Chile
After an impactful visit to Ecuador, we excitedly hopped on a place to Chile. The Atacama Desert was stop #1. Atacama is the one of the driest deserts in the world with impeccable night skies. We rented a car and arrived at our very cute and very cool hotel, Lodge Quelana. We spent the next day driving around and it felt like we were on Mars. About an hour into our post-lunch drive our car started to shake - 1 minute later, BAM! Our front left tire flew off of the car, leaving us driving down a highway with three wheels as it rolled, and rolled, and rolled off into the desert. We recover from shock, pull over, and breathe - and still the tire rolls. Luckily some very kind truck drivers pull over to help us put on the spare. Needless to say, our desert driving expedition was over. We were hoping for a pool day anyway.
The positive highlight of Atacama came that evening on an astronomy tour. Our hilarious and energetic guide, Alex, picked us up and took us about 30 minutes outside of town to a remote field (bare with me). As we approached the field, he turned off the lights to our car to allow our eyes to start adjusting, and as we stepped out of the car we were greeted by the most vivid and stunning view of the Milky Way. We spent the next few hours exploring different stars and galaxies while enjoying some home cooked food. Alex’s dad won 3 telescopes as part of a contest to provide indigenous people with educational opportunities. Alex took this opportunity to learn everything he could about astronomy and started hosting these tours. His lovely parents were there with us serving tea and empanadas until 1am.
And then the big one - the reason for our entire South American adventure - a 7-day trek through Patagonia. We joined 10 others on a 60+ mile hike through boulders, streams, rain, and wind to complete the W Trek and the base of Torres del Paine. The majority of the trek was based out of Eco Camp Patagonia, a geo dome lodge located inside the park. But before we could enjoy our lush accommodations, we had to tough it out a couple nights at Refugios (camp sites). When I said we hiked through wind, I was not lying. While we slept in our tents, the wind sounded like a massive tidal wave about to crash down on us at any moment. No one slept a wink, a less than ideal situation to prepare for a 13 mile hike the next day.
The craziest day was Day 4, our rest day. We took off from the Refugio and headed 7 miles towards Grey Glacier. We stopped at a viewpoint, with wind so strong it blew a woman over, before continuing our hike to the dock where a boat would take us back down Grey Lake and to the Eco Camp. As we went to board the boat, we found out it’s been cancelled due to wind, and our only option is to turn around and re-trek the entire 7 miles/4 hours back to our starting point. Everyone was silent, but everyone pushed on until God arrived in the form of a slice of pizza and a hot shower.
The final day of the trek was the most breathtaking. We did an 8-mile uphill hike to the base of the Towers, the most famous hike in the park. I don’t know if any of us were really expecting what was the end - no spoilers.
The trek was without a doubt a physical and mental challenge, but the people we met along the way were truly amazing. From the talented to the funny to the accomplished and kind, everyone was fun, interesting, and a true highlight of our entire year of traveling.