South
Patagonia – Argentina
29.01.2014
El Calafate
Finally
left Chile,
usual chaos at border control, one guy trying to process 30 people through
customs while 3 other guys sit at their windows doing Suduko!
Once
through the border we had three hours of brushwood and desert like landscapes,
with just the odd herd of sheep here and there, and the odd farmer on
horseback. Once we were within 10Km of
El Calafate, snow topped mountains and turquoise lakes started to appear. Once in the town it was so apparent in the
difference between here and the Chilean towns – so much more sophisticated with
tidy gardens and swish bars and restaurants.
30.01.2014
We set off
on a bus excursion to the Perito Moreno Glacier, after 30 minutes the bus was
having clutch problems and it was decided not to risk the 2 hour journey. We were left on a freezing hilltop (to enjoy
the wildlife, ha,ha.) while the driver returned to El Calafate for a
replacement.
ANOTHER
BUST BUS!!
The glacier
was clearly visible at least 3Km away – it’s more than 15Km wide at it’s widest
point and extends 30Km to the rear, and is more than 50 metres in height above
the water level. The total area is
bigger than Buenos Aires.
There are
higher glaciers in the area, but this is the most spectacular.
You can
view the face of the glacier from a range of well constructed balconies, every
couple of minutes you can hear, and sometimes see, huge pieces of the face of
the glacier come crashing down into the lake.
Awesome!
The
highlight of our trip was a boat ride that went really quite close to the face,
a breathtaking sight of mother nature at it’s most spectacular.
It really
was a day to remember.
01.02.2014
Another day
– another bus – just 3 hours from El Calafate
El Chalten
El Chalten
has been named ‘The trekking capital of Argentina’ and justifiably – the
treks are superb. At first sight El
Chalten appears to be a bit of a shanty town, but once you are inside, the
majority of places are quite new and has some excellent hostels and many superb
restaurants, we have had two of the best evening meals we have tasted anywhere
– real fine dining at an economical price.
The Argentine steaks are wonderful.
With no
petrol stations, inhabitants have to travel the 160km to El Calafate to fill
up, once you have been there and back and a trip to the mother-in-laws, you
need to fill up again!
We were
also told there was just a single ATM in the town, what they didn’t tell us is
that it’s rarely got any money in it. We
were panicking the night before leaving as we had not enough cash to pay the hostel
bill. Just before we were about to sell our bodies, a queue appeared at the ATM
- 45 minutes later we were solvent again.
02.02.2014
Los Glaciares National Park
Trek to Mt
Fitz Roy
We took a
minibus to the outskirts of the National Park and then an 11km trek to the base
of Fitz Roy Mountain,
passing lagoons, glaciers and terrific vistas.
On arriving
at the base of Fitz Roy and looking up to the viewpoint and it’s horrendously
steep climb,
some person said “I’m definitely not
climbing up that”
An hour and
a half later, with common sense out of the window, we stood at the peak with
aching thighs and shaking knees marvelling at the sight that greeted us. Magnificent granite peaks, a glacier pitching
into a lake and snow covered summits.
Most
certainly, the Argentine El Chalten competes with all that the Chilean Torres
del Paine has to offer.
We were
blessed with super weather on this trek which made the 9 ½ hours and 24Km seem
almost like a stroll in the park !!!!
We have
really enjoyed El Chalten and the 4 superb treks we have made. We leave for a
return trip back to El Calafate tomorrow and then leaving Patagonia
for Rio Gallegos on the east coast.
From
here we will make our way northwards towards Buenos Aires.
