Having decided not to trek the traditional 'W' trek in Torres Del Paine National Park, we booked ourselves a 3 day, 2 night mountain biking/overland trip with Pablo of Sendero Aventura. We were exhausted when we arrived back in Puerto Natales on Sunday night after a long zodiac trip 
back from Whalesound to Punta Arenas followed by a 3 hour bus trip back to Puerto Natales (arriving at 11pm). However, we set off on Monday morning in the Land Rover (towing our mountain bikes on a trailer) with Pablo and another guide, Mariano to our first stop, the Milodon Cave. This cave is where Hermann Eberhard (in 1896) found preserved bits of skin belonging to an animal which is thought to be twice the size of a human and is now known as a Milodon. The largest cave is huge (30 metres in height) and very impressive. After visiting the large cave we got on our bikes and took a small, winding single track to the middle and small caves. Pablo and Mariano had organised everything brilliantly and thought of every last detail in the planning of the trip. Waiting for us at the entrance to the small cave, Mariano had set up a lunch stop complete with folding table and awning attached to the Land Rover and we enjoyed sandwiches and tea before moving on.
The trip had been designed so that we rode some sections, walked some sections and did some overlanding in the Land Rover (with it following behind as backup all the way). As one guide rode or walked with us, the other drove the Land Rover behind to the arranged meeting point or ahead to the campsite to set up for dinner. The trip was fantastic and we h
ad a wonderful time. We rode small winding single track and old gravel roads (feeling every unused muscle in our out of shape bodies as we pushed against the notorious Patagonian wind!), walked a short (5km) section of the Sendero de Chile (an impressive trail stretching from the far north of Chile to the very south, a total of 9,700km of trekking paths) and took the Land Rover off-road to spectacular viewing points. We ate a home cooked lunch at a family run estancia and were treated to wonderful asado (barbeque) dinners and Chilean wine in the evenings. I was even reunited with the Trek 4300 - the same as my first mountain bike at home which was known lovingly as Tracy Trek. Deciding not to trek the 'W' made us a little worried that we may not get to see the spectacular torres (towers) that the park in so famous for. We needn't have worried though. The weather was very kind to us and the strong winds moved the clouds aside and uncovered the sun just in time for a spectacular view of the towers and the Paine Massif. We were treated to this beautiful view for two days as we made our way through the park and stopped at miradors and waterfalls, watched circling condors (and even one on the ground where we cou
ld appreciate how massive these birds are), saw the Grey Glacier and vivid blue icebergs on Lago Grey and finally made our way back to Puerto Natales. Again we returned tired but elated. Others will probably think that we missed out by not trekking the traditional routes to see the towers at sunrise in all their glory... perhaps we did. However, I've heard many a Patagonian trekker tell of their tough 4 day hike, a very early final morning getting to the viewing spot to wait for sunrise to find the towers covered in cloud only to descend the same way with the rain beating down and the wind blowing fiercely. We did it our way and enjoyed every minute, no regrets.
back from Whalesound to Punta Arenas followed by a 3 hour bus trip back to Puerto Natales (arriving at 11pm). However, we set off on Monday morning in the Land Rover (towing our mountain bikes on a trailer) with Pablo and another guide, Mariano to our first stop, the Milodon Cave. This cave is where Hermann Eberhard (in 1896) found preserved bits of skin belonging to an animal which is thought to be twice the size of a human and is now known as a Milodon. The largest cave is huge (30 metres in height) and very impressive. After visiting the large cave we got on our bikes and took a small, winding single track to the middle and small caves. Pablo and Mariano had organised everything brilliantly and thought of every last detail in the planning of the trip. Waiting for us at the entrance to the small cave, Mariano had set up a lunch stop complete with folding table and awning attached to the Land Rover and we enjoyed sandwiches and tea before moving on.The trip had been designed so that we rode some sections, walked some sections and did some overlanding in the Land Rover (with it following behind as backup all the way). As one guide rode or walked with us, the other drove the Land Rover behind to the arranged meeting point or ahead to the campsite to set up for dinner. The trip was fantastic and we h
ad a wonderful time. We rode small winding single track and old gravel roads (feeling every unused muscle in our out of shape bodies as we pushed against the notorious Patagonian wind!), walked a short (5km) section of the Sendero de Chile (an impressive trail stretching from the far north of Chile to the very south, a total of 9,700km of trekking paths) and took the Land Rover off-road to spectacular viewing points. We ate a home cooked lunch at a family run estancia and were treated to wonderful asado (barbeque) dinners and Chilean wine in the evenings. I was even reunited with the Trek 4300 - the same as my first mountain bike at home which was known lovingly as Tracy Trek. Deciding not to trek the 'W' made us a little worried that we may not get to see the spectacular torres (towers) that the park in so famous for. We needn't have worried though. The weather was very kind to us and the strong winds moved the clouds aside and uncovered the sun just in time for a spectacular view of the towers and the Paine Massif. We were treated to this beautiful view for two days as we made our way through the park and stopped at miradors and waterfalls, watched circling condors (and even one on the ground where we cou
ld appreciate how massive these birds are), saw the Grey Glacier and vivid blue icebergs on Lago Grey and finally made our way back to Puerto Natales. Again we returned tired but elated. Others will probably think that we missed out by not trekking the traditional routes to see the towers at sunrise in all their glory... perhaps we did. However, I've heard many a Patagonian trekker tell of their tough 4 day hike, a very early final morning getting to the viewing spot to wait for sunrise to find the towers covered in cloud only to descend the same way with the rain beating down and the wind blowing fiercely. We did it our way and enjoyed every minute, no regrets. 
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