Day 5 - Welcome to EcoCamp - Monday, 2/27/23

Monday morning welcomed us with sunshine. Tom and Garrett continued to check their weather apps with an outlook of a wet week. We collectively remained optimistic enjoying the blue skies.

The EcoCamp transportation van arrived promptly at 9:30 am. After a few stops at other hotels to pick up hikers, we bid Punta Arenas adiós and began the Patagonia leg of our great adventure.

Then the wind hit us. I knew south Chile was known for its wind, so this didn’t come as a complete surprise. But the velocity of the wind was a lot. We had a three-hour ride to Puerto Natales for lunch and a briefing at their EcoCamp office. Then another two-hour ride to the campsite in Patagonia. For the entire three hours to Puerto Natales, our van was rocking in the wind. There was a semi-truck blown over on the side of the road and many road signs with wind warnings. I kept an eye on the driver to see if he was concerned or just a normal day here. I concluded a normal day as the driver continued to happily wave at every vehicle he met on the highway.

Entering Puerto Natales we enjoyed the views of the Andes and more clear blue skies. Gathering in the EcoCamp office, we had our introductions to the staff with the first questions asked of us on our food choices for dinner. This became a daily ritual. What would you like as your appetizer (list of 3 lovely apps)? What would you like as your entree (list of 3 gourmet style entrees)? And what would you like for dessert (list of 3 unique desserts)? No cafeteria-style food on this menu! Our EcoCamp outlook was looking good.

We were instructed to use the restrooms if needed, leave our backpacks at the office, and then go across the street for lunch. We were quietly assessing the group, trying to figure out who would be guiding us and who was in our hiking group. We soon found out that there would be two groups hiking the W Trek. Ours would have eleven people with two guides. Any groups larger than ten required two guides.

Waiting in line for the bathroom, we were warned in a British accent “ Watch out for the toilet. The seat is loose.” Minutes later another strong British accent came from another direction.

“Did you watch the videos online? Are you finding what we are seeing different than what you expected?”

We soon learned the two delightful British ladies, close to us in age, were traveling together and shared the same name, Victoria. We had officially met two of the other hikers in our group for the week. The Victorias.

Lunch led us to meet our guide, Mariana. She would be assisted by Daniel (pronounce Danielle). Mariana was from Rio and had been guiding both the W and O Treks in Patagonia for years. She now lived in Puerto Natales with her porter boyfriend when they weren’t hiking Patagonia.

Shuffled back into the van, we began the two-hour drive to EcoCamp, at the base of Torres del Paine National Park. We were introduced to three more in our group. The family combo of Joey and Judy, the parents, who were making this trek with their 33-year-old son, Jeffrey. They were from Florida and friends with the Victorias. Victoria #1 had relocated to Florida from England years back and was a workout friend to Judy. The Victorias met while hiking the Great Wall in China and continued to meet and hike treks all over the world.

Mariana explained that the remaining two in our group would be joining later as they had travel issues (obviously they didn’t have as good of travel planners as Kristi and me). She also let us know that we would have no internet or cell service for the next week once we left Puerta Natales. This resulted in a wild flurry of texting. You would have thought armageddon was coming as we all sent text messages to our kids, parents, close friends, and housesitters, letting them know there would be silence for a week but no worries.

Driving out of Puerto Natales with the wind to our back, we were now officially off the grid.

Our first stop entering Patagonia was at a scenic lookout. The view was beautiful with a colorful mountain backdrop. Marianna demonstrated her calm practicality with her first instruction as our guide. Pointing out the mountains we would be climbing, she directed us to climb out of the van for a photo opp.

“You will want to take pictures now while we can see the mountains. We may not see them again.”

Hmmmm…

Mariana’s decisive insight would become the fabric of our entire trip.

We took many photos and were in awe of the beauty of this gorgeous mountainous landscape. Our trip in the van continued as we weaved the bumpy gravel roads, catching views from every window. Seeing a crowd standing roadside with cameras, Mariana asked our driver to pull over.

“They have sighted pumas. Come. Be very quiet.”

The puma viewing was a wild treat for us to take in as these majestic animals lounged in their natural habitat. We were stoked. When we thought it couldn’t get any better, we pulled into EcoCamp. It was impressive. Glorified glamping. We had stunning mountain views with each couple assigned a dome. Although no heat and only a shared bathroom, the accommodations were spectacular.

Snapping photos and videos on our phones, we were giddy with Patagonia excitement. Looking down, Garrett shared a new weather outlook.

“It’s pretty dry here if that’s an indication. Look at the ground.” (Garrett kicks at the gravel)

Settling in for our one night at EcoCamp before we packed up for three days and two nights on the trail, we enjoyed our new little paradise. Garrett and I were their next-door neighbors to Tom and Kristi. Dome bliss.

The community domes were centrally located between the staff area, welcome center, and visitor domes. This communal area was trendy and fun with local culture displayed proudly inside and out. Mariana instructed us to an area outside where we would get our first briefing as a group. A perfect night to sit outside enjoying a cocktail and good company. We shared some laughs with the ‘J’ family and the Victorias, learning more about where they were from and how they knew each other. All having the same concerns about the weather forecast, Victoria #2 happily shared the intel she was given at an outdoor equipment store in Puerto Natales.

“The weather apps are inaccurate here!” (holding up her phone)

Victoria went on to tell us that we should have no reliance on what we had been tracking on our phone weather apps.

“The guys at the store where I rented poles said our apps are rubbish. They had huge monitors behind them that tracked the weather and it’s not as bad as we have seen.”

With that, we shared a toast and a drink. Our group formed our first bond over the great expectation of dryer days ahead.

Mariana and Daniel joined us and we were briefed on how to pack for the next few days and given a dry pack.

Mariana “This is your dry pack. You need very little in it. Just have layers.”

We enjoyed our gourmet meal with our newly formed trek group. Our glasses were kept full of wonderful Chilean wine through dessert. Walking back to our domes while admiring the brightness of the stars under the light of the moon, I caught Kristi’s eye. Without exchanging words, we knew all was going to be just fine.

Packed and ready to start our great adventure, Garrett and I snuggled in finding the bed very comfortable and the sheets very warm. Who needs heat?

And then it started raining.

As the wind ripped against our dome into the night with a seemingly neverending pounding of rain on our sky-view window, we lay awake into the night wondering what lay ahead of us.

Which weather app would be right?

Puerto Natales