Cerro de Torre, Parque Los Glacieres, Argentina
After a very early departure from Santiago, two flights and two long transfer shuttles we arrived in El Chalten, Argentina in the midst of Winter. The wind was whipping pellets of snow into the faces of people leaning into the wind wearing down jackets with hoods snugged around thick wool beanies. It's summer. We were not prepared for this. Rain, yes. Blizzard, no. The charming receptionist at our boutique hotel assured us that by morning it would be sunny and fine. No need to brave the wind at dusk at 10:00pm to buy ski clothes.
She was right. The next day opened a weather window that lasted all five days in Argentina with clear skies, sunny days and light wind. We'd booked our Patagonia tour through an agency called Adventure Life. Representatives met us at each airport waving a clipboard with our names. They had arranged shuttles between airports and from the airports to hotels. The accommodations they had reserved for us were very comfortable and at no time was there a glitch in the arrangements. We couldn't have been more satisfied.
Our guide for the 30 mile Fitzroy hike was a slight, intense ball of energy called Facundo - Facu for short who preemptively assured us he wouldn't be offended if we mispronounced his name Fuckyou. He set a fast pace on all three days, talking all the way, considering it his duty to tell me how to hike. I got used to being told, "Short steps!" (With my short legs, how could it be otherwise.) To avoid rolling my ankle, he insisted that I not side step, my favorite way to avoid sliding on steep slopes. I admit to being very self controlled when I called his name. As a certified mountain guide he knew most of the Climbers who were out in force to scale the peaks in this weather window lugging huge packs with immense coils of rope swaying beneath. He got us up to the best viewing spots of those magnificent peaks and we enjoyed his stories and his sense of humor. He spoke good English and his Argentinian Spanish with its slur was slower and easier to understand than Chilean Spanish.
Windblown at the top of Lago de los tres with Fitzroy peaks behind us
Lago de los tres and Lago Sucio with a bit of the ice field
Dawn from our campsite
Cerro Torre on the left and Fitzroy on the right from the Condor trail lookout
After 5 days we were ready for the next leg of our trip, back into Chile for the Torres de Paine hike. A bus took us in a 5 hour semicircle from El Calafate , into the steppes in the South East of the Andes Range across the Border and back into the southwestern side of the range. The Torres de Paine is relatively low elevation, about 8,000 feet but it is at 51 degrees South latitude, a bit like Scotland with peaks. The weather comes in from the West and catches on the peaks about 11,000 feet high making Torres de Paine's weather very unpredictable . We went shopping for hats and gloves before we left Argentina.
We were dropped off in Puerto Natales on a wind whipped deep blue fjord and met by Diego, our guide for the next week. The first thing he did was take us out for lunch of guanaco stew and a glass of wine. We were now under the umbrella of Ecocamp who took care of us all the way. Our whole group of 12 assembled that evening in the community dome in the National Park. Having spent the first week without company it was fun to be part of a group. We were lucky because our group was very cohesive and all about the same level of fitness. As the seniors in the group, Greg and I were happy that we didn't hold anyone back.
Ecocamp is luxurious. It is "eco" because there are no permanent structures. All living areas are heavy "green tech" geodesic domes with wooden platform floors. All the toilets are composting and electricity is provided by solar and a small, local hydroelectric turbine that heats copious quantities of really hot water. The kitchen is Five Star, serving perfectly cooked fish, meat and lots of vegetables. Buffet style breakfasts are sumptuous. If you can, stay at Ecocamp.
We did the W circuit, 55 miles of hiking through very varied terrain. The second day was the longest at 16 miles through the French valley to the magnificent granite wall of a glaciated cirque. The descent ended along the lakes at the base of the valley at a Refugio for the night where we relaxed with a large, cold beer! The most difficult climb was the last day up to the Torres, 14 miles and 3000 feet elevation gain. But it was so worth it! Let the photos tell the story.
The guanacos at play
The whole Torres de Paine massif from a distance
The Horns of Paine and the ghost trees from a fire in 2011
The three Torres
The Grey glacier with icebergs. I'm grateful for my hat!
Black necked swans
At the base of the towers; Torres de Paine
On the last day we went on "safari" mostly in a bus enjoying the views and hoping to spot a puma. We took a short, gentle hike through the grasslands to some ancient petroglyphs. The guanacos kept us entertained. It was mating season and the males were vying with each other. The harem alpha male strategy to keep away rivals was to chase after them trying to bite their testicles. Their long necks would snake out, snapping at another's rear end, causing the infiltrator to sprint at top speed with tail firmly tucked between its legs. Those races would cover quite a distance regardless of the roughness or steepness of the ground. Actual contact is rare, we're told. The guanacos are not an endangered species.
We're back in Santiago for our final two weeks of Spanish. I'm happy to say that we are finally beginning to make significant progress. We have been taught (Nosotros hemos ido enseñar... I think) 3 of the four past tenses although I can't say that we've learned them. After our two weeks we will go to San Pedro de Atacama for 4 days and then return to Santiago for 4 more days. Finally, we will fly back to Tahiti and to Rapture via Rapa Nui.