After an amazing first week in Patagonia, we were
looking forward to more beautiful landscapes, breathtaking views and
unforgettable experiences during the second week as we soaked up everything
Patagonia has to offer.
Our next destination after El Calafate was El Chaltén,
a small mountain village in the northern sector of Los Glaciares National Park
(NP). Situated on the banks of the river Río de las Vueltas and at the foot of
the impressive Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy mountains, El Chaltén is the
trekking capital of Argentinian Patagonia with many trails starting in town. The
town carries Cerro Fitz Roy’s Tehuelche name, meaning smoking mountain since
the peak is almost always shrouded in cloud and was originally thought to be a
volcano. The mountain was later renamed Fitz Roy after Vice-Admiral Robert
FitzRoy, the Captain of the HMS Beagle’s second voyage.
The day we arrived was reasonably clear but very
windy. We were advised to make the best of the day since rain was expected over
the two next days, our only days available for hiking. After checking in, a
quick lunch and getting organised for the days ahead, we headed off for a first
warm up hike. There are many short hikes in the area to different viewpoints
and also waterfalls. We chose the ~2 hour hike to Mirador de los Condores and
Mirador de las Aguilas to get started. The hike is an uphill climb on the edge
of town near the NP Visitor’s Centre leading to a viewpoint that overlooks the
town and the majestic Torre and Fitz Roy Mountains. Condors are often seen here
gliding on the thermals over the valley, hence the name of the viewpoint, but we
didn’t see any that day. At the back of this hill is a second viewpoint,
Mirador de las Aguilas, over the Patagonian Steppe and Lake Viedma.
On the way up to Mirador de los Condores
Cerro Torre
Cerro Fitz Roy
It is popular to camp at designated camping sites
dotted around the hiking trails in the mountains of the park. However, carrying
all our own gear and camping with no fires and no amenities in the cold did not
sound appealing. Since many of the hikes start from the edge of town, we opted
to base ourselves in Chaltén and try some of the day hikes. There are many
hiking trail options in the area but with only two full days available we chose
the two most popular, for obvious reasons, Laguna Torre and Laguna de los Tres.
We really liked how the trails had been set up, they are multiple hikes in one
with one or more equally good viewpoints along the way so depending on how you
feel or the weather you can decide to continue to the end point or not but
still enjoy a beautiful view and the feeling of achievement.
The weather the following day was much milder than
predicted, it was quite cloudy all day but with less rain than expected. The
plus side of the cloud and rain was the lack of wind, it was much more pleasant
hiking without the 70-80 km/h wind howling in our ears. We were glad we started
hiking early as the trail is very popular and quickly filled up. We found the
trail less challenging than expected with only the first kilometre or so being
really steep, there were some small climbs along the rest of the trail but not
very demanding. We found the uneven surface most of the way more challenging. We
were lucky with the weather and even though we didn’t see the whole mountain
and its jagged granite needles due to the cloud, it didn’t rain as much as
forecast and we still really enjoyed the hike and highly recommend it to anyone
in the area. The 18 km return trip took us around 5 hours plus an extra hour or
so for enjoying the views and a lunch break. We returned to town earlier than
expected and enjoyed a slow afternoon eating ice-cream and preparing for the
next day.
The first viewpoint about 90 min into the Laguna Torre hike
Laguna Torre
Icebergs on Laguna Torre and Glacier Grande cascading down Cerro Torre
The rain started in the night and continued for most
of the next day but we were up early anyway and ready to tackle the 10 km Laguna
de los Tres hike. Apart from the initial steep climb and the last 1 km of
steep rocky mountainside, the hike was mostly flat and actually a really
enjoyable walk. The scenery was beautiful and variable with views of the Rio de
las Vueltas valley, paths through lush green trees, open fields passing lakes
and ponds, glaciers between mountains in the distance, and beautiful mountain
views. It was wonderful to have another windless day but it was a real pity
about the thick cloud and mist, we didn’t even realise that we had reached the
summit! The last rocky climb had yellow arrows marking the path and we were
confused when they suddenly ended. Clearly a sign is not normally needed to
indicate you have reached the summit. Like us, you will have to search google
images to see the view and what we missed out on. We completed the 20 km hike
in less than the average 8 hours and were looking forward to a hot shower and
dry clothes.
Rio de las Vueltas
Cloud shrouded views on the way up to Laguna de los Tres
Hiking boibs!
And then it was our last day in El Chaltén and time to
hike on a glacier! Glacier Perito Moreno is the more popular choice for an ice
trekking tour but we chose the more remote and less touristy Viedma Glacier
operated by Patagonia Aventura in Chaltén. Viedma is the largest glacier in the
Patagonia ice field covering ~980 km2 and three times larger than
Buenos Aires City. The snout of the glacier calving into Lago Viedma is ~2 km
long and 40 m high. We were fortunate and grateful that the weather
improved and was back to less cloud and no rain but the wind was back.
The tour started with an hour boat trip across Lago Viedma
with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The boat stopped at the face
of the glacier for a few minutes before depositing us on the glacier polished
orange rocks around the corner. We had to scramble over the huge smooth rocks
to the edge of the glacier where we were fitted with crampons and given a
demonstration of how to walk on the ice with crampons. Then we stomped around
on the ice for about two hours with time to stop and admire the view.
Iceberg on Lago Viedma
Iceberg and Viedma Glacier
Crampons!
We were amazed at how different a glacier looks when
you are actually on it. The surface is undulating with lots of jagged peaks and
cracks and holes everywhere, some small and some very large that could be easy
to fall into. And there was a lot of water from melting ice in the cracks and
many holes. It was fun and interesting to see things we had learnt about at the
Glaciarium a few days before. Such as where the ice melts around a small single
stone since the stone heats up more than the area around it causing the ice to
melt but an area covered with sand and grit is protected from melting and forms
little cones as the ice around it melts. There are also often caves and tunnels
in the ice but we didn’t see any of these.
Amazing Viedma Glacier
Boibs on Viedma Glacier
It was quite difficult to walk up and down the steep
slopes of the jagged spikes but the guides helped us a lot and made little
steps in the ice with their ice picks. The guides were really great, they told
us lots of interesting information about glaciers and Viedma, were really
friendly and took photos for everybody, and they were really competent on the
ice, we felt very safe in their hands. They also provided a fun surprise at the
end of the trek: Tia Maria liqueur over 200-400 year old glacier ice! The ice
was really hard, you can’t crush it with your teeth like normal ice, but also
so clean and refreshing.
Walking on the ice ended with enjoying our shots of Tia
Maria while watching the snout calve into Lago Viedma. Before scrambling back
across the rocks we spent a few minutes enjoying a natural ice cave where the
glacier melting away from the rocks had created an overhang. We enjoyed a
picnic lunch on the rocks overlooking Lake Viedma before the boat took us back
to Chaltén.
Tia Maria Happy Hour
The snout of Viedma Glacier calving into Viedma Lake
(note the smooth orange rocks)
One of the guides at the melting overhang of the glacier
Ice Cave!
We had a few hours in Chaltén in the afternoon before
the bus back to El Calafate in the evening and enjoyed some chill time with a
last ice-cream from our favourite ice-cream store and a hot drink and waffle at
La Wafleria. We had some good meals in Chaltén particularly the best pasta we
have eaten outside of Italy after a long day of hiking and waffles at the
Wafleria which we sadly only discovered on the last day.
We arrived in El Calafate in the late evening and
spent one night there before a full travel day back to Punta Arenas. We had an
early (05:30) pick up for the first bus from Calafate to Puerto Natales
including the border crossing back into Chile. We had about two hours inbetween
busses and grabbed a last pizza and beer lunch at Mesita Grande on the square
in Natales (please don’t count how many times we had pizza this holiday). The
second bus took us from Natales back to Punta Arenas where we would spend our
last 2 days in Patagonia.
We arrived in Punta Arenas in the early evening and
had some time to explore after checking in. We found the Shepherd’s Monument and
the Sara Braun Cemetery, known for its antique mausoleums, European
architecture and pruned cypress trees. Unfortunately we arrived in Punta Arenas
over New Year when most things are closed both on 31 Dec and 1 Jan. We wanted
to visit the Austral Brewery (good local beer) and Nao Victoria Museum (replicas
of ships from the discovery and settlement of the area) but both were closed even
though Bron had email confirmation that the museum would be open on those days.
But we enjoyed some walks along the seafront promenade and watching the sea
birds there, finding the Mirador Cerro de la Cruz viewpoint over the city, and
exploring the more central parts of town. The city was extremely quiet with not
much open and we took advantage of two forced rest days after the last few busy
hiking days and before a busy weekend. We also enjoyed a good and festive meal
on New Year’s Eve. And so ended our time in Patagonia. But it wasn’t the end of
the holiday yet!
Shepherds Monument
Sara Braun Cemetery
At the water's edge in Punta Arenas
Mirador Cerro de la Cruz overlooking colourful Punta Arenas
On 2 January we had an early morning flight (06:30)
back to Santiago where we met our special Chilean friends Joan and Mayira for
the start of a wonderful long weekend together. Friday was a chilled catch up
day by the pool with lots of good food including a braai and lots of good
Chilean wine. On Saturday we visited the lovely quaint coastal town of Papudo
170 km north of Santiago. We enjoyed a long walk on the promenade, a delicious
fish lunch, and chill time on the beach. On Sunday Joan and Mayira kindly
hosted a braai and invited some of our other local friends from Justin’s time
at his previous company PRDW. It was a lovely day catching up with friends over
a braai and next to the pool. Thanks for having us Joan and Mayira! It was so
lovely to see you guys and catch up again. We look forward to seeing you again
soon in Buzios in a few weeks’ time!
The beach at Papudo
Cool old house in Papudo
Joan and Mayira
\
Friends!
That is a serious steak!
Chilling in the pool: Joan, Chris, Andres and Justin
And then all too soon it was the end of the holiday
and we were packing our bags and getting ready to fly back to Vitoria on Monday.
We were very sad to leave but had had a really great holiday and brought back a
few bottles of good Chilean wine to cheer us up. Having a few long weekend
breaks planned ahead helped us to beat the post-holiday blues and get back into
‘normal life’.
See you next time for a long weekend in Buzios!
Sunset over the Andes from Joan and Mayira's house in Santiago
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