Entries about bridges

It's a 14 hour flight from Santiago to Sydney. It sounds like it could be horrendous but I felt like the time flew by (pun only partially intended), partly due to flying with Quantas.

I'm not sure whether my visit to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights the previous day had affected me, but I watched an excellent but pretty serious collection of films - Suffragette, Straight Outta Compton and Pitch Perfect 2. Each to their own struggle for justice, equality, and opportunity.

The flight to Sydney arrived later than planned but eventually I got to my hostel in Kings Cross. I had booked my hostel rather last minute so many of the most popular hostels were full. Some people on the shuttle bus cringed when I said where I was staying as apparently the area has a reputation, not unlike the reputation of old of Kings Cross in London. However, this was a reasonably priced hostel, near a station, with plenty of backpackers around. I really felt safe there.

It's amazing how many people asked me where I had stopped from Santiago to Sydney. I referred them all to google maps. If you just looked it up, you'll see that there isn't a whole lot between the two cities, and ocean doesn't often make a good stop off point.

Anyway, I made friends with some girls at breakfast and we ended up spending the next few days together. Two Canadians, an American and a fellow Brit just hanging around Sydney. We started with the free walking tour which is always a good way to get acquainted with a city. This was my first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

That afternoon, despite the fairly intense heat, I decided to wander through the Royal Botanic Gardens and back to the hostel. As I was in Sydney, being all shiny and modern and the most London like city I'd been in in 6 months, so it was an enjoyable refuge from the towering CBD.

The next day we visited Manly Beach, heading over on the ferry to a beautiful beach. Now I'm not normally one to ogle, but I must say Manly Beach contained the highest concentration of highly attractive human beings I have ever seen. Maybe it's because everyone was simply having a great day, happiness and beauty are fairly closely related I reckon.

That afternoon I tried to meet up with Sean and Lizzie from my Peru tour. I did not have an Australian SIM card at this point, which meant our meeting was not as smooth as it could've been. What do I mean by this? I mean I ended up sitting in McDonalds, buying a Coke I didn't want as I felt like I ought to get something in exchange for using their free wifi. Maybe the only free working wifi in Sydney.

I did eventually find them, although it looked unlikely, after a public Facebook plea for help! And it was lovely! Meeting people is one of the great things about travelling and it's a rare treat to be able to reconnect with those people, on the other side of the world, so soon after you've met them.

The next day, the girls from the hostel and I went to the famous Bondi beach. I was expecting a bigger beach...we didn't go on the nicest day, so it was pretty empty, but imagine it's beaut on s good day. We were going to do the Bondi to Coogee walk, but got distracted by some pretty badass waves and a rock pool. For some reason I wasn't up for getting right up amongst the waves, so I shivered from the side, but very much enjoyed the looks of surprise, horror, then joy on everyone's faces every single time a wave broke.

The next day, we bid adieu to our Canadian friends and so the three of us spent a delightful morning and afternoon wandering around Sydney markets, eating good food and listening to live music. Instead of doing the Climb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is extortionate, we went up one of the towers, and had amazing views from there.

On Sunday's, all travel maxes out at $2.50, including the train to the blue mountains. So two of us made our way, and purchased the hop on hop off bus ticket for the key sights.

I'd say Sydney grew on me as I got used to being in Australia. Travelling here is different, I met more Brits on my first day in Sydney than I had in 4 months in South America, that was a bit of a shock to the system! People were living in the hostel. As in they'd been there a month already. Now I know it's cheaper than a flat, which can also be tricky when you don't have job security, but really I do wish the hostel had separated those living there more long term from the short stayers. People had there stuff spread so widely I had to move their 'wardrobe' to access a locker. One lad was a little upset by this, you know as I was invading his space...in a public hostel.

Anyway, I met fun people, I liked the city, and I felt ready to move on to the next stop on my Aussie adventure in the Red Centre, which was absolutely nothing like Sydney.

I didn't sleep all that well the night before; I spent a bit of time wondering if this was such a good idea after all but I got up ready to get on with it. I got down to breakfast and met Diego sitting there; he was also leaving that morning to hike the W, also in 4 days.

Hurrah! A friend! Someone to walk with, at least on the first day, I'd thought. As it turned out, we walked together every day, even when we didn't stay in the same campsites.

First stop is Administración, where you register and pay to enter the park. You also get briefing of the rules: leave NO litter anywhere, stick to the trails... You also have another opportunity to reserve a free spot at the free campsites. Unfortunately, I was still unable to book my spaces, which is apparently quite rare. If you are planning on going, it's worth being a bit planned and booked them in advance if you can.

I then got back on the bus so that I could catch the catamaran across the lake to start the hike at Paine Grande. At this point it started raining and I did start to wonder again, if this was the best idea ever but then I got the first glimpse of the outstanding scenery we were about to spend the next few days surrounded by and I perked up!

Since we were doing the trek in 4 days, we set up shop at the Paine Grande campsite, before heading up the first branch of the W to Mirador Grey. If I'm completely honest, I'm pretty glad I didn't have to carry my bag up there and could get used to hiking up with just me myself and I (and Diego) before the really hard work began! It gave me a chance to get accustomed to the walking poles, and really enjoy the first day of the hike.

The official map weirdly gives you time estimations rather than distances, so I was ready for a 3.5 hour hike but it actually only took 2 to Mirador Grey where you get a spectacular view of the Glaciar ahead. There we were exposed the well known Patagonian winds, strong enough that I didn't stand too near any edges!

Since Diego wanted to walk further up before returning to camp, I returned to camp by myself - my first real solo hike. I didn't really know how I would feel about hiking alone, but I really enjoyed that walk back. There I was in still unspoiled nature, that is both visually beautiful and a joy to listen to.

I have heard several comments about how quiet, silent even, it would be to hike alone. On that walk back I discovered that those nature relaxation albums you can pick up at supermarket check outs aren't as bullshitty as I had previous thought.

We rarely hear it but nature has it's own orchestra. There's the chorus of the wind whistling through grass and trees and the valley, rivers running large and small, quickly and slowly, perhaps some ice cracking or crashing down from a glacier. There might be insects, birds and animals. Rocks falling. The sound of me walking along the trails.

So you see the walk back wasn't silent at all. It was peaceful, calm, and fairly unbelievable. I have had plenty of opportunities on my trip to reflect on how privileged I am, but realising those nature albums weren't made up and acknowledging that some people will never hear earth's own music, struck a chord (if you'll excuse the pun). I am one lucky lady.

The next day, I realised that a morning routine that requires camp stove cooking, queuing to wash it all up, packing up my tent and organising my backpack was a far longer process than I had imagined. I'm fairly slow in the mornings anyway, and that's when I don't need to pack my 'house' away every morning, so add the extras and it was a slow process. Eventually though we set off from Paine Grande campsite to Italiano.

This trail took us about 3 hours with the path along the lake bank, with a view of snow peaked mountains surrounding us. It was the first real distance I had gone with my bag on my back, so whilst it wasn't the most difficult section, it was the first real challenge for me. We took regular breaks at river banks and waterfalls and made it in about the average time (according to the map).

I hadn't got a spot at Italiano campsite so I went straight on the additional half an hour to Francés. That stretch was full of black and yellow butterflies that flew with me part of the way one at a time, making me feel like they were keeping me company on my journey.

After setting up camp, I went back to Italiano to meet Diego to make the trip up to Mirador Francés. This part of the trek is through woodland areas, and you can hear the rivers from afar, even when it's hidden from view. We saw some people bravely bathing in a river (I say bravely because the river is fed by the glacier, so it's fairly chilly water).

You can also hear the sound of the glacier cracking and the crash as the ice falls. We were lucky enough to see this in action from the mirador, which was quite something to witness!

Back at camp, it was possible to cook in cooking cubes near the tents, or there was a bench with shelter, unfortunately near the toilets. I chose the latter for my cooking as it was less crowded and I was far less likely to cause a fire (which apart from the danger of a forest fire, could have resulted in a Large fine and/ or imprisonment!). By the time dinner was ready, I had made friends with a group of Chilean girls my age, a group of veterinary students who were trekking in their summer break. It was a fun way to pass the evening, comparing life notes and getting a be deeper than my planned travel route.

On day 3, I met Diego at 7.30am, knowing we had a long day ahead. As the previous morning had taken me so long, I got up super early to ensure I wouldn't be late. We set off in good time, and I was surprised that we were amongst the only people starting early, as at least some others were doing the same section as us.

As expected, this was our hardest day. We did more uphill climbing than the previous day and we found ourselves stopping every half an hour or so to rest our tired shoulders. The walk was still beautiful, breathtaking not only from physical exertion, but also from the turquoise lakes on one side, mountains on the other and the crystal clear rivers we crossed.

That is apart from one river. We came to this wide, fast flowing river having followed some trekkers up ahead. When we came to it, Diego bounded across, jumping slightly from rock to rock to reach the other side. I however, hesitated. At 5 ft tall, I am considerably shorter than Diego, who had needed to jump across. I was scared to jump, miss and land up on my back being dragged down the river. After much hesitation, Diego came back across to take my bag to make it easier, and I still struggled. I landed up both feet firmly in the river, being the only way to make it across with my little legs!

When we eventually got across, we needed to climb up a fair way, me with soaking wet feet, and damp legs up to nearly my knees. At this point we realised the bridge way way above us was clearly the path, and would in fact have been the better (and probably quicker) option. You live and you learn!

We still had a considerable way to walk through the Patagonian mountains, and after some lunch (and shoe drying time) we kept going on our epic adventure. We eventually moved away from the lakes, and climbed a fair way, making us exposed to the strong Patagonian winds. I was thankful for the walking polls here!

By the time I reached the Chileno camp, I was exhausted and happy to set up camp. I waved Diego off who still had another hour or so to go to the Torres base camp (where I had really wanted a spot!) and said I would probably see him at the Torres in the morning for sunrise.

Over dinner I spoke to a few people to determine that others were planning the two hour walk to see the sunrise at the Torres del Paine themselves and I resolved to do it too. So I hurried off to bed and set my alarm for 2.15am.

It took me all of about two minutes to be good to go in the morning, but being alone, I decided to wait in my tent until others walked past for the trek. It wouldn't have been at all clever to attempt the walk alone in the pitch black. Eventually at 2.30am some people headed towards my tent and I jumped up to join their group.

It took us about two hours to reach the top, which included getting lost on the way and having to retrace our steps. We reached the top as the light was starting, but way before the sun was visibly rising. Once we stopped walking, it was freezing up there, so I found a spot with other people for warmth, ate some breakfast and waited for the sun.

It was the most amazing sunrise I have witnessed; even my photos look edited (I promise they aren't!). To one side I saw the sky painted in inky blues, reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, with clouds for extra dramatic effects, all of which you see reflected in the lake beneath the mountains. To the other, I saw the Torres del Paine illuminate into view reflecting the colours of the sunrise opposite.

It was a hard trek in the dark, but honestly one of the best things I have experienced on my trip. As tired as I was after the whole trek, and particularly the early start, I am proud of myself for having done the trek and if I may say so myself, smashing it!