We arrived to Chile by bus from El Calafate in Argentina.

Day 1: Rest day in Chile

They are pretty strict at the border with importing any fruits, vegetables, or meat products so we had to eat everything we had in our snack bag and I remembered that we had half of an onion in our cooking bag so it had to be thrown away. Otherwise, the border crossing was very smooth and we were in Puerto Natales in 5 hours. We walked to our hostel and didn’t know that we had to let them know when we were coming because they are usually not there, but we got lucky and the guy working there showed up after like 20 minutes of us waiting.

The rest of the day was pretty chilled. We had a nap, watched something, talked to a couple from London that just came back from the W trek that we shared a room with, went to buy groceries, and made a big dinner with minced meat and sausage.

Day 2: Getting ready for the trek

We had two nights in Puerto Natales to rest and get ready for the 3 nights/4 days W trek in Torres del Paine. We had the whole day to get ready so we took it easy and had coffee, did some research, booked accommodation in Punta Arenas, and bought tickets to the park in the morning. Around 11 am we went out to first see the town of Puerto Natales and then to see another big supermarket in the town to buy more supplies. We also stopped to rent a -10° sleeping bag (got half price at Yagan Hous, $4/day) as an addition to ours and bought a ticket for a bust to Punta Arenas for when we get back. I have to mention that the Yagan Hous had a random selection of sleeping bags and coincidentally we picked the one from Hannah, a Czech company based in Plzeň, where I’m from.

Because it was around noon, some shops were closed so we planned for later to come back and buy gas and exchange some cash. When we got back, we had fried eggs with bread and a small cake we bought in the store. Then we laid out all our food and made notes on what we would eat each day and what else we needed to buy. We packed our rucksacks and filled our day backpacks with the stuff we weren’t taking with us (the hostel let us store it).

Around 4 pm, we went out to do the last of our shopping (gas, exchange money (910 pesos for 1 USD), groceries) and when we got back we made another big dinner. We went to sleep early since we had an alarm set for 5 am but some people came late (probably from the trek) and shared our room so we got woken up. Later, the fella was snoring a lot which made it hard to sleep for Clare but she had a local cat called Tomato in her bed the whole night to keep her company and help her to sleep.

Day 3: Torres del Paine and how the time works in Chile

We woke up 10 minutes before our alarm, tried to be quiet and quick moving our stuff downstairs, made coffee and breakfast, and were on time walking to the bus terminal. We arrived at the bus terminal at around 6:30 am and our bus ticket indicated 6:45 am for the departure (we even double-checked yesterday that the time was correct). When we went to ask about the bus since the bus wasn’t there yet, we were told that the bus already left. This made us really confused since there were still more than 10 minutes left until the departure time. That’s when we were explained that the time in Chile is 6:35 am (for example, in Santiago) but during the winter (since April 6) the time in this part of Chile is an hour ahead so it was actually 7:35 am and all the morning buses already left. We didn’t have any other option than to pay for a new ticket and wait until noon for the next bus.

We planned on doing what we had planned and just stretch the day until the late evening but when we arrived at our stop Pudeto at 3 pm we found out that the catamaran won’t leave until 6 pm. The only option then was to go for about an hour-long walk with our rucksacks to see the mountains from the distance and get a panoramic view. Since all that happened, we also thought it was appropriate to open the 2l box of red wine we were carrying and cheer that we at least made it here.

At 18 o’clock, we got on the catamaran (30 USD each cash only) and in 30 minutes landed at Camp Paine Grande. We checked in, pitched the tent, made dinner, and were in bed by 10 pm. We heard stories about mice in the campgrounds so we stored all our food in a locker inside the building (it’s not for free but the lady at the reception was nice and didn’t charge us). However, that didn’t stop one of the mice from coming and trying to chew through my backpack. We ended up sleeping with the backpacks inside the tent every night.

Day 4: Catching up

We missed the Grey Glacier yesterday because of the hassle with the bus, so we decided to get up at 5:30 am and hike to the glacier viewpoint when it was pitch black. It was an easy 6 km and we stopped midway through to take some star photos. We arrived just in time for sunrise and had a coffee at the viewpoint. We couldn’t stay long because we had to get back, pack the tent, make breakfast, and continue to make it to the next campground.

We left the Paine Grande camp around 11 am and first, we had to carry our rucksacks for about 7.5 km to Camp Italiana. We had the best weather we could ask for, so we had to stop twice to take different layers off. When we reached Camp Italiana (closed campground, government-run), it was 2 hours later and we had a small snack, left our rucksacks at the camp, and just with hiking poles and a plastic bottle of water headed up the Valley Frances. This was “only” a 5.5 km hike but it was steep and through forest and rocks so it took us there and back slightly over 4 hours. On the way we got a better view of the Frances glacier which was just stunning and we were able to witness some amazing ice falls. The hike finishes at the Mirador Británico where you have 360 view of the valley.

When we got back, the last part of the day’s hike was to reach Camp Frances. It was about 2 km and 30 minutes walk from Italiano and situated in the middle of the forest so all tent sites were on platforms. We were pretty exhausted since we hiked 33 km in total, so it didn’t help that the toilets were half a kilometer away and all uphill on the way back. We cooked dinner, got a shower, and Clare was saying the whole day that we definitely deserve the wine at the end of the day but tiredness got the better of us and we had one small cup each and were in bed around 10 pm. No mice came this time. All our food was hanging on a tree above us since they didn’t have lockers. We liked this campsite the least in the park since the communal cooking space was tiny and the facilities were far and hard to access at night.

Day 5: Easy peasy to the Central

We had an easy morning since we didn’t have to wake up early (we wanted to for stargazing but it was too much hassle after the long day) and the day ahead of us consisted of a hike for 17 km to the next campground called Central. We set off around 10:30 and kept a good pace throughout the first part of the trek when it was up and down. When we reached the highest point of today’s trail (after about 6 km), we took a break and had some snacks. The last 10 km was flat or gradual descent to the east side of the park. We took one more small detour and had another break since we were making a good time and were in no hurry. We reached Camp Central before 5 pm, pitched the tent, and were sunbathing on the grass while finally finishing the red wine. When the sun set, we both got a shower and since we wanted to treat ourselves on the last night, we pre-booked dinner and breakfast in the camp and the dinner was served at 7 pm.

The eating experience in the park is something…well, I myself wouldn’t recommend it. I just think it was overpriced and we would be better off if we would just go for some food on our own or cooked again. The dinner was 40 USD and included a small bowl of soup, salmon with 5 small pieces of potatoes, a shared bowl of salad for 4 people, and a 3 spoon dessert. It was very average food for not an average price. This is just the style that they have in Torres del Paine – all the restaurants try to appear as 5-star places and there is no “camping” option. They do have small markets available but you won’t get any hot food there.

Day 6: Run, Torres, Run!

We had breakfast at the same place and we wanted to store all our things and leave right after it so we woke up early to pack all our stuff. Clare also had an idea to get up even slightly earlier and do some stargazing and try to take some photos.

We were packed and at the main Camp Central building before 7 am and got lucky that no one was there so we just left our camping stuff in the storage room (they told us to do that the day before in case they were not around) and expected to pay when we come pick it up.

We then went for breakfast which was in some sense even bigger disaster than dinner. For 30 USD each, you will get 1 scrambled egg, 1 slice of ham, and then shared butter, jam, and bread for the table. At least they had unlimited coffee and cereal with yogurt so I filled on that. We also weren’t in any rush so we sat around until everyone from our table left and ate their leftover ham (yeah, I know).

There was no rush that day because we booked a bus to go back to Puerto Natales at 20:15 and we were done with the breakfast slightly after 8 am. However, we like to keep a swift pace on the way up so we hiked up pretty quickly the big hill from Centro and descended to Camp Chilian. We got there just in over an hour and continued similarly towards the Torres Valley and up to the famous Torres towers and the lake. We surprised ourselves when we got all the way to the lake and our tracking app was showing a total of 2 hours and 32 minutes walking (not bad for 10 km and 700 m of elevation). That’s when we started thinking if maybe we could make the bus at 3 pm and rather have an easy evening in the town than wait here for the late bus.

We spent close to 30 minutes at the top taking photos and decided to try to get the early bus. We had to make a shuttle bus that was leaving at 2 pm. This gave us about 2 and a half hours to make it down but we wanted to be there faster so we could collect all our stuff and ask to change the tickets. We chose to run for it. Except for the first part which was icy and snowy, we ran the whole hill down. Then with some small breaks when we ran to Camp Chilian and hiked up above Camp Central. Then we ran the last hill down and ended up walking the last 2 flat kilometers to the camp because my knees couldn’t longer handle it. We thought we were so fast but in the end it still took 2 hours to get back.

Nevertheless, that gave us enough time to get our stuff (no one asked to pay) and get to the visitors center nearby for the shuttle. Clare went to change and I meanwhile tried to sort the tickets bus was told that it is no longer possible because it had to be done at least 2 hours before the departure. However, the lady told me that they had 24 free seats on the bus and to just go and talk to the driver. Before we got on the shuttle bus, I bought us two Chilean beers to celebrate. One last sad thing about Torres del Paine, even though you paid 50 USD each to get to the park you still have to pay for the shuttle bus another 6 USD each for 15 minutes journey. But we got to the entrance of the park and were a little bit nervous about getting on the next bus but all went well and the driver took us on board and we were back in Puerto Natales before 5 pm.

Our hostel didn’t have the best check-in process but we got lucky again and our beds were ready. Moreover, no one was sharing the room with us for the night. Since we were back early, I went straight to the supermarket and got us a six-pack of local beer and crisps. We both got a proper shower and chilled with the beers until about 7 pm when we headed for dinner at Restaurante La Picada De Carlitos. We got a Parrillada Grande (a mix BBQ platter), ceviche, and two beers.

Day 7: Punta Octagonas

We had a bus booked for 11 am to the town of Punta Arenas where the closest airport is located. We chose to stay here for 2 nights since the town was slightly cheaper and we wanted to rest after the trek. We packed our bags and headed to the bus terminal and this time everything was nice and smooth and we didn’t miss our bus.

It must have been the trek but we were both feeling super hungry so the first thing we did in Punta Arenas was to get chicken and a burger right next to the bus terminal. After, we walked 3 km to our accommodation through the center of the town and were welcomed in our hostel by lovely Fabian. He explained everything about the place and I must say we haven’t stayed in better accommodation. Yeah, the room was simple and we had a shared bathroom but it was the details. There was basically a whole breakfast available (oats, yogurt, milk, coffee) for free plus snacks in the form of fruit and chocolate bars.

This day was fully dedicated to the UFC 300, so after a short nap, we didn’t move from the screen. Except for the time when I went to a nearby supermarket and got us avocado and some minced meat for dinner. We saw Jiří Procházka win his fight so it was a great night.

Day 8: Amazing cake in the center of Punta Arenas

It was a resting day so an easy morning with coffee and breakfast was certain and we didn’t leave our room until about 11 am. We headed for a walk toward the center to explore. It was Sunday so most of the places were closed but we still enjoyed some viewpoints of the town, walked on the pier, and sat at the Magallanes monument. Just before that, we stopped at one of the open kiosks and got two empanadas and the most amazing cake. It was very simple but I loved it. I still don’t know what it was made from but I need to find out (it was some kind of bread pudding, we think).

We also wanted to use this day to get a tour to see penguins but unfortunately, it was too late in the year and they already left the nearby islands (their annual northern migration). Next time, I promise, Clare!

We made some eggs for dinner and arranged a taxi to the airport for our morning flight to Santiago.

Day 9: The way to Santiago

The taxi was there exactly at 7 am and the airport had a lounge with a fancy coffee machine. It also had a TV and they just advertised a Santiago Clasico football match that night between the teams Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile. After a few vanilla dolce de leche coffees, Clare had the tickets booked for tonight and we were on our flight.

We opted for the cheap option to get to our place so we first needed to get a BIP card for the Santiago public transport and then find the right bus. Getting the card was easy but finding the bus proved more difficult since we first went to the international terminal to try to get some more cash. Unfortunately, the exchange rate at the airport was terrible so we went back to get the bus but got lost. It took us almost 30 minutes to get back where we started and get the right bus. After that it was easy and after changing to another bus and taking a metro we arrived at our apartment. We were quite tired still but we needed food and Chilian pesos to pay for the apartment so we headed right away towards the center of the town to get it all done. Here we found a way better rate and got all that we needed. We had tortillas for dinner and even managed to do laundry before we were on our way to the football stadium.

Even though Colo-Colo lost 0:2, the atmosphere at the game was fantastic! Most likely better than at Huracan but it also felt more dangerous. The fellas around us looked like proper hooligans and the game had to be stopped for a few minutes because some people were scaling the fence. There were also 4 red cards during the game and a small fight.

This time we managed to catch the last metro and got back to our apartment before midnight.

Day 10: Santiago de Chile

Let’s go explore the town! The main city square, Plaza de Armas of Santiago de Chile, was nearby so we headed straight there. Next, we continued to the Patronato and Bellavista parts of the town.

We already had this feeling in some parts of Punta Arenas and read articles not to leave any valuables around in the Torres del Paine, but in Santiago, we were even approached by a local before we reached Patronato that I should put my camera away and not attract much attention. Even though people in Chile seemed to be generally more friendly than Argentinians it appears that Chile is actually not as safe as you would think.

Fortunately, nothing happened, we quickly walked through that part of the town, but we did stop to buy water in a small corner shop and the woman was selling everything in the middle of the day through a metal gate and didn’t let anyone inside the shop. That proved to us even more that we should avoid this part on the way back or at night.

We continued up the Cerro San Christóbal towards the statue of the Virgin Mary and a small chapel at the top. We got a nice view of the town and the mountains surrounding it and tried a local drink with barley and peach. We continued a wee bit further through the park and then went down using one of the bike trails on the east side of the hill. There we different trails, some of them really steep, but we eventually got down with some small difficulties. We headed back towards the town and stopped at a local dinner for completo (local hotdog) and salchipapa (chips topped with meat and egg). We finished our walk at the La Moneda Palace (presidential residence) and walked back to our place.

Clare stayed in the apartment and went to check out the pool (it was unfortunately closed) and I continued a wee bit further and went to visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights.

I got us some pastries on the way back and since we realised we needed more cash I went back towards the downtown to change more US dollars. We then went together to buy some meat to cook and had a nice dinner. After, we had to do some more research for Valparaiso and Atacama.

Day 11: Valparaiso and wine in Casablanca

Another early morning, this time to get on a bus to the airport to pick up a rental car for the day. We got a decent deal from United rent a car for $32 per day. Everything went smoothly in the morning and before 8 am we were on the way to the coastal city of Valparaiso.

When we arrived, we battled for a bit with street parking but finally understood that you pay after you return to your car. We wandered through the center of the town, stopped for coffee and pastries, and eventually found the small narrow streets with murals on one of the city cliffs. I have to be honest, I was a wee bit on edge the whole morning because during our research of the area, we found a lot of stories about people being robbed and threatened with knives in broad daylight and we were the only tourists there. Also, the narrow streets would be a perfect place if anything were supposed to happen.

We wanted to also see the local beaches, so we went back to our car and headed to the adjacent town called Viña del Mar. We first walked towards the edge of the town where the presidential palace is located but you can’t really see it. We could at least see a little bit more of the town from the top of the cliff. When we later walked along the water, we saw pelicans sitting on the rocks. We continued along the beach and stopped at McDonald’s because we needed to get on WiFi, but more importantly to get ice cream. We walked a wee bit further along the beach and eventually turned back and stopped to buy some food for lunch (chicken and chips) and dinner. When we arrived, we parked at a dusty parking lot in the dried-up riverbed and expected to pay when we came back like last time. But when we arrived, there was no sticker behind our window so we just quickly got out of there and headed to the town of Casablanca, one of the main winery regions in Chile.

We chose to stop at a winery called Casa Valle Viñamar and go for a tasting tour. But we found out that the cheapest tasting is of 3 wines for almost $25 per person. That seemed a lot to us so we ended up just having a glass of wine each in the winery bar where the waiter was kind to tell us a wee bit about the wines we ordered and the region. We paid about $10 for 2 glasses + tip.

Since we rented the car and had an early morning flight the next day, we didn’t get any accommodation and instead did some research about places where we could stay overnight. We first planned to pitch a tent but after reading several posts we ended up staying in the car because it seemed safer. We found a rest area just a few kilometers from the winery with toilets open 24/7 and picnic tables. Public toilets at a highway rest stop don’t sound the best but I don’t think I’ve seen a nicer public toilet in the whole of Chile – free, toilet paper, paper towels, soap…just everything.

Day 12: Welcome to Atacama

The night in the car was fine and no one came knocking on our window. We were up at 4 am and just got quickly washed and were on our way to the airport. We were a wee bit afraid that there wouldn’t be an open gas station to refill the tank before returning the car but all went well and the car was returned and we were at the terminal just before 6 am. We knew that there was a lounge but we weren’t sure if it was open yet since it said 7 am online and on our way there Clare spotted our favorite Cinnabon so we had to get one. We ended up getting into the lounge as well (it was open early) and had a nice breakfast.

When we landed in Calama, the closest airport to the Atacama desert, we just needed to wait a wee bit for our rented car. First, we needed to sort some stuff out – we stopped to buy our bus tickets to Arica at the border with Peru and at the shop to get supplies for the next 3 days since we wanted to cook our food since we rented a car. On the way out of the store, a nice security lady was waiting by our car and warned us that in Calama it’s not safe to leave anything in the car and they recommend that one person should stay with the car all the time – an another “Chile is maybe not that safe” moment.

We drove from Calama southwest, but before we reached the entrance to the Atacama desert, the town of San Pedro de Atacama, we took a small detour to see Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs. It is an area of two rock formations that are covered in paintings of animals carved into the stone that were done about 10,000 years ago (or by some kids a few years ago…). Already there we could feel the change in altitude because until now, even during hiking, we were pretty close to the sea level, but the Petroglyphs were over 3,000 meters above the sea level. We then continued on a dirty path and through a river to the Valle del Arcoiris (Rainbow Valley). We were there close to the sunset and the colors of the rocks were beautiful. There isn’t much to walk to but the rock shapes are so much different compared to what we have seen so far.

Every sight in Atacama is paid and often it’s not pennies. We paid $10 for the Petroglyphs and the same amount for the valley. I must mention, that every sight, no matter how far from the main road or town, has toilets.

When the sunset was getting close, we drove back to Road 23 and to San Pedro de Atacama. We stopped to refill diesel and headed north towards the town of Guatin.

At this point it was dark but the road wasn’t half bad. After we passed Guatin, Clare found coordinates for a camping spot on iOverlander and we parked there. We pitched the tent and made food in the back of the pickup truck that we rented. We were a wee bit skeptical if it was allowed to camp there and even saw a car with a spotlight driving by and checking the side of the road but maybe those were just other travelers looking for a place to camp.

Day 13: Fuming Geysers but no volcano hike

It was a very windy night but we slept well. No one came to wake us up. We set off around 7 am further north towards the Geysers El Tatio. The middle part of the road was rough but doable and the end was surprisingly nice. We saw several volcanos on our way and when we arrived at our location we were at 4,200 meters above sea level. The entrance fee was 30,000 Chilian pesos for 2 adults (it was possible to pay by card here).

The geysers themselves were amazing. They are all located close to each other and some of them were fuming up to 10 meters high. The El Tatio Geysers are the 3rd largest geyser field in the world. We walked around all of them and felt the altitude even on a flat field. Since the majority of the tours come for sunrise, we were there basically alone after like a half an hour.

When we were finished, we drove to a nearby hill overlooking the geyser field, made coffee, and had breakfast. We then continued back and stopped at a village called Machuca, where we visited a local chapel and bought meat (no idea what meat) skewers and tea (all for 6,000 pesos). We had a few stops along the way to take photos of lamas feeding in the shallow water. We also stopped at the Cactus Canyon but only took some photos and didn’t hike down.

Our next stop was an archaeological site called Pukará de Quitor. It is a ruin of an old settlement of one of the Inka tribes from the pre-Columbian period. You can walk around the old buildings but can’t really go near them and there is a small museum but without too much information. We hiked further up along the ruins and followed the path to the end where there stands a cross overlooking the town of San Pedro.

We wanted to sleep near volcano Lascar, south of the town of San Pedro. On our way there, we stopped at a wee town Tocoano which has an oasis in the Valle de Jere. The entrance is only 2,000 pesos per person but there isn’t much to see, except the oasis suddenly appearing in the middle of the desert.

We continued towards the volcano but unfortunately ran into a road closure. After talking to a woman near the gate, we found out that the road was closed due to bad conditions and snow on the road. This ruined our plans for hiking up the volcano but since even the road was closed we probably had no chance of making it anywhere near the top.

We had to turn around and ended up taking one of the dirty side roads connecting Route 23 to the salt plains and after like 1 km on it just parked on the side. We had guacamole with crisps and cooked leftover sausages with eggs. Since we were all the way down in the desert and it wasn’t windy, we decided to sleep in the bed of the pickup truck under the stars.

We woke up during the night to go do our business and I noticed that one of my shoes that I left outside the car to air out was missing. I tried to look around for it but there was no point during the night.

Day 14: No swimming but a lot of lagoons

I didn’t sleep well because I got a chill during the night and couldn’t get myself warm again. I ended up walking up early and looking for my missing shoe. After about 30 minutes of walking around in all directions, I finally found my shoe about 100-150 meters away from the car. It was slightly mangled and the laces were torn into pieces. Based on the bites and the tracks around, it looked like it was done by a fox. I was able to tighten the laces back together but they definitely need to be replaced. But I was very happy to find the shoe because that would be a big issue and who knows how easy is to find size 15 in Chile or Peru.

No one even drove past us during the night and the location was far enough from the main road that Clare decided to walk around naked the whole morning (sorry, not entirely naked…with a winter hat).

Our first destination after coffee and breakfast was Laguna (Lagoon) Chaxa. This laguna is in the middle of the Atacama salt plains and it’s famous for observing flamingos. We were lucky to see some pretty close and even one flying right past us. The entrance fee was 8,000 pesos but for the first time we tried our luck and asked for “estudiante” (student discount) and it worked! The main building also had free WiFi so we were able to message home after a long time and I found out that Viktoria Plzeň got beaten in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Conference League.

Next, we wanted to go swimming and finally get a shower at the Lagoon Cejas but unfortunately, when we got there we found out that the site was closed after noon and only available for tours. Since we were already there, we headed south to the Laguna Tebenquiche and walked around. Again, we got in with a student discount.

We had a small break in one of the shelters at the laguna and then drove to explore the town of San Pedro de Atacama itself. We walked through the markets, bought a bar of homemade chocolate, and stopped for a beer. In Chile, it’s not allowed to just come for a drink to a restaurant so they brought us salsa and bread to pretend that we also ordered a meal.

The only remaining thing on our list was to visit the Lunar Valley (Valle de Luna). We read that it’s the best for sunset and it was only 3:30 pm but we headed there anyway. And that was the right thing to do because the last admission to the site was at 4 pm and we just made it (and yes, again with a student discount). We explored the valley but it was actually bigger than we thought and we didn’t even have time for one of the two main walking trails. We were also told that now we have a ticket to the sunset lookout point for 17:45 but on the way out of the valley, we got stuck behind some slow drivers and actually just missed the sunset. On the bright side, the lookout point was on the way where we wanted to camp the last night so we at least didn’t go out of our way.

Finding our last camping spot proved harder than we thought but eventually we got lucky and we parked about 10 meters off a not-that-busy road halfway to Calama. We made and ate food in the bed of the truck and pitched the tent.

Day 15: A long long day in Calama

In the morning, we had to pack everything back into our bags and clean the car. We had enough time so we enjoyed breakfast at our camping spot and also made lunch for later.

It took us about an hour to get back to Calama and we stopped to refill diesel and tried to locate the bus terminal. However, there was a market going on that blocked the whole street and we ended up refilling a few more litres of diesel before we headed for the airport.

We returned the car at 11 am and that’s when our long waiting started. We had a bus scheduled for 10:30 pm and since Calama looked very dodgy we decided to stay away from the town and spent most of the time at the airport. It at least gave us a chance to do more research on how to cross to Peru and book a place in Arequipa.

We ended up staying at the airport until around 17 o’clock and then got an Uber to the bus terminal. From the reviews, we knew that Calama bus terminal is not the safest place to be so we double-checked that this was the correct terminal and went straight across the street to a Chinese restaurant. We got a big meal and since it was our last night in Chile we celebrated a successful visit by getting beer and a bottle of wine.

We left just before 9 pm and quickly went to a local store to buy water and snacks for the bus and then waited at the terminal, keeping a close eye on our stuff.

The bus arrived early and even the bus driver took me aside and used his phone translator to tell me to keep my backpack under my feet during the bus ride to be safe.

After our visit of Chile, we headed north to Arica to cross to Peru.