Despite having 8 people in the dorm, it was a very peaceful night and we slept well. David was awake at 6:30am, which wasn't much earlier than the others. Everyone was keen for an early start, we were all walking the same route and it was the longest of the walks. We needed to walk about 23km and it was expected to take around 11 hours.

We were booked in the first breakfast sitting and started early at 7:25am. It was the usual breakfast - Nescafe, juice, porridge, eggs and toast. We finished our breakfast quickly, finished the packing and were out the door by 8am.

The 2:15 hour walk from Los Cuernos to Campamento Italiano was relatively easy, there were a few gentle ups and downs as the track passed along the lakeside. There were great views ahead in the distance and we still had the Cuernos del Paine towering above us on our right. The track continued to round the base of the Cuernos as it headed into Valle Francés. Campamento Italiano was only a short distance up the valley and we were able to leave our big backpack outside the campsite ranger's hut. It was only protected with a poncho so we crossed our fingers and hoped there would be no rain.

Just before we left, we noticed a wallet on the ground. The ID inside was for an Asian boy and we had a good idea who he was because his group of 6 were at each refugio we had stayed at. We gave the wallet to the ranger and would tell the boy where to collect it when we would see him on the track.

It didn't take long before the valley track changed from easy path to awkward scramble. We were climbing up and over huge piles of rocks and rock hopping our way over fast streams. The track at one point headed up a rocky stream bed, except it wasn't dry, and we had to pick a route over 50m that would keep our feet as dry as possible. If we had our tramping boots with us it wouldn't have mattered, we would just stomp directly through it, but we only had walking shoes and the Gore-Tex was for rain, not for keeping feet dry in streams. The one good thing about streams in the park is that you can drink from them (apart from ones you deliberately walk in of course) and it tastes fantastic.

Once we cleared the rocky section of the track, we had amazing views in every direction. We had the hanging glaciers of Glacier Francés on our left, the Cerros ahead of us, the Cuernos on our right and Lake Nordernskjöld behind us. The Cumbres (peaks) surrounding the glacier were covered in unstable snow and there were frequent avalanches. We heard over 20 and actually saw 3 of them tumbling and roaring down the mountain onto the ice below.

It only took us 2:15 to reach Mirador Británico and it was incredible. It was beautiful weather, the sky was blue, there was no wind and the view was amazing - every way you turned there was something of beauty, the cerros, the cuernos, glaciers, the river, the valley and the lake at the bottom. It is probably the most picturesque spot we have ever been to. We enjoyed some lunch as we we took in the views.

The walk back down took the same time as coming up, it was steep and ************* the knees. When we reached the campsite warden's hut, someone had moved our backpack to put theirs against the wall instead, to give it better protection from any rain and left ours in the open. David duly reciprocated by moving their bag to the other side of the hut and leaving it in the open. We hadn't seen the Asians who lost the wallet so we got it back from the ranger to take it to Paine Grande as they must have headed straight in that direction.

It was a relatively easy walk to Paine Grande and took us just under 2 hours, although it did feel quite long after the whole day of walking. There were still nice views though and we kept stopping to look back towards the Cuernos as we walked round Laguna Skottsberg. There was some strong gusts of wind which seemed to be coming down the Grey Valley, on a couple of occasions we were nearly blown off our feet.

As we neared Paine Grande we finally got to see Lago Pehoe, the water was a very intense blue and it was surrounded by mountains. We walked up over a small ridge and finally saw the Paine Grande Lodge in the distance down in the valley by the lake and surrounded by mountains. Apart from stopping for a few photos and for water, we kept walking as quickly as possible, afraid that our legs would seize up after the long day of walking.

On entering the Paine Grande Lodge, we got the feeling that this was likely to be the nicest place we had stayed in the park. After a quick check in, we were given our meal vouchers and shown to our room on the 2nd floor. There were only 4 beds, which were made up with sheets and pillows, and there was even soap and shampoo laid out. If that wasn't enough for a dorm room, there was a heater and a view from the window... pretty good.

If there was one complaint, it would be that the showers on our floor only had cold water, but it wasn't too much of a hardship to go down one floor for hot shower. They were nice bathrooms too, with a good functional set up with a bench and hooks etc. A far cry from the bathrooms of the last couple of days.

We were sharing our room with an Australian couple that we had seen briefly in the last refugio. Maria handed over the lost wallet to the reception so hopefully the guy gets it, it also had his ferry and bus ticket in it. We headed for the bar to enjoy a happy hour drink while we took in the view out the window. It was only 6,000 pesos for a half bottle of Casillero de Diablo red, not bad for being in the middle of nowhere. It's quite luxurious way of tramping and probably something we shouldn't get too used to.

Dinner was served between 7pm and 9pm and we could eat when we wanted, it was more like a buffet. Despite being a buffet, the dinner was amazing, all very tasty and warm. We had chicken broth and proper al dente pasta with a chicken fillet in a tomato and olive sauce. There was even a side salad with seafood and a vanilla flan for dessert. Even the bread was lightly toasted and drizzled with olive oil and merken. This was indeed very good food even if we were really hungry after the long walk.

After dinner we went back to the bar and were pleased to find out that we could have another half bottle of red at the happy hour price. As we drunk the wine we agreed that this has to be one of the best days tramping ever. Despite being a long day, we had the most incredible scenery, awesome weather and even our food and accommodation was great.

As the sun set, we had a nice view over the lake. We've been so lucky with the weather so far, we've had no rain, it's been sunny and very warm, but maybe that's because we only prepared for cold, wet and windy weather. Fingers crossed the weather can hold out for one more day.