0630, Blue House Lodge, Punta Arenas. Day 2. This sure is a hell of a difference. A couple of days ago, waking in the shivering cold of a darkend appartment in Chamonix, I never realised getting thrown into full summer conditions like this on exactly the other side of the planet. The early dawn wakes me up, mild and fresh air enters from an open window. I get out of bed and start scrolling through the house, looking for coffee. It seems Ronald is sharing my ´problems´, joining my search for a cup of magic gold.

1215, Blue House Lodge, Punta Arenas. Over a cup of coffee we -Martin, Gerke, Ronald and I- discuss what preparations have to be made, before collecting our air shipped cargo surplus on Monday and continuing our journey to the park Torres del Paine. This morning, we were already out in the village to test and buy an impressive amount of candy bars, but it doesn´t even match half of the amount requiered. Ignoring the candy-bar-challenge, we now focus on were to buy fuel and gaz for our stoves, jerry cans for water storage and a simple shovel we forgot to pack for the trip.

1900, El Americano, Punta Arenas. The soles of our feet have become quite sore from walking down all down-town streets in Punta Arenas in order to get the shopping done. It´s time for a brake. Arriving yesterday, we spotted a no-budget place were they serve burgers and pollo (chicken). The place looked like shit, so we went for it. It proved to be the right place: loads of food, beer, and a good humoured owner serving more extra mayonaise than he has ever done before.

2200, Blue House Lodge, Punta Arenas. Checking our gear we start mounting our port-a-ledges and cutting two-hundred metres static ropes in two. Outside, darkness still has not set in, and I am wondering how many days it will take me to get used to it. Then finally, when we have to switch the lights on, we unscrew a beer bottle and drink to the last one we will probably get for a couple of weeks.

back to expeditions

welcome to sunday 9th of january 2005