Oct 2008

We left Bariloche on an afternoon coach, headed for Santiago.Our journey wasn´t to take too long relatively speaking, only about 17 hours total, though it was to be split into 2 legs; a five hour ride over the Andes through to Osorno and then an overnight bus to Chile´s capital of Santiago.The only catch was that there was a 5 hour wait in Osorno until the next bus, and Osorno wasn´t exactly known as the party capital of Chile.The first leg was pleasant enough, our coach driving alongside Lago Nahuel Huapi for a bit, then climbing steadily higher as we approched the mountain pass through the Andes that would take us into Chile.The air got colder and the scenery changed from lush to snow covered, though a lot of the snow was melting as the warm spring was coming into season.We soon reached Parjaritos, the first town of any consequence in Chile and also the site for the Chilean border formalities.Everyone trudged off the bus, sorry to be leaving the comfort and warmth of their seats, and lined up patiently inside the customs building, while our rucksacks and bags were thrown onto the conveyor belt to be X-rayed.We got our stamps and entrance cards and crossed over to drop our smaller backpacks onto the belt, which we carried with us at all times, containing as they did all our valuable documents, wallets, mp3 players etc.Janelle was perplexed to be unable to locate her bag after it had gone through the machine, only to be helped by a friendly customs guard who was wearing it on his back for a laugh.She didn´t think it was very funny tho...
Once through customs we sped onwards to Osorno.The scenery again changed and became quite lush and green ane we spied many a vinyard through the window, Chile famously being a large worldwide supplier of wine.Osorno is a large agricultural hub in these parts, though there is little here that warrants any long term stay.We arrived not too long after and were thankful just to be off the bus.It was in the dingy and slightly seedy bus terminal we had our first taste of Chilean food, a local favourite snack called un completo.It´s basically a hot dog in a bun, though it comes served smothered in guacamole tomatoes and mayo, avacadoes being another one of Chile´s primary agricultural products.Tastes pretty good though, and it comes cheap.
On major difference between countries is obviously the currency used.And while Brazilian reals and Argentina pesos are near enough numerically speaking to Euros and dollars, Chilean pesos are somewhat different.Their notes start off in denominations of 500 pesos and go up to 20,000.This can be quite confusing when you´re used to paying 10 or so Argentinian pesos for a coffee and are then suddenly handing over a 2000 peso note for the same.It takes some getting used to ley me say.
We managed to kill 5 hours by wandering aimlessly around the small town centre, and by spending a few hours in an internet cafe updating blogs etc.We headed back to the bus terminal at night, ignoring the locals who catcalled after us in Spanish.We boarded quickly and set up in our seats, and as it was after 10pm at this stage we managed to fall asleep in no time.
We reached Santiago around 9 the next morning.It could not be more different than Osorno.Chile´s capital city, with a population of more than four and a half million is situated about halfway down the length of South America´s spine, and is about 2 hours inland from the sea.In fact, the shape of Chile being what it is, the width of the country is apparently never more than 200kms across, though it does measure some 4300kms from Peru in the north to the Straits of Magellan in the south.While northern Chile is hot and arid, with some of the driest desert on the planet (the Atacama desert), the south is wild and wet, containing any number of volcanoes (some of which are still active) and ends in Tierra del Fuego, which it shares with Argentina.Santiago however is located in neither extreme, and is thus perfectly suited to the requirements of being a capital city.
Santiago is smokey.And by that I mean it´s covered in a near permanent haze of smog that can obscure the neighbouring mountains that tower behind it.Its also quite possibly South America´s most commercial city, with shopping malls quite literally spilling out onto the main streets.In fact its famous for them, much like Rio´s famous for its favelas.In looks and character it most definitely does not seem to be of South American origin.Indeed, with Chile being the one country in the continent nearest to being awarded first world status (most, if not all the others in SA are 2nd world countries) its main city recalls parts of London or even New York.In spite of this, or maybe because of it, most backpackers hate Santiago.It is for many the first port of call in South America as they´ll fly in here from Australia or NZ or else leave from here on their way home.We didn´t meet a single traveller who liked it.Its ¨crowded, smoky, expensive....just another big city¨ was all we heard, so we weren´t expecting to like it.But surprisingly we did.
First of all we picked a nice cosy hostel in the bohemian part of town, Bellavista.It was safe, funky and a convenient base to exlore the area, being only 10 mins from the metro.We´d expected Chile to be expensive, indeed had budgeted it as one of the dearest countries; but we found it on a par with Argentina costwise and were thus pleasantly surprised.Smoky it was;but hot it was also.After all the cold weather we´d experienced in Argentina Santiago was a very welcome temperature, at least 25 degs most days.It was almost too hot sometimes, and we learned to travel in the shadows of buildings or trees to avoid the direct sunlight.Or at least I did.Janelle is better suited to this heat and loved every second of it.No, Santiago was a pleasant change from the towns and villages of Argentina;it had everything we´d missed while backpacking around; pedestrianised streets with cafes serving good coffee;bookstores that sold English titles;malls that catered to every taste and whim;restaurants of every ethnic food group from Japanese to Indian to Chinese.The area where we were staying was friendly and funky, with brightly lit streets at nite and murals covering the walls during the day.Local watering holes served the local brew Escuardo (very nice BTW) all night along with the Chilean version of empanadas (deep fried).Downtown was a bustling area with Chileans of all dress hurrying along to whatever business they had to attend, while every street corner was occupied by enterprising locals offering freshly squeezed OJ.There were many parks museums and gardens to spend time in and all were well maintained and serviced.We felt safe at all times and enjoyed being back in our first big city since Buenos Aires.
Unfortunately we hadn´t budgeted much time in Santiago, only two days, but we made the most of them.After wandering at leisure through the many malls downtown and picking up some necessary equipment (an adaptor plug being among them) and sipping coffee, we dined in fancy restaurants that served Japanese cuisine (much to Janelles´delight).We did some sightseeing too, and took a local bus up to Cerro San Cristobel one morning, a nearby hill of 485m that delivered some beautiful views of the (mostly hazy) city.It also contains a national park aswell as an Christian church (along with requisite Virgin Mary statue) whose outdoor pulpit must rank as one of the most inspiring places to addess a congregation.The park is served by a lengthy cable car system, that takes you right around the most interesting sights and eventually back down to ground.We found it a charming and quite relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
As nice as Santiago was, it isn´t exactly overflowing with activities.True, there are ski slopes nearby, but the season was at an end.And apparently there are wine tasting course and horse riding on offer, but we weren´t bothered.So we decided to head out to nearby Valparaiso two hours away on the coast.We´d heard great things about this port town and it regularly receives rave reviews from Lonely Planet and other guidebooks.In fact, its listed as one of the ´must sees´in Chile.So we headed out for the day with high hopes.
We arrived after two hours or so and were immediately besieged by locals guides urging us to take their tours.We politely listened to one so as to not be rude and then declined her offer once we´d learned all the places to go.She wasn´t too happy after all her talking!Ha!We sauntered on with the free map she had given us and somehow ended up straight at the nearest mall.Hmm.Though it was VERY impressive inside, moreso than some in London and other such cities.Anyway, we chose the mall because it warm, and the weather in Valparaiso was anything but.I´d dressed for the sun, as it was out in force when we left Santiago, but it conspicously absent in this seaside town.After warming ourselves up a bit we braved the outside.It was dull, dreary weather, overcast with no hope of sun at all.Not what we were hoping for.And maybe it was the weather but we couldn´t take to Valparaiso at all.I mean, its listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, its considered the cultural capital of Chile and it has bucketloads of history but none of it impressed.The seafront is mostly obscured by vast port containers waiting to be shipped or by the immense cranes used to ship them.There is no beach, no sand, no surf.Just an ongoing dockland.It wasn´t too dissimilar from the Dublin docks and I can´t imagine anybody wanting to go there for the day!
You could take boat tours out to see the bay from the water but we weren´t bothered with the weather.The only thing that brightened our day was discovering one of the many ascensores (elevators) littered thoughout the city; wooden platforms that take you right up from the lower downtown up onto the cobbled hillsides.These were built between 1883 and 1916 when the city was a great trading post for much of Chile, before the opening of the Panama Canal made it pretty much obsolete, and look every bit their age.Though they do take you up to much more sceneic barrios, and of course they give a great view of the port, grey as it was.We snapped away at the many murals lining the cobbled streets, all created with obvious attention to detail.Past a few churches and cafes here and there we descended again to the main plaza and rewarded ourselves with some swee coffees.We bumped into an English couple from our hostel who had the same opinion of Valparaiso we did and spent a few hours trading travelling tips before we decided to leave for Santiago.We´d only been there 4 or so hours and we were bored.Luckily we hadn´t booked accomodation as I´d initially wanted to before we´d arrived, and I was extremely grateful for Janelle for having talked me out of it.Anyway, we left ASAP and vowed never to return.
The next day was our last in Santiago, and as much as we´d enjoyed it, we were happy to move on.It IS just another big city, though as big cities go its not the worst by far.We were keen on reaching our next destination in Chile - San Pedro de Atacama, a small tourist town out in the middle of the Atacma desert.There we would experience one of the expected highlights of the whole trip; the Salar de Uyuni, or Uyuni saltflats, an otherworldly place of dry white desert, sentinel-like cacti, lakes of green,white,blue and red, and pink flamingoes to boot.But first we had to brave another hellish 24 hour bus ride and combat altitude sickness before we could enjoy it.And something told me it wouldn´t be so easy....

We left Peurto Madryn that evening on a 18hr journey bound for Bariloche, a ski resort town set in the Lake Distict area of Argentina.Due to booking our tickets a little late we couldn´t go direct, so our route took us a bit further north than necessary, passing through the province capital of Neuquen.This added a few hours onto our bus ride, but by this stage we had become accustomed to these long journeys and weren`t really too bothered.We spent a quiet nite on the bus, reading whatever was to hand and watching two Shrek movies back to back.We arrived in Neuquen at about 6.30 in the morning and had just enough time to wolf down a cafe con leche y medialunas (white coffee with croissants) before we transferred onto the next bus bound for Bariloche.This journey was only supposed to be 4 or 5 hours, but it promised to be much more visually interesting as it passed through many of the areas`numerous lakes and mountain passes.And so it was.Beneath an unchanging blue sky we wound down hilly highways and passed stunning lake after lake, all practically undeveloped and unspoilt.Mountains the colour of sun baked rust framed our window view from the coach as we took in the stunning beauty of it all.
I for one was very keen on spending a lot of time in this town, whose full name is San Carlos de Bariloche, for many reasons.It`s the Lake Districts main tourist trap and everyone who travels through Argentina for a length of time ends up here at one stage or another.It`s settled on the shores of Lago Naheul Huapi, a 100km long glacial lake that is surrounded by lofty snow capped mountain peaks and is only a few hours from the border with Chile.Its`proximity to the national park that bears the same name means that Bariloche is the ultimate mecca for the outdoors enthusiast.Hiking, fishing, ski ing, rafting, horseback riding - its all here, and more.We had heard numerous reports from fellow backpackers on what a great place it was, and nearly everyone we`d talked to had spent double the amount of time here that they`d planned.To me it sounded a bit like Queenstown in New Zealand, albeit without the bungee jumps.I was sure I`d love it!
We arrived mid afternoon, an hour late, into the bustling grounds of the main bus terminal.We stepped off into quite a chilled air though the sun was still out in force.To our right lay the magnificent Lago Nahuel Huapi, so long its end shores cannot both be seen at once (perhaps from air?), its icy chilled waters throwing up white tipped waves.More of an inland sea than a lake.Beyond it lay the mountains.We took a cab into town and quickly found our hostel, a small but cozy place called Pudu that was owned by an Irish couple who had come here a year or so ago and had decided to stay.Apparently Pudu is the name of the local, rarely seen deer that is almost pygmy in size.They loved the place so much they`d gotten a 6 year lease on the premises and hit the slopes to board and ski every they had off.They had only opened the hostel a few months before, and still had a lot of work to do.But it was clean, and it was warm.And they had draught beer on tap!We had booked it solely on the fact that our room had a fantastic view of the lake, high as the hostel was in one of the hillier parts of town.
Once shown around and settled in we headed into town for lunch.We did some quick sightseeing of the plaza and the two main thoroughfares, Avenida Bartolome Mitre and San Martin/Perito Moreno which run parellel to each other.Both are chock full of stores built of wooden logs and stone, the kind you see in every ski resort.In fact, Bariloche IS a ski resort, though its main slopes are 20km away on Cerro Catedral.The centre boasts more than 50 runs and 40 lifts, one of the biggest in South America, though we`d heard if you were used to skiing on European slopes you may be a little let down by the quality of the runs.I was all for a day on the slopes, though we had unfortunately arrived just at the tail end of the season, and was persuaded otherwise.
The downtown area really is very pretty though, and could have been mistaked for any number of European ski spots, apart from the lack of visible snow.Though the cold chill certanly reminded you where you were.Hordes of rich Argentinian schookids bounded around, clad in their expensive ski gear, chattering away noisily in Spanish and blocking up the footpaths.The locals however, kept low key, strolling around in the crisp air with the ever present thermos under their arm and their mate tea and gourd no doubt near to hand.We strolled around and soaked it all up, and felt in no need to do anything physical whatsoever.
And so it remained.With a quick check of our finances revealing that we had (not surprisingly) been overspending our budget, we came to the very difficult decision to do no tours or expensive trips, and just entertain ourselves with the free trails and treks that were in and around the town.I was very keen to do horseback riding, as I`d never been on a horse before and seeing as Argentina`s the home of the gaucho and all......but it was not to be.However we contented ourselves with three days of seriously prefessional lounging around, reading in cafes whilst drinking hot chocolate and snacking on the gourmet chocolate that Bariloche is (also) famous for.And man is it good!I had to tear Janelle away!We also explored the greater area of the town and did a few (free) treks that were recommended to us.One of these took us up Cerro Campanario, a steep but short climb up a dusty trail that can be reached by ski lift but we decided we needed the exercise and tackled it head on.It ends in one of the most spectacular views ever, and I`m really not just exaggerating here.National Geographic declared it one of the top ten views worldwide.Ever!We`d heard this claim beforehand and were dubious but it really is something.A permanent cafe on the summit allow for gorgeous views all around of the surrounding lakes, mountains, rivers, islands, valleys, gorges and just about every scenic geographical feature you can think of.We, again, had the place practically to ourselves, and spent a good two hours sippng cafe con leche and staring dreamily out the window.I`m not sure about its title but it IS very probably the most amazing view I`ve ever seen, and that`s saying something I guess.
Another day we busied ourselves with an easy 3 hour trek through some dense forest and (strangely) a plethora of bamboo groves to a `Secret Lake`that we had, again, all to oursleves.We picniced at its shore and took numerous
photos of the area before we headed back to town.We pretty much did everything we could that was free, and to be honest we didn`t mind it too much.It was nice to just relax and kick back after so many days on the move, and I think that we certainly needed to, whether it was deserved or not.
In fact, the only real money we spent in Bariloche was on food.To be honest, the two of us are pretty bad once we get hungry and its nigh on impossible to not eat out.But we consoled oursleves with the fact that we deserved it seeing as we`d spent nought on trips and such.So our first night we feasted on Chinese, after coming across our first Asian restaurant in a month of travelling.Our second was leftover Chinese (from Janelle) and tasty baked empanadas from a great cafe across from the hostel.And our third nght, which was to be our last in Bariloche aswell as Argentina, we decided to try the parilla, an Argentinian favourite of spit roasted meats.For this we headed to Tarquino, a kooky restaurant built of wooden logs that has a full size tree growing in the centre of its floor that reaches right up and through the roof.Its entrance is a heavy wooden door that is circular in size and resembles the doorway to Bibo Baggins house. Truly original.The food inside was delicious and I washed down my meal of roasted pork lamb and steak with a draught of Argentina`s finest, Quilmes,while Janelle had chicken skewers and juice.It was a fitting meal to the end of our jaunt through this fine, wild country.We`d tangoed in Buenos Aires and been soaked by the waterfalls of Iguazu.We`d hiked beneath awesome mountain ranges.We`d stood before the true giant of ice that is the Perito Moreno glaciar and marvelled at the desolate beauty of the Patagonian steppe.We`d seen whales and penguins, elephant seals and guanacos, condors and foxes.We`d travelled the length of Argentina and seen it as a vast wild,desolate country, from city to port, from resort town to isolated village.We`d tasted it`s local treats, the tasty empanadas, the thick grass fed steaks, the Italian influenced pizzas and pastas, the continental breakfasts and the superior chocolates.We drank its teas, coffees, beers wines and mate.We experienced as much as one can in such a time and enjoyed every priviliged moment.We left the next day, heading west to Santiago Chile, safe in the knowledge that new horizons lay ahead of us and that with them were more experiences to savour.We left happy and tired.

If i remember correctly I left off at the end of our stay in Calafate.We had arrived back from Chalten after hiking the Fitzroy range late in the nite and woke late enough the next day (most hostels have you check out by 10am, so late would be 9 or so).We had nothing much to do but pack our gear and saunter down to the mainstreet to do some souvenir shopping.Janelle picked a hat and a fleece but I wasn´t too bothered, though her stuff was quite nice.Anyway, we had nasty day of travelling ahead of us; a 4 hour bus ride to the port town of Rio Gallegos on the east coast of ther country and then a short stopover before an 18 hour ride north up to another port town on the coast, Peurto Madryn.So all in all, 22 or so hours of butt numbing boredom.Now, as I´ve said before, these buses are equipped pretty well, with plush reclining seats, balnkets and pillows, tv´s, and snack/food service.But no matter how you try to soften the blow, its still 20 hours sitting on a bus.In Argentina they break down the seats according to comfort (and respectively, price); semi cama, which is a bare bones seat, much like you´d find on any airliner.These do recline but they´re quite cramped, so sleeping on them can be very difficult.Then there´s cama, which are much wider and softer.These do the same but that extra width makes ALL the difference.And then there´s cama total, which are as wide as cama but recline 180 degrees, fully horizontal.These are the ones you want!But, of course, at a price.We tend to stick to cama if its available because as backpackers its hard to justify the luxury of cama total )tho we did splurge once before).
Anyway.I won´t bore you with the details of the journey, long as it was.We made it to Peurto Madryn about lunch time the day after we´d set out.This resort town is, in itself, not anything exceptional, but its popularity owes much to its proximity to the nearby wildlife sanctuary of the Valdes Peninsula.The main attraction here are the southern right whales, which make the sheltered bays around the peninsula their home for up to six months between june and december.This is for the express purpose of birthing their calves and nourishing them in relatively safe waters, before returning to the Antarctic for the rest of the year once their young have gained enough weight.Its an amazing spectacle, as up to 1200 whales a year can make the area their home for the time and sightings are almost gauranteed.
Once we´d found our hostel and checked in (very nice, The Hi Patagonia;double room with a fridge AND a tv), we set about......chilling out.Tired as we were we took it easy, did some minimal exploring of the town and booked a tour for the next day.We were picked up along with a group of other backpackers and driven straight to a lookout point about 20mins from town.Right there, not 30 feet from shore were between seven to twelve of the whales, playing around in the sea sticking their fins and tails out of the water and whatnot.They´re quite ugly beasts actually, the traditional whalelike shape in apperance but they have a very blunt front end that is usually covered in stone looking crustaceans that attach to the whales for life.Difficult to get good full shots of the creatures bar the usual half fin or tail sticking up.That or their continous blowhole expulsions.Once we´d all taken our fill of photos we were herded back onto the tourbus for another 40 mins of bone jarring driving to the actual park entrance, where we disembarked again to pay our entrance fee and had a quick look around at the few exhibits on display, including a complete reconstuction of an entire young males skeleton, that had washed up on shore intact a few years ago.
We left soon enough and drove further into the park, which covers almost the entire peninsula.Our guide pointed out a few of the other animals on offer, roaming freely through the grasses; tall elegant guanaco, a distant relative of the llama and some large Patagonian hares, the size of dogs, squatting in the dirt.By this time we´d arrived at Peurto Pirimide, the only town in the park.This is where we donned bright orange lifejackets and headed out to sea in the hope of catching some more whales in their element.It took some time but once we´d motored out past the sheltered bay and hit the choppy open seas, we weren´t long in sighting some whales.Our captain took us in as near as he could without disturbing them too much, while everyone clambered over to the side of the boat that offered the best view, snapping away like mad.But what with the movement of the sea and the whales breaking the waves at inconsistent periods, it was, again , quite difficult to get that perfect shot.We lost sight of these ones as they dived to lower depths and caught track of a few more and powered over to their location just in time to watch them dive.Foiled again!At this stage we headed for shore and ate a quick lunch before continuing on to another location;the elephant seal colony.
Again, once we´d arrived we trailed off the bus and headed down the wooden steps to the beachfront, where, behind a low protecive barrier, lay maybe two dozen elephant seals, all in various stages of lazing around.I mean these things are chilled out!They lay there enjoying the sun, the males the biggest, up to 2 tons, while the smaller females fed their small dark pups from their exposed underside.They were pretty impressive, but you couldn´t help just wanting to get closer to them, or to see them move around a bit.The most they´d do was flip some of the gravel up from which they´re lying on onto their bodies with their fins, or maybe let out an occasional high pitched yelp.These southern elephant seals are the biggest in the world, and come to the Valdes peninsula for the same reasons as the whales.But we left them feeling little underwhelmed.
Back at the carpark however we noticed a commotion and hurried over to check it out.A group of tourists had formed a circle around something on the ground and peering between them , we saw a hairy armidilloe being fed scraps from a Japanese man.The armidilloe was entirely unafraid, scuttering between the legs of us while he chased bits of food around.I suppose he was used to all the attention as tour after tour would turn up here daily.We took a few pics and boarded the bus to head to our next destination; the penguin colony.
Just a few mins up the road was a stopoff where a relatively recent penguin colony had arrived only seven years before.Up to two thousand of them live here, the Magellaninc Penguin, which is small by Emperor Penguin standards measuring only a foot and a half off the ground.They were again cordoned off by a low fence but luckily their burrows were only a few feet away which made for some excellent close ups.We even caught one guy sleeping standing up!Very, very cute.
With that last stop under our belts we headed back to town, another hour and a half away.We had considered going on another tour, to a place called Punto Tombo which is apparently the biggest penguin colony outside of Antarctica, with 700,000 in all.But money and time conspired against us,and we were told that one tour was much the same as the other.So we decided aginst it and bought our tickets for our next port of call, Bariloche.Unfortunately the bus didn´t run til the next evening so we spent the next day downtown, killing time window shopping and drinking coffee.We did see more of the town itself, which wasn´t so bad and we also had time to check out the seafront´s boardwalk, a pier which stretches out far to sea.But we were lucky enough to catch some whales coming right up to the end of the pier, so close you could touch, a mother and her calf I think.We got better shots then than we had on the boat.In fact, the whole seafront was full of whale activity, fins and tails everywhere you looked it seemed.We counted at least 12 of them.Oh well, we had to leave and catch a bus.Another overnighter to another destination, Bariloche, 17 hours away.

Right.Where was I?Oh, yeah.I left off at our departure from BA.Well, basically what happened was this; we had booked a flight from BA to El Calafate down in Argentinian Patagonia weeks before we left for South America.We´d heard flights fill up quick and we had already decided to fly down as the only real alternative was, you guessed it, by bus.Now, as comfortable as these long distance coaches can be, we really weren´t keen on a 42hr bus journey.I mean 42 hours!Man, we´re getting bedsores from the seats at this stage!Anyway, nite before we leave we book a taxi to the airport.Smart move you may think.It was.Only we booked it to the wrong airport.You see, there are 2 airports in BA, the one that deals mainly in domestic flights, and the one that deals mainly in international flights.Stupid us, we assumed our flight, being a domestic, left from Jorge Newbury, whereas we found out, after we´d arrived, that it was actually leaving from Ezeiza International!Anyway, suffice to say with that with a 50 (US)dollar fare in it, our driver tore through the morning rush hour and got us there in half the time.We made it.Barely.Never been so happy to board a flight.Even Janelle with her fear of flying had a smile on her face.Didn´t last the lenght of the flight tho...
And so, 3 hours later we find ourselves approaching Calafate airport, a hokey one runway outfit stationed about 15mins outside the town itself.The view from the plane was one of a vast, unbroken stoney grey landscape, the Patagonian steppe.Though not in of itself ugly, just... empty.And cold.We stepped off the plane shivering, peering out at our desolate surroundings taking it all in.I loved it immediately.Patagonia.The almost mythical land thats inspired travellers, trekkers, climbers and an outdoor clothing company.First impressions were good.
Calafate is a prime stop on the gringo trail for those with a love of wild remote landscapes aching to try some serious hiking, trekking or just plain soaking up the views.And does it have some views!Perched on the edge of Lago Argentino, the turquoise coloured lake that boasts the lower end of the Andes as its backdrop, the town itself consists of an almost random scattering of buildings and streets, mainly unpaved.Indeed, the main road into town seemed to be the old runway from an earlier airport!It seems half the hotels,hostels and restaurants are still under construction, while the other half are recently finished or awaiting improvements.Indeed, the whole town has the air of being unfinished, looking from afar more of a remote settelement than a well planned tourist stop.Its only when you get to the well paved main street that you see all the flashy stores, every second one selling outdoor clothing and equipment or souvenir t shirts and hats.It strikes you then what it is reminiscient of; a ski resort town.And yet somehow it manages to combine these two seemingly opposing characteristics into a town that remains charmiing in its one way.
Anyway, we were here for one thing.Well, mainly one thing; The Perito Moreno Glacier.Located in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, about and hour and a half away from Calafate, this 60m high monster is the main reason to be here.It´s deep blue hue and jagged peaks are astounding, as is the fact that its one of the few glaciars in the world that is not retreating.5kms wide and 30 kms long, this enormous river of ice is known to advance up to 2 metres per day, making for some amazing scenes whenever huge chunks of ice shear off its face and cascade down into the icy lake that surrounds it.Seeing as its generally considered low season in South America, we almost had it to ourselves.A series of catwalks and paths let you get up close and personal and we paid an extra few pesos for a boat trip up to its face, there to fully appreciate its sheer size.Just being near it was an existential experience, as was patiently waiting for a huge splash as a chunk of ice calved from its face (it never did happen).
So, that was the glaciar.The park also contains a variety of wildlife indiginous to the area, but we never saw more than a few condors circling overhead.And maybe a Patagonian hare somewhere.We spent a quiet afternoon in our hostel and decided almost on the spur of the moment to visit El Chalten, a village 4 hours north of Calafate.Reached by the semi paved highway that is Ruta 40, Chalten is a small (pop. 500) village set in a beautiful river valley that is home to the stunning snowcapped Fitzroy range.We´d heard the place closes down in the low season but were assured this wasn´t so.Just that very little is open.But the hiking there was supposed to be amazing.So we packed our bags and hopped on the coach.
Chalten makes Calafate look like Buenos Aires.It is small, unpaved, dusty, remote and totally underdeveloped.And it is absolutely charming.Like a farming outpost in some Swiss valley, it nestles between two towering walls of rock next to a river of ice pure water.Green fields and the nearby mountains complete the scene.But it is remote; no ATM, no general store, no hospital...Hell, I wasn´t even sure if there was a doctor in the village.But stunning.Worth the bouncy bus ride here alone.
We quickly dumped our bags in the only hostel open this time of year (dorm rooms only) and set about lunch.Which was hard t find.But after checking a few likely looking places, only to be met with blank stares, we were finally directed to a nearby cafe (everything here is nearby).We feasted on pollo milanesa, which is chicken breast in breadcrumbs, served as a sandwich.And what a sandwich!One would have been enough for both of us, and we were starving!So we packed the leftovers for our hike and set off.
We didn´t have time to go too far seeing as it was already lunchtime and some of the recommended hikes are up to 7 hours long, so we decided on a 5 hour hike to a nearby glaciar ( I know - another one), Glaciar Grande.It was semi cloudy day, but the sun was strong when it was out.But is was also cold.Once we left the relative shelter of the village the wind picked up and we could see how the fierce Patagonian winds got their reputation.We hiked on, passing nobody for the first hour, up hills and down valleys.Through gnarled forests that wouldn´t been out of place in Mordor and by streams cold enough to deliver hypothermia.The water is pure enough to drink so we did just that, filling our canteens once emptied.We crested a large hill that looked down another river valley and got our first glimpse of our destination - a faraway glaciar, and at its foot, a glacial lake.It was semi cloudy day, but the sun was strong when it was out.But is was also cold.Once we left the relative shelter of the village the wind picked up and we could see how the fierce Patagonian winds got their reputation.We hiked on, passing nobody for the first hour, up hills and down valleys.Through gnarled forests that wouldn´t been out of place in Mordor and by streams cold enough to deliver hypothermia.The water is pure enough to drink so we did just that, filling our canteens once emptied.We crested a large hill that looked down another river valley and got our first glimpse of our destination - a faraway glaciar, and at its foot, a glacial lake, Lago Torre.It took another 90 mins to get there.We scrambled up the crumbling rocks and stone that made up its terminal moraine and were hit with some serious winds that prevented us from hanging around too long.After Perito Moreno though, this one wasn´t too impressive.But the lake at its base was almost completely frozen and when I climbed down to take some shots I could hear the ice sheets crushing and melting against each other.Very cool.We stayed less than 5 mins and headed back to the warmth and comfort of our hostel.Absolutely exhausted we ate and slept soundly.
The next day though, was a winner.Up early and reasonably rested, the sky was cloudless and blue.Perfect hiking weather.We´d chosen the main hike for our second day - another 5 hours (that turned out to be 6) along the base of the main mountain range and within sight of the two biggest and visually most impressive peaks; Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitzroy.We got a taxi to the start point ( a round trip of the hike would´ve taken 10 hours) and stopped along the way to take shots of some of the most amazing scenery I´ve seen, ever.The peaks covered in snow against the bluest azure sky seemed to loom out at you, seemed unreal somehow.And we hadn´t even started yet!Anywhere else in the world and this trail would´ve been packed with walkers, but here we were at 10 in the morning with nobody else around.Amazing!
The hike started off easy enough, then started to climb up the side of a forested valley, with a river far below and the ever present peaks in the background.The same gnarled trees sheltered us from the UV rays of the sun.We hadn´t hiked for more than an hour when we reached the first lookout point of Fitzroy.Seen from afar, the 3441m spire resembles a shark´s jagged, triangular tooth rising out of the gumline that is the Fitzroy Range.Flanked by Poicenot on its right, the mountain peak is immediately distinctive and always awe inspiring.We hiked on to the next lookout, about a half hour away.This one had a head-on view, so we could easily make out the entire edifice aswell as the glaciar underneath and the glaciar lake underneath that.With the sun out in force and the sky stil without a cloud it made for a postcard qulaity photo.
Seeing as we were basically doing the trail backwards we had seen the main sights first but there was still so much more.As we moved along the valley at the base of the range we got ever different viewing angles of the peaks and soon enough Cerro Torre (3128m) came into range.Though initially less impressive than Fitzroy, Torre is still an awesome sight and its sheer face makes it a serious task for climbers willing to test their mettle.Indeed, the whole range has some of Patagonia´s toughest climbing.
We trekked on through an ever changing landscape, though always with those mountains behind us.More rivers, lakes and stone, all under the blue sky.The weather never failed us once and at times it seemed like too good to be true.Anyway, most of those pics are up on my Facebok site for your viewing pleasure.I strongly recommend you take the time.
We left for Calafate late that evening, but still managed to capture the mountains as the sky turned pink over them.We passed by wild Patagonian horses, roaming the steppe in loose herds, emaciated but free.We even passed by flamingoes.And we stopped for cafe at a midway estancia, or outpost.These really are outposts for the gauchos that live out here.This one, La Leona, had been a hiding spot in 1905 for none other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( and his wife Ethel Place ), after they had robbed the Bank of London and Tarapaca in Rio Gallegos.They apparently spent a month here, and were only recognised by the owner afterwards when he was shown their mugshots by the local Policia.So they claim anyway.
We spent the next day or so taking it easy, met with some friends of Janelle´s and eventually booked tickets to Peurto Madryn, a port town on the east coast of Argentina that was 22 hours away by bus.But I´ll write about that later I guess.