...After a quiet night I wake up to two bits of news: two of the dogs like us more than we thought and are still here and Ingrid got sick so my mates are turning back; I'm continuing alone;...all the other campers have left so I take the map, the GPS and...follow the dogs, who seem to know the way and are happy to show me;...I pass through the trail's second highest pass - Paso Australia - at 776m - windy!!!...despite a few stressful moments when the trai...

....At Punta Arenas airport they can't find my ticket for the flight to Puerto Williams ("it was just a booking, not an actual ticket!") but finally they do and they forget about their strict baggage allowance in the process (you are allowed 10kg, I carried 22kg! Yesss!)...I arrive In Puerto Williams, marvel at the majestic mountains on the horizon and wild crowds around me (what was supposed to be a small twin turbo engine craft turned out to be a regular Bo...

...I manage to get my dry food and my homemade breakfasts past the ruthless sanitary customs check at the Chilean border. They seem to be impressed by the fact I tried to climb Aconcagua :)...I arrive in Santiago and as usual I'm in awe of the cleanliness, order and wealth of the country and still not a big fan of the local prices....At the same time I how everything works so much better here than in Argentina. I buy a SIM card and have my internet running wi...

Over the last few days......I idle around the hot hot city, doing shopping, relaxing, fixing my boots and backpack....I plan my onward trip to Chile....I enjoy my first real Argentine steak (excellent) and the first real Argentine pizza (awful) on this trip....I get ripped off on change (petty amounts, 0.10-0.30€ mostly) in restaurants more times than I can count. A bit short-sighted really because I would have left a much bigger tip if they had been honest...

...I get ready for 7am like they said I should and nothing happens until 8.30am like I knew it wouldn't. After that a beautiful 4'30" flight saves me 8 hours of walking....I go back to Penitentes, get my bags and load them on the bus to Mendoza....I arrive and take a taxi to the hotel only to have it go bust on me and wait for another taxi to come in....I check into a hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook for want of better choices. The hotel p...