Today I went for a day trip at Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. The weather wasn't the best yesterday but today it was sunny and gorgeous, though I left Casa Lili in a very sombre mood. As I walked along the gorgeous Puerto Natales waterfront, I noticed a hitchhiker getting into a car, and I ran up and asked the two French girls if I could join them on their way to Torres del Paine.
My dream is to walk the "W" but with what I'm going through, I instead opted for a day trip. Even from far away, the towers of Torres del Paine are gorgeous and majestic.
Being my stubborn and resilient self, I had to get up close and personal even if it took several hours of trekking with severe depression. Incredibly, as well as fortunately, I wasn't charged the park entry fee (about US$32). With more than $9K of credit card debt, I'm counting every cent at the moment. From the park entrance I walked part away before I hitched to the start of the track. The majestic towers in the distance, I walked relentlessly in the face of adversity. Part of the way I caught up with a lovely Canadian girl doing a guided walk of the W. She took my photo amidst the serenity, letting me use her trekking pole to make it look a bit better.
Since I need a trekking pole as a tent support, I've sort of been hoping to find a lost trekking pole somewhere. It seemed I just continued to walk for hours, and the final 20 minutes or so where the most difficult as I had to scramble up rocks. The end result: a full frontal view of Torres del Paine.
It drizzled a little but the wind was powerful as I held onto my camera tight, snapped dozens of photos, and signed off on a geocache. In awe I was at another world highlight.
It's been very hard to smile these past few days. The weather held up throughout the day, and at a small shop I got a celebratory Red Bull at nearly twice the cost it would have been at the visitor centre. If only I waited 10 more minutes...
Yesterday as the weather was really foul, and I did a full day of rest because of how bad I've been feeling mentally. It's a bit more difficult than usual because there are few people I can speak to due to the language barrier. Lorena is a lovely, dark-haired lady who would talk to me tonight. She had a bit of an understanding when I explained what I'm going through and gave me a nice hug at the end of a nice chat.
Tomorrow, the long journey north continues as I'm bound for El Calafate. How the hell am I managing to travel, going through what I'm going through? One of these days I'll have to return when I'm in a better state and walk the "W."
