Torres del Paine

A full-day trip, that is, a one-day raid into Chile, leaving from and returning to El Calafate in Argentina. The raid was done with an Argentine tour operator that came to pick us up at our hotel. With me were two travel companions from my country, with whom I was doing a tour of Patagonia. Despite the geographical proximity of the two places, we're forced to face a good three and a half hours of travel to reach the Chilean border. In fact there would be a much shorter road that would let you reach Torres del Paine National Park in an hour, but it's been closed for years because the Chileans would prefer tourists to stop and sleep in their country, avoiding a very long trip of about seven hours there and back. We, undeterred, tackle this long road through the Patagonian desert, with only a service area where we stop to eat something between us and the border.

The Argentine border post is a little hut in the middle of nowhere, then a few km in no man's land before reaching the modern Chilean customs area. Chile presents itself in this far-off land with a luxurious souvenir shop. With pride it shows the best of a country in full development that, having shed a difficult past, seems to have taken flight in the South American panorama. For us Italians no entry visa is required, and our passport is easily stamped. They had us fill in an entry form which the customs officers don't pay much attention to. We change the bare minimum for entry to the National Park, which is nevertheless a good 40 US dollars. The shop staff speak a little Italian and are very courteous. Here we change vehicle, getting off the Argentine bus and continuing in a Chilean minibus.

The guide is lively but kind, speaks Spanish and English, and we understand him reasonably well. He hands us the lunch package with a couple of snacks, a piece of fruit and a bottle of water. First stop on the shores of Lake Sarmiento, then at the beautiful Laguna Amarga, where we meet the first guanacos and glimpse the mighty Torres del Paine through the clouds. Nearby is one of the official entrances to the Park, guarded by numerous guanacos. We reach the shores of a lake that resembles a Norwegian fjord; from here we set off on an hour of easy trekking that takes us to a beautiful viewpoint over Los Cuernos del Paine and to the equally beautiful and mighty Salto Grande waterfall. We return to the minibus and drive along the shore of Lake Pehoe, overlooked by the Paine, where we spot a condor. We stop at a refuge on the lake, relaxing before the marvellous spectacle nature offers us.

Among other things, after all the wind that accompanied us during the excursion, it's quite pleasant here. We set off again to return to the border, where, having got off the minibus and said goodbye to the guide, we take the bus back to Argentina. Of course, at the border we get the Argentine visa again, which is free anyway. In about three hours we're back in El Calafate. A very beautiful excursion, to be done if you come to these latitudes. We left at 5 in the morning and returned at 10 pm.