19.02.23

The sun is already shining strongly in my face at 8 o'clock and wakes me up. The morning starts as so often with porridge and leftover Pancitos from yesterday. Then I pack up plenty of food and hike the 6.5 km up to Refugio Alerces. There I cook ratatouille for lunch for Lars, Jan, Pati, and me. After a long chat with the guests on the bathing platform in front of the Refugio and hundreds of travel tips, that I can hardly remember all, I narrowly escape a sunburn. In the afternoon, Pati and I go up to the highest situated Refugio Quetrus. There, the chicken wire is missing on the bridge, which we install with metal blocks instead of hammers and rusty nails. Improvisation as usual. Afterwards, we "harvest" dead bamboo as kindling. After a photo tour in the picturesque evening light that illuminates the mountain peaks, I shower with a pot and warm water from the wood stove. For dinner, we have various canned legumes with mashed potatoes. Not a culinary delight, but it fills you up. Sitting by the stove, Pati tells me about the Chilean dictatorship and the communists.