and foothills, with Carmen at the wheel. Val informed us that she had previously worked as a 'washer up' in a local mountain refuge where Carmen was in charge of the kitchen, they had both moved on, but still had a special bond...
We arrived at the jetty in sunshine in one piece, and boarded the catamaran after a short wait. The ferry journey was spectacular with the towering horns, Los Cuernos, reflected in the azure blue lake. We saw Red Gartered Coots and Great Grebes on the lake. The catamaran was piloted by a portly, cheery Chilean wearing what must have been a child’s life jacket, who greeted all the guides as long lost friends with hugs and a kiss. Our day sacks were piled in the front of the cabin for the duration of the crossing, while we went up to the rooftop deck to appreciate the beautiful vistas and photograph the scenery.
We disembarked and stopped at the refuge for a comfort break, before setting off on the trail towards the French Valley.
Val and Rodrigo were very knowledgable about the local flora and history of the park.
Val was soon nicknamed the 'Pocket Rocket' as she set off at an incredible pace for such a short Chilean!
The path was well worn and wound its way along the lakeshore between numerous spectacular red firebushes and dwarf blue and white sweet peas amongst the coarse grass.
We passed through forests of 'ghost' trees, a legacy following the fire in 2012. The fire was started by a careless camper who knocked over a camping stove - it burned for four months. It was terrible disaster,but now the forest is starting to rejuvenate, so in amongst the silver grey tree skeletons and blackened stumps, clumps of bright greens Nire and Lenga beech saplings are growing up.
Our companions were Amanda and Brian from Cincinnati and Raj from San Francisco .
We stopped several times along the trail to take photographs, to peel off layers (and to change into shorts!) and for drinks and snacks. Meanwhile Rodrigo and Val kept up a running commentary to describe the trees, wildflowers, birds and geology of the area.
After a couple of hours we came to a suspension bridge that led to the 'Italian campsite'.
We sat in the shade by the glacial torrent and ate our excellent 'box lunches'. After leaving cold, wet and dark November we were still trying to readjust to the long, bright, sunny days in Patagonia!
The path became steeper on the next leg of our journey and we were glad to have our walking poles with us. We climbed steadily up through forest and over rocky slopes to reach a spectacular mirador overlooking the French glacier. There were quite a few groups of hikers sharing this large rocky platform with us, but there was plenty of space and a good natured atmosphere, so that their presence enhanced rather than detracted from the beauty of the amazing 360 degree views. Most were young, all were happy. Someone started playing a harmonica, and we all just sat in the sun and admired the Cuernos behind us, and the hanging glaciers on Grande Paine, in front of us.
Periodically there would be a thunderous roar as an avalanche peeled off the glacier, cascading down onto the moraine below.
Los Cuernos were striking - two tall triangular peaks towering above us having a unique striped appearance with pale granite shoulders and black basalt peaks.
We sat for a while agog at the view, sharing cups of mate and the straw, before descending. The guides explained how we should travel more slowly and ‘calmly’ to avoid stumbling over the loose rocks and tree roots...
This time Rodrigo set the pace which was just as fast as before! We scampered along behind, trying to slow him down by spotting birds and plants to distract him! The km raced by as we chatted to our fellow travellers and guides. We missed the 5pm ferry (apparently there was never any chance of catching that as most groups only go as far as the Italian camp!) but luckily there was a 6.30pm alternative.
We sat on the top deck chatting to a Swiss girl who had just completed the W trail alone, and was part way through her four month solo tour around South America, and felt intrigued and in awe of her courage / self confidence to embark on such a trip alone. We met many more single travellers like her and wondered what it must be like to travel in this way, without having someone to squeeze hands and say ‘Isn’t this wonderful?’ to.
When we disembarked from the catamaran we were greeted by Carmen, who miraculously produced Pisco sours, beers, crudités and chocolate brownies! Whilst other travellers boarded buses and coaches (or cheerfully changed the flat tyre on their truck) we sat in the sun and toasted the guides and enjoyed our surprise picnic!
Sadly there were no pumas or torrent ducks to be seen on the return journey. Arriving home at 8.30 there was no time for pre-dinner cocktails in the bar. We were covered in dust and very sweaty and so retired for a quick shower followed by dinner in the restaurant. We ate guanaco carpaccio and lamb shank with Calafate berry jus - excellent, as before. We retired to the bar to enjoy some cocktails, people watching and blogging. All that mate tea had made us alert and despite all our good intentions to have an early night we were the last guests to leave the bar. We ordered some peppermint tea to round off the perfect day. It took a while to appear - the bar man Frederico having disappeared off to the garden to pick fresh mint leaves for us!