Torres del Paine, Chile

It’s Valentine’s Day and not a card in sight, I do however wake to glorious sunshine, the promise of 20degree heat and more epic views. The accommodation wasn’t so bad, will help if it is cheaper as I seem to be consistently over my daily budget… We scooted around to our nice hotel with the promise of a free breakfast, big buffet style feast to line our stomachs. Today we headed to the north east of the park, hadn’t quite realised how big the park is as we endured 2hrs of bumpy roads to the start point. The scenery is amazing though, with aqua blue lakes reflecting the main central massif in all its glory. The layers of rock are fascinating, and we spotted first one then herds of guanacos (type of llama) dancing around. As we hit the west side we had fabulous views of the famous Towers of Paine, three sheer vertical granite tombstone panels that seem huge. We checked into the rangers station and then started the 6hour hike by skirting round Laguna Azul through forest until we reached Lagos Cebolla before coming back. I loved this walk, with my hired poles I seemed to fly back which was awesome considering how hot it was getting. We bumped our way back with fingers crossed for our night’s accommodation, needn’t have worried as we got our room upgrade, free drink, free chocolates, then free dinner….oh, and no charge for last nights accommodation! Result! This is still the most expensive place we will stay, but as I sank into some nice sheets after a days hike, I didn’t begrudge a penny.