Costs pp: bus to Puerto Natales 5,000p, room at Hospedaje Knudsen (not recommended) 10,000 for 2 ppl double bed, tv, breakfast and one very slow internet connection.
Return bus fare to Torres del Paine 15,000p or 8,000p one way, entry to the park 15,000p, shuttle to the beginning of the trails,hosteria and camping etc 5,000p, to stay at the refugios 19,000, to camp 4,000. A day tour of the park is 20,000p plus entry.
We spent the morning in Punta Arenas with Daniel at his cafe and invited the other 'couch' in the town, Cecilia, to coffee with us. We had only an hour for a chat before we had to race out to catch our 2pm bus to Puerto Natales. On arrival there we were greeted by touts and went with a forthright young Danish girl to her family's home. She was full of information and interesting to talk to but when we got to the home the father was not as great.
We had a nice room there however and after sorting with Mr 'I've been in the business 40 years and know everything there is to know' Knudsen to go on a tour of the Torres del Paine instead of going to camp there (it is very expensive and we can't afford it) we bought tickets for the next day.
The next day was very bad weather, so much for Mr Know-it-all, maybe he just wanted the $$ whether or not we got a good tour. The annoying thing is that we could easily have rested a day and gone the next day which was a perfect day. Also we discovered that the 'high season' began on Oct 1st and here we are on Oct 1st, darn! All the prices go up on that date, entry from 5,000p to 15,000 etc etc etc.
So out we went on the day tour, driving through rain, then sleet, then finally snow. We had a couple of fine periods which came at the right times, when we stopped for lunch and when we took a walk to the Grey Lake which has a glacier (which we couldn't see) at the head. At that lake we got to see huge icebergs floating close to the shore which was amazing.
Other than that scenic treat we really saw nothing but mist and snow. The countryside is pretty covered in snow but not when you are paying dearly for the experience. However it was very clear that we could not have camped there. There are free camping areas but they are all the furtherest distance and high up so would be in the snow now. So if you want to see the Torres del Paine (Towers of blue), which we understand are quite amazing, you will have to google it and look at the pics like we did...
Next stop back into Argentina, this is getting muddling jumping to and fro between the countries!
