Day 8 - Boat Day - Thursday, 3/2/23

Kristi and I are taught how to picture pose by a pro

Today we reached day 3 of our hike and the last night away from EcoCamp. Waking up to more rain, we were ready to get back to ‘Four Seasons’ and out of tents.

Our first indication that we were going back was Mariana asking for our dinner order. A great meal back at EcoCamp was something to look forward to.

Today’s hike did not include a lot of climbing but would be eight miles to our boat at the top of the W. The plan was to meet a boat at our end stop for a ride past Grey Glacier and down to the bottom of Grey Lake. A van would then drive us back to camp. But like our boat in Punta Arenas, there was no guarantee whether this was a go. The captain would assess the weather conditions and let us know ‘yah’ or ‘nah’ an hour before scheduled departure.

Mariana explained that it was all a timing game as we waited on the captain’s decision. We would time our hike departure so we stop an hour out, waiting to get word from the captain. If conditions were good enough for the boat, we would proceed as planned. If the captain nixed the boat, we would have to turn around and go back to where we started and take a smaller boat to a place further away from our ultimate camp destination. NOBODY wanted plan B to happen. It would have added another three hours to our hike.

The hike was scenic as we traversed valleys and enjoyed lake views. We were all mindful of the wind as we knew this would be the final deciding factor for the boat captain. All seemed relatively calm. We were enjoying the hike, and very optimistic about the boat awaiting us.

As we hiked through the varying weather elements and packed on layers, Kristi made a great observation.

“We will have to work for the photo opps, Sandy. Let take a good picture when we can.”

Very true. With eight days into our trip, we had yet to take a cute photo of the two of us. While in Patagonia, we need a good photo.

Turning a corner on our hike we spotted a lookout spot. And as fate would have it, there was a rainbow in the background. Spotting a young woman taking a selfie, I asked if I could take a photo for her and she gratefully handed over her phone. She appeared to be traveling alone, which seemed to be a common theme as we met many young people flying solo in Patagonia. After handing her phone back, she asked if Kristi and I wanted a picture.

“Sure!”

Kristi and I were all over a photo shot opportunity. Except we obviously weren’t good at posing for cute shots. As we put our arms around each other’s waists, the young women re-posed us.

“No, don’t do that. Put your arms up in the air.”

(we repositioned looking for approval)

“Yes, like that. Smile and hold your arms up. Stretch them more out to the sky.”

Following her instruction, we stretched our outside arms out, wondering how this would actually look in a picture. The young woman kept taking pictures, switching angles and zooming in like a pro. We would have a lot to choose from. Later Kristi and I both marveled at the young photographer’s skills while lamenting having to decide between so many photos.

Checking our photo taking off the list, I happily stayed at the back of our pack with Mariana while Daniel and the rest took the lead. Mariana asked me what I did for a living which led to a conversation about what she did when she wasn’t guiding in Patagonia. Mariana was a licensed therapist. During COVID she started a new business where she consulted with other therapists on how to launch their online practices. This was now a full-fledged business for her and kept her busy when she wasn’t off the grid guiding. Marinana also had a degree in geology and was continually pointing out different rocks and formations to us.

A great lesson I learned on this trip was not to base opinions on first impressions. I initially saw Mariana and Daniel only as guides. Both are of much deeper texture. Mariana is an entrepreneur and Daniel, the father of two young sons, is an adventurer and a family man. Although leg 3 of our W Trek was not high in elevation, it was rich in both conversation and mountainous beauty.

Reaching our destination of ‘one hour out’ we went into a holding pattern, waiting for the call from the captain. Mariana instructed us to eat our lunches. We all waited in anticipation when her radio would start to buzz. Twice the captain extended his decision for twenty minutes while the wind would pick up and then die back down again. A few prayers were said to stop the wind. I took a potty squat up behind a tree. Pulling up my pants, I heard cheers from our group. The captain gave the nod. Time for us to finish our hike and board the boat.

We were thrilled not to backtrack those many miles and kept pace so as not to miss the boat. Along the hike, we saw small icebergs floating in the lake. Beautiful in their bright blue, we were excited to find pieces of ice floating up to the beach shore. Like kids, we played with the many ice sculptures made by nature as we awaited the boat. Similar to our boat in Punta Arenas, this boat was also a large catamaran. The captain brought us right up to newly fallen icebergs and close-ups of the glacier. It was stunning to see firsthand these marvels of nature. We wanted the boat to shorten our hike, but we got so much more from the experience.

As we disembarked, Mariana instructed us to meet at the parking lot. The problem was that we didn’t see a parking lot, just endless water and beaches. Following the other people leaving the boat, it ended up being a two-mile walk to the said parking lot. Next was a two-hour bumpy ride back to Eco-Camp.

New domes were assigned with luggage distributed. Then Garrett miraculously found his wallet in one of his bags. The excitement of the trip led him to put in place he wouldn’t normally place it. But lost was found and we were all happy with our accomplishments but tired knowing tomorrow would be our biggest hiking day. After naps and hot showers, we enjoyed our dinner and warm beds. Four Seasons never looked so good.