The Andes of Argentina

In the last weeks, we´ve spent most of our time in a national park of Argentina called, Los Glaciares. First, we did a day trip from Calafate to a nearby glacier, called Perito Moreno, which is by far the biggest glacier we´ve seen on this trip. We spent a few hours watching it and to our pleasure, watched as huge chunks of ice split from the glacier and crashed into the lake. It almost seemed to happen in slow motion, you would first hear a loud crack, and then watch as crumbled into the lake, creating a huge splash, and a ruckus of noise.

Perito Moreno Glacier

From Calafate, we travelled north to a small dusty town called El Chalten, where gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) still make their home. It´s a small place without atms or the regular conveniences of most touristy towns. For example, the grocery store only has a few staples like rice, noodles, and mayo (South Americans love their mayo) but you can´t find much else. The town was changing before our eyes though, they were paving the streets and new buildings were going up every way you turned your head. In another year, it is going to be a totally different place, but during our stay it still had a lazy, rural feel to it. The town is right at the gateway to the national park and has free camping and no fees to get into the park. It was our kind of place!

After having a night in the campground, we made our way into the park. For all the luck we had on our trip to Los Torres del Paine, we got our share of rain on this one. It started after about an hour of walking, and by the time we got into camp, we were completely drenched. I´m talking wet to the core: shoes, socks, pants, backpacks, everything but the insides of our bags which were lined with plastic garbage bags. We set up camp in the rain, which got the tent wet, and by the time we got in, even the inside was soaked. It made for a miserable night in the back country, especially when we had to go to the bathroom and put our cold wet clothes back on, so we could keep one set of clothes dry. We were further tormented by mice that don´t seem to be afraid of humans at all. I awoke to one peering in at us as it climbed up the mesh window of our tent. I usually love animals, but man do I HATE mice!

Sunrise on Cerro Torre

Amazingly, we woke up to a perfectly clear day! It was warm and beautiful and we got up and watched the sun rise onto Cerro Torre, another beautiful tower of rock set behind a lake and a glacier. We dried all of our clothes and had a magnificent day, hiking along side the lake with stunning views the whole time. In the afternoon, we made our way to another camp called Poincenot, at the base of Monte Fitz Roy. We had views of this mighty peak as well, and felt like all our suffering was worth this marvelous day we were having.

Drew and Cerro Torre

We decided to make the most of our good fortune and wake up early the next morning, to hike up to a viewpoint of Fitz Roy for sunrise. Everyone who knows us, will understand that this is a big feat for us, as we are not morning people. It feels like complete madness to crawl out of a warm sleeping bag, to face the darkness before dawn and hike an hour up a slippery, icy trail. But we were troopers, and even brought a stove to make a hot breakfast at Lago de las Tres, a ridge looking directly at Fitz Roy. We did get great views of the sunrise, but what we were hoping for was the alpenglow on Fitz Roy. Unfortunately we barely saw the mountain at all, because clouds had overtaken the summit, and as we reached the ridge, the wind was howling and it started to rain. We still made our breakfast, and if nothing else, had a good cup of coffee.

At Lago de las Tres, Drew is cooking our breakfast

On the way down the trail we again got completely soaked from the rain, but luckily we had a dry tent to go back to. When we got to camp, wet and cold, we found that birds had destroyed our food bag that was hanging in a nearby tree (out of reach of the mice). They seemed to tear up every piece of plastic they could find, but only ate the meat and cheese products. We were hoping to spend another couple of nights out, but now we were running low on food.

The Culprit

We got into the tent, a bit defeated, and spent the rest of the afternoon tucked into our sleeping bags. It rained so hard that water was pooling up under the tent, and I have to admit, I broke down and and was not enjoying life too much when we had to get out and dig a trench. The next morning we woke up to fresh snow, and decided to cut our losses and head back to civilization. My mood increased as we headed back to the comfort of hot showers and a warm, dry room at a hostel. We celebrated by going out to eat and got the biggest, most delicious piece of steak. Oh, it´s all about the little things in life!

Morning of our retreat back to town

After two nights in El Chalten, we decided to make another attempt into the back country. This time we lucked out! We first hiked along a dirt road out of town to a waterfall. The fall colors of the beech trees were outstanding, and the hike was mellow. Just as we started to grow weary of being on a road, a van picked us up and drove us 30 minutes to the trailhead, saving us about two hours of walking. We hiked into a valley, called Piedra de Fraile, and had the whole place to ourselves. We camped next to a refugio that had closed for the season, protected by a massive rock (piedra) from the wind. By this point, we have become veterans at keeping away the animals, and had no more problems with the critters.

We woke up to clear skies, and hiked once again towards Monte Fitz Roy. We stopped at a beautiful hanging glacier called Piedra Blanca for lunch, and made it to the same camp, Poincenot, for early afternoon. This time, things were going our way, and despite our hardships last time we decided to try for the sunrise hike once again. This time around, we had perfect weather, and as we made our coffee overlooking Lago de las Tres and Fitz Roy, we got the beautiful alpenglow we were hoping for. It was absolutely worth all the pain we endured the last time, and now we were grinning from ear to ear. We watched as the mountains changed colors, on that warm, windless morning. I was so happy, I would spontaneously burst into laughter, not knowing how to contain myself. No matter where we are in life, we will always cherish these moments. This is what life is all about!

Sunrise on Monte Fitz Roy

Since then, we took a 30 hour bus ride to our new destination, El Bolson. We drove along the notorious Route 40, a dirt road linking the towns along the eastern side of the Argentinean Andes. These horrendously long bus rides are quite common in Argentina, and we got through it pretty easily, and probably needed the rest. It was two nights and one long day, but the worst part was that our legs got so swollen from sitting upright for so long, that they looked like we had sprained them.

Rush hour on Route 40

El Bolson is a quiet, hippy town that is just what the doctor ordered. We are staying in a quaint hostel with communal dinners, and a welcome feel to it. We´re enjoying some rest and relaxation, appreciating sleeping horizontally, showers, and other people cooking for us. From here we will do some more hiking, and then continue heading north to Bariloche. Until next time, adios!