Up towards Puerto Natales

Right from the pier where we arrive after the penguin tour, I need to get to my bus to Puerto Natales. It's almost one hour later than the scheduled return, so I make it just in time. At the bus stop I meet Julia, who flew over directly after her sabbatical in New Zealand, but which due to her late arrival and my early tour I haven't been able to greet yet. From here on we'll be travelling together.
It's fascinating to see the landscape change from bare, flat steppe to a slightly more hilly area with at least a few dry trees. On our way we see lots of sheep, ostriches and guanacos (a type of lama), but not much in terms of civilization.
Tomorrow we will start the W-trek through Torres del Paine, a 5-day hike alongside emerald rivers and monumental glaciers. The trek will be 80 km in total.
To make up for the missing items from my luggage ( I will not get it back in time before starting the hike) I still need to by two shirts, a pair of socks and rent a pair of rain pants. Everything else must just be dispensable - I don't really have another choice. Although I don't even have everything, it is still a lot of stuff and packing up for day 1 (where we will not need to carry all our stuff) takes some time.Read more