WEDGED in between the Glaciers National Park to the north, and the Magellanic subantarctic forests to the south, the dramatic peaks of Torres del Paine encircled by pristine glacial lakes stand as a world famous landmark at the bottom of the South American mainland. Torres del Paine is a combination of two languages, Paine (pronounced pay-ne) is the the word in the indigenous Tehuelche language for "blue", and the Torres is the Spanish word for towers. The nomadic Tehuelche people who lived here in southern Patagonia for the past 9000 years were known as the "rugged people" given the climate and terrain here. Magellan referred to these people as the Patagones, hence Patagonia. These days most of the few remaining indigenous people who lived here have moved into Argentina and almost none now speak the native language.

This journey heads across to the fiord port of Puerto Natales where we stock up before heading into the Torres del Paine National Park where we spend the following four days hiking the famous W Trek under the spectacular mountains. The W is so named due to the main track we carry our packs along being the base of the W, and each of the three arms of the W are effectively day walks to each of the highlights of the park. Following the trek, we cross the border back into Argentina and head to El Calafate.