08.03.23

At just before six o'clock, the alarm clock rings and once again I accidentally trigger the alarm system because I pull on the seatbelt in the connected car (super secure, the Toyota). It's raining again and the windows are difficult to dry. In the darkness, I drive over bridges and potholes to the starting point for the hike to the landmark of the park, the Torres del Paine. There aren't many people on the hiking trail yet, the German virtue of getting up early has paid off. The rain persists until shortly before reaching the summits. Upon arrival below the summits, there are brief clearings for 5 minutes and I catch a glimpse of the Torres del Paine. During the remaining 90 minutes that I spend bundled up with a tripod set up at the summit lake, there are only three snow showers but no letup. By now, about a hundred tourists have gathered at the lakeshore and there is traffic jam on the first kilometers over the inaccessible scree field during the descent.

On the way out of the national park, I come across some guanacos. Like most animals here, they are not particularly shy and come close to the car. I stop at Salto Paine and enjoy the view of the now clearly visible Torres del Paine from a distance.

A little outside the park boundaries, I fry some onions and tuna (of course with couscous), this time with the trunk open. The sun disappears behind the mountain range around the Torres.

Arriving at the hostel in Puerto Natales, I share a room with Masatoshi from Japan. He is an avid Bayern Munich fan and is using his two-month break because of a job change to travel more extensively than is normally possible for the Japanese.