After finishing up my semester at my local university in Buenos Aires, some friends and I headed to Chile to spend a week hiking through the Andes mountain. Months before, we had booked with a local travel company that helped us secure campsites throughout the trail, along with three meals a day, entrance fees to the parks, transport to and from airports, etc. Despite the price, I would definitely recommend booking through a local company if you are an inexperienced hiker or clueless to the region, which in my case, I was both. 

The trip started with flying into Puerto Natales, Chile, a small mountain town in the southern region of Patagonia. From there, you take a two and a half hour bus ride through the mountains to get to Torres Del Paine National Park. Depending on which direction you are hiking, east to west or west to east, this is where your trek will begin. I hiked east to west, meaning I began with the hardest hike of Torres Del Paine on day one. My friends and I got up at 1 a.m. to hike for sunrise and to say the least, it was beautiful. However, it was also painful. I did not bring a headlamp and ended up injuring myself on the first day trying to get to Torres Del Paine. I spent the majority of the hike tripping over mountain rocks and trying not to fall on the ground or off the mountain– I wish I was kidding! During this clumsy stumbling throughout the mountains, I ended up injuring my right knee. However, the views made up for the pain! By the end of the hike on the first day, I felt absolutely dead and was not sure how I was going to continue. Torres Del Paine was the site on the trek I was most excited for so I almost wasn’t sure what was going to keep me going or motivated.

Yet, I quickly realized how secluded the trek was and I really did not have an option to continue. The only way I was getting back to Puerto Natales was if I completed the trek or somehow got airlifted out of there. I quite literally had to keep going. 

The trek continued after day one. The days began to blend together as we would wake up around 7 a.m., go hike, get back to the campsite between 4 and 6 p.m. and rest until dinner. This was my first real experience out in the wilderness for an extended period as I spent the majority of the day hiking. As the week went on, my injury only continued to worsen. By the end of the trek, I was barely stumbling through the paths. Even with the pain I was in, it was definitely worth it. 

By the end of the week, I had visited Torres Del Paine Towers, Frances Valley, and Grey Glacier, along with all the gorgeous scenery along the way. On top of the gorgeous landscape and the fun memories with my friends, it was also very eye opening. It was the longest I had been disconnected from my phone, wifi or service since I could remember. There was no scrolling through social media, having to answer texts I didn’t want to, etc. I felt so at peace. This trip made me realize how much I needed to prioritize spending time in nature and the importance of disconnecting occasionally. The whole experience was truly amazing!

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: CEA: Latin American Studies in Buenos Aires