Splitting up the last portion of our trip into several days of posts as there’s too much to write about and it would be a lot to read in one sitting (if any of you are actually reading all the way through…).

The weekend starting out our Torres del Paine leg of the trip had us bussing from El Calafate and crossing the border into Chile to head to Puerto Natales. The border crossing was quite the process as we all had to get off the bus and head to the building to get that passport stamp. They had pulled the luggage out from the bottom of the bus and had a dog sniffing around for particular items. They had a sign inside talking about what agricultural items you can and cannot bring into the country. As many of the guests were backpackers, many bags were pulled in to be scanned and searched. We witnessed some get their food items back while others (especially if they were in plastic baggies) have them taken away. Thankfully we had waited to buy food for the trip while in Puerto Natales so our backpacks stayed under the bus. Once everyone was loaded back up, we headed in to the city. We did have a “What would you do moment”, as the couple in front of us had not returned to the bus after customs and weren’t sure if we needed to inform the driver. We later saw them on the trail so somehow they made it to the park. Our theory is that they had just coordinated a more direct shuttle from the border as the bus to Puerto Natales is a bit out of the way of the park, though is the main jumping off grounds.

After arriving in Puerto Natales, we tried checking into our Airbnb which turned out to be a frustrating process as we had arrived there an hour before our 3pm check in. Based on the instructions Grant was given from the host, we tried getting our keys from the workers in the ice cream shop that was connected, but they acted like they had no clue what we were asking for. Turns out if we had walked around the corner, there was a window we could have went to in order to check in. But in the end it all worked out (as Grant always tries to remind me). Some silver lining on the frustrating checkin was that we walked into an unassuming restaurant-bar to get some food while we waited. It had two employees, a waitress who also played hostess and bartender, and a cook. The menu was 4 items that the cook decided were on the menu for the day, so we chose the chicken – it ended up being one of the best marinated grilled chicken either of us had in a long time. We hadn’t had time to go to an ATM to get money yet, so Grant went on a scavenger hunt for money to pay for the meal with while I watched the stuff inside the restaurant. He found a bank that required a fingerprint scan to open the door to get to an ATM.

After the meal and finally getting checked in, we walked around the city and down to the water. We found a Venice Beach inspired skate park to sit for a few minutes and watched some tricks on skateboards and bikes. It was cool to see the skateboard culture complete with Vans shirts / skate shoes, and a guy filming for a hype video on his phone, had made its way so far from home. Then it was off to complete our “chore list” before prepping our bags for the backpacking trip. As it was a Sunday afternoon, a lot of stores were closed and we were limited to few options in order to get some food and supplies for the trip. The grocery store was pretty picked over so we ended up with some plums, oranges, crackers, bread loaf, sour candy, Pringles, and Oreos. Such healthy options….We had paid to have breakfast and dinner at our refugios so we knew we only needed snacks throughout the day during hiking. All of these grocery store items and two faux Nalgene bottles came in at only $15 USD! We grabbed dinner at Mesita Grande for pizza, which turned out to be a great suggestion by one of Grant’s coworker who had previously done the W circuit trek. We split two pizzas that were probably some of the best we’ve both ever had and I tried their Calafate Sour (which became my drink of choice the next few days).

Then it was time to pack our bags for the next four days. Thankfully Grant planned the trip well and booked the same Airbnb for our return stay in Puerto Natales so we could leave some luggage (and weight) behind. Needless to say, when you’re carrying your stuff with you over a course of a few days, you begin to realize what you should have left behind. But hindsight is always 20/20.

With bags prepped, we were ready for our next adventure backpacking the W Circuit!

Day 1 of our trek coming tomorrow!