All things considered we awoke after a very comfortable and warm nights sleep, especially given the 'Standard' domes we were in had no heating, electricity or anything really barring a bed and a lot of blankets.
After breakfast we made our own packed lunch and headed to the start of the first days hike. To get to the start would involve a 45min drive within the park and then a 45min boat ride across Lake Pehoe.
The drive had one moment of excitement when we, and what seemed like the rest of the park, ran into a 'puma-jam' -a road block caused by a Puma citing and everyone jumping out of their car to look and get the obligatory photo. Sadly we got there to late and saw nothing however apparently a lot of people got a brilliant view of a female Puma and two young.
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| The puma was up there somewhere honest... |
The walk for day 1 was along the French Valley towards the 'Glaciar Frances' and on the boat to the start we got our first view of the Paine Horns that provide the backdrop for the whole of the day.
The boat ride was uneventful despite what appeared to be almost 2 times the number of people the boat should carry, and we landed just in time for lunch... no real walking done yet.
We ate lunch and then started our walk. Michael and Pablo very soon came into their own providing a great commentary on everything from plants, trees, wildlife to the geology and geography of the park. It was highly enjoyable, informative and physically challenging at the same time.
We made it around 6.5miles into the French Valley with a great view of the French Glacier (not in the same stratosphere in terms of scale as Perito Moreno) before turning back for the nights accommodation of the Paine Grande Refugios – a big hostel with school like cafeteria and bar.
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| French Glacier |
Everyone in the group seemed to have a great day despite the implicit split of people who wanted to just stride on and get as far as possible and others who were interested in soaking up as much information as possible from the guides and taking in the picture postcard views along the way.
We got back to the Refuge at around 7.45pm, with about 13miles under our belt, and after some fun and games registering (involving passports, or the lack of them) we showered, went for dinner and a quick drink. The menu was not overly appealing on paper but it tasted great post a long walk and there was not anything but clean plates. At around 10.30pm we turned to our dorms for bed.
Footnote: No photos really do this place justice, everywhere you looked there was amazing views, stunning geological features, plants and birds.
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