Words speak louder than words

Rather than blabber on to you about the last three grueling days of the W (not really that grueling), I thought we'd offer you the following slide show. The audio is a bit low, so turn up the volume on your computer, put your ear close to the speaker and enjoy Chrissie's mileage count of our trip--nearly 43 miles!

But before we end things here on the infamous W, we thought we'd offer a few bits of advice:

If you pay for the best you don't necessarily get the best. Sure the mega-expensive cabana on that stormy night was wonderful, but the truth is the best dinner and the best ambiance came with the cheapest, most "rustic" Refugio Grey. It was a great way to end our trip!

Don't pretend to be what you're not. Chrissie and I are walkers, sometimes hikers. But we soon realized on this trip that we are not trekkers. Trekkers walk faster and they don't look at the views until they get to the mirador. I recall one day when we spotted a rainbow and pointed it out to a gang of trekkers headed the opposite direction, they turned, glanced quickly and moved on as we stood in silence and enjoyed. And as Chrissie noted for both of us, we didn't realize how "bloody feeble" we were. On day 4 Chrissie confirmed that she was NOT going "trekking" at 4,000 meters in Peru! I concurred. Leave that for the sherpas!

Travel light. "I could never carry my house on my back...all those blasted implements hanging off those rucksack. Shell out a few dollars and stay somewhere!" says the Lady of the Trail.

You never need as much as you think you need. Truthfully you can wear the same clothes day after day and no one really minds, not even your bunkmate. When I get back I plan to cut my wardrobe in half. But Chrissie wishes she brought one more pair of platform shoes on the trail!

It's about the journey not the destination. I know this is contrary to what I said the first day, but it really is true. I can say this with complete confidence as I sip on a big fat glass of crisp Argentinian Chardonnay/Voigner!

Here's to our slow walk through the W--Thank you Patagonia!

PS, if the slideshow doesn't play at first, let it buffer and then drag the play marker a little to the right to get the slideshow started.