SwiftRambles

Patagonia At-A-Glance

Days spent: 42

Transportation taken: Planes = 4, Buses = 24, Taxis = 10, Boats = 3

Number of places we stayed (not camping): 10

Nights camped: 16

Hours spent on buses: 103

Longest bus ride: 24 hours

Miles hiked: Tom - 123, Amber -107

National parks visited: 6

Final daily budget: $112

Poetry from the tent - Copahue, Argentina (Patagonia)

 "Copahue"

We are off the beaten track,
But it is not doing wonders for my back.

In a village known for its cure-alls,
We are stuck in a tent cold as balls.

Geothermic pools pierce the ground
And old Argentines come from all around;

They search for the fountain of youth
And they find doctors with a cash booth.

The pools are green or muddy, cold or too hot -
Picturesque and calming they are not.

CHOCOLATE! - Bariloche, Argentina (Patagonia)

We didn't really spend much time in touristy Bariloche. We walked around and visited the lake:

And we made sure to have a yummy dinner:

But the major highlight of the town was Mamushka chocolate shop.

Instead of sticking to the tourist track by Bariloche, we decided to go on an adventure in the middle of the Acuanana area in Northern patagonia. I was sick of the Blue Tank so we left it behind with some other random items we hadn't used in months, including a mosquito net we bought back in Guatemala.

I decided I had to use the mosquito net once before discarding it:

On the way north, the scenery from the bus was amazing. At one point the bus stopped, I looked out the window, and I thought I was in San Francisco (even with fog!):

- Tom

Hanging out in the Handbag - El Bolson, Argentina (Patagonia)

One great thing about meeting other travelers is getting recommendations. We heard that El Bolson was a little laid back town we should check out. We arrived ready for some rest and found that a town that was difficult to leave. The food was delicious, hiking/trekking beautiful, and the people laid back. We stayed at an old hippie's compound complete with gardens, ponds, green living quarters, and tons of animals for Amber to pet:

Me in a hammock, happily not doing anything:

Agostino, our hostel owner, provided us directions for a hike near the town. He assured that it is impossible to get lost. Of course we managed to prove him wrong. But along the way to getting lost we stopped every few feet to sample ripe blackberries. We had to check to see if the next bush had better berries than the one before.

Middle Patagonia - Esquel, Argentina

After El Chaltan, we headed up north to Esquel (after a 24 hour bus ride!) to check out the National Park of Alceres.  Alcere trees are old big trees, touted as similar to the sequoias in California.  However, after hitting up the park, we discovered that the park is big but the area where the alceres trees grow is small and hard and expensive to get too.  So we consoled ourselves with camping and some day hiking.  Our big hike was up a hill called "Cerro Dedal" or "Thimble Hill".

We didn't see alceres trees but we did see "monkey puzzle" trees:

Some views from our hike:

The Curse of the Blue Tank - El Chalten, Argentina (Patagonia)

Knowing that El Chalten doesn't have many stores, before we left we loaded up in El Calafate on food supplies for camping. El Chalten was incorporated in 1985 to claim the land that is basically be a staging point for viewing the Fitz Roy mountain, a large granite peak.

Views of El Chaltan:



To help cart our camping gear and food, we bought a large blue roller bag that also acted as our "locker" when we were out on the trail. Once we arrived in El Chalten, we looked pretty ridiculous with our backpacks and a giant blue bag rolling through town. I think the whole town knew we arrived as the wheels of the bag made a loud vibrating noise as we rolled along the empty road. I affectionately nicknamed our bag the "Blue Tank".

We didn't get one block from the bus station when we ran into our new friends from the "W" hike enjoying a beer outside a bar. After their jaws lifted off the floor as they saw how much stuff we were carrying, we chatted about our adventures since we parted and made plans for dinner in town.

El Chalten is not very big, but when you are looking for a place to camp, it starts feeling a lot bigger. We found an idyllic spot with a spectacular view of the valley and once I plunked down my bag, I realized that something was amiss with my back. I guess my back didn't care for an extra 3 bottles of wine, 2 kilos of apples and a weeks supply of food on my back while pulling Ol' Blue. Our backpacking plans were changed at that instant and we ended up doing day hikes from town.

While we camped we experienced our first really cold night and woke up with frost on the tent! However, that was also the night we went out for cocktails with our friends so I think the alcohol kept us warm...

Our first day, we hiked to a lake with a glacier and some beautiful mountains (Cerro Torres) in the background. Here are some photos from that hike, the fall colors starting to show were awesome:

Going before the glaciers do - Calafate, Argentina (Patagonia)

After our awesome "W" hike, I insisted on some more glacier action so basing ourselves in Calafate, Argentina, we had a brief stopover to see the Moreno glacier before heading to our next trekking destination. 

The Moreno glacier is huge and is one of the few glaciers in the world that is not retreating.  I could give you a bunch of stats on how tall it is and how wide, etc, but that would make me have to do a Google search to find these things out and I am too lazy!  Just trust me - it's big, it's blue, and it's beautiful.  Don't believe me? Check out the photos below and if you really want stats you can read them here:

Messin' with Milodon - Puerto Natales, Chile (Patagonia)

Before and after the W hike, we stayed in Puerto Natales, a small town in Chile on the Last Hope Sound.

Some pictures of the sound:

The main thing that we did in Puerto Natales however, was eat. After all, we were either preparing for a long hike or rewarding ourselves AFTER the long hike, right?

A lomo steak, which is basically a steak with a fried egg on top accompanied by french fries. It is awful for you so of course it's delicious!

Doing the "W" - Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile (Patagonia)

Of of the "must-dos" on this trip for both of us was hiking the "W" trail in Torres Del Paine (Blue Towers) National Park in Chilean Patagonia. This 5-day/4-night 40 mile hike involves trekking to a series of refugios and/or camping sites with amazing scenery in between. From the air, the route looks like a "W" so hence the name. Although sadly reminiscent of George Bush's nickname, the hike isn't technically difficult but the notorious winds blowing off the nearby South American ice field can make it a challenge weather-wise.

I must apologize for that boring introduction. Now on to the good stuff - the pictures! Here are the top 10 reasons to do the W hike, if you are so inclined to hop on a plane, travel to a very remote area, and hike around in windy/cold weather for a few days.

Us at the start of the hike:

1) SCENERY

Quite simply, this was the most beautiful hike we've ever been on - and we've been on our fair share of hikes!

2) RAINBOWS

Due to the fine mist that was either from precipitation or from the wind blowing water off the top of the numerous lakes (we could never tell) there were often rainbows all around us. What was strange about it was the rainbows could last hours! It was breathtaking.

Checking Out the Gear - Isla Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina (Patagonia)

To test our new camping gear we headed to Tierra Del Fuego national park, west of Ushuaia.  The weather was foreboding, but we went for it anyway.  We set up our camp and hiked along a windy lake to the Argentine/Chilean border.

We think our tent looks like an alien, do you?

Here is Amber next to the chilly lake:

The southern forests were beautiful and reminded us of parts of New Zealand:

Here is the marker noting where the border is - we have spent so much time together we decided we needed a little distance so we stood in two different countries for a bit...