Trekking Patagonia

This post is thanks to Katie Sanderson, a student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a former ISA Featured Blogger. Katie interned abroad with ISA Internships in Santiago, Chile in Summer 2013.

This week I was able to take some time off from my internship and went trekking through the beautiful Chilean Patagonia. I have been excited about this experience ever since my advisor at college told me about it. When I found out that some other ISA interns would also like to travel there, I knew that we just had to go.

We arrived in Punta Arenas and started our journey to Puerto Natales, the gateway city to Torres del Paine. We hiked almost the entire 20km trek to the Torres del Paine, but ended up turning back due to weather. Patagonia is known for its amazing views but it is also known for its unpredictable weather. When we started our trek we were wearing only shirts and I kept thinking my coworkers at my internship were crazy for telling me it was freezing. Lo and behold, a few hours later I was bundled up in a jacket, two coats, and two pairs of pants!

This was my first hike in a long time and now that I have set the bar so high, I don’t know if any other park can surpass it. Being in Torres del Paine was really like being in another world.

Our views from the long hike were absolutely amazing. Whether we were overlooking the Patagonia valley, admiring the mountain sides, or just walking through the unique Chilean trees, we always had a good view.

After a physically demanding first day, we went sightseeing. One of my fellow trekkers, Daniel, who studied abroad with ISA in Fiji and has spent time in New Zealand was astonished by the views.

The environment came with a price of hurricane force winds. Emilie and I battled the wind all day with our long hair and about half the photos depict us trying to control it!
I could not be happier that I went to the Chilean Patagonia. By visiting during the off season we had the park to ourselves.  We saw Patagonia by foot, by car, and by boat. Hiking far into the mountains got very close to nature, driving allowed us to see many picturesque views, and while boating we could get near glaciers and see the wildlife from another view.

I hope someday I can return to Torres del Paine to do multi-day hikes so I can see even more of the park!

The World Awaits…Discover it.