Getting back to El Calafate, we spent the day unpacking and re-packing our backpacks, hand-washing clothes, and buying food (no border crossing this time!) in preparation for the next day's trip north to El Chaltén. The one night of cleanliness and comfort in the Puerto Natales hostel had been apparently too much for us, because we decided to spend the night tenting in the municipal campground.
The next morning, we took the 3.5-hour bus ride north to El Chaltén, at the north end of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares.
Midway through the bus ride, we made a pit stop at a house on its own in the middle of nowhere (where they serve coffee and snacks to bus riders). In the yard were a bunch of chickens, a calf, and a young guanaco (the Argentine relative of the llama, that you see all over the place in Patagonia.) The calf and the guanaco were good friends.
El Chaltén is a fascinating town. While El Calafate is a moderately-sized town (maybe as big as Grinnell), and has a Colorado ski-town feel thanks to a recent tourist boom and countless upscale outdoor-goods stores and excursion companies, El Chaltén is a tiny, dusty town with no paved streets and basically one road. It has no airport, no bank or ATM, one operational church, and a couple small supermarkets. One reason for the primitiveness of El Chaltén is that it's located inside the national park, and this, along with its remoteness, has (at least temporarily) resisted the influx of the new, corporate style of tourism on display in Calafate.
The other main reason Chaltén is so rugged is that the kind of tourists it draws are rugged people. Basically, El Chaltén is a backpacker's haven. About 2/3 of the people you see walking around are tourists, and about 90% of them have backpacks on.
So, what draws all the backpackers to El Chaltén? The answer: two mountain peaks, Cerro Fitzroy and Cerro Torre. Fitzroy is the biggest and baddest mountain peak in the area, a huge, precipitous, granite hulk surrounded by a bunch of subsidiary spires. Slightly further away from Chaltén and a valley away from Fitzroy, Cerro Torre (Tower Mountain) raises its elegant and pyramidical, but equally sheer, form.
Here is the Fitzroy Range from the bus window, approaching Chaltén. Fitzroy is the biggest, highest peak, and Torre the high, thin, needle-like peak farther left.
Most of Chaltén's tourists (the backpackers) go there to take advantage of the amazing day hikes that leave from the town and climb up for amazing views of Torre and Fitzroy; and also simply to relax in a beautiful, untouched place. But, I should also mention that probably the other 10% of Chaltén's visitors are climbers: Fitzroy, Torre, and the peaks around them are world-class rock climbing challenges. Cerro Torre, in particular, is considered "the most difficult climb in the world"—partly, I'm sure, because of the unpredictable Patagonian weather, which tends to hide Cerro Torre from view in a sea of clouds for weeks at a time. (There's also an interesting, scandalous story about the purported first climb of Torre: see http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0604/whats_new/cesare-maestri.html .) There's also a small chapel (not in use) in town that has a plaque bearing the names of people who've died climbing the mountains above—the plaque had at least 30 names from about 1955 until 1985.
Foregoing the relatively expensive hotels and hostels in Chaltén, we joined the large amount of visitors who stay in the local (free) campgrounds. It was delightful, especially because we were blessed with three days of uncharacteristically clear and not windy, almost hot, weather.
The main road of El Chaltén
We got in on Christmas Eve, and seeing Cerro Torre in plain and clear view from town (which the park rangers told us hadn't happened in over 10 days), we decided to take the 12-mi round trip hike to Laguna Torre, the closest place to view the peak.
A cool grassy meadow by the trail
Panoramic view of both Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitzroy. After this point on the trail, Fitzroy was obscured by other mountains.
Did I mention that all (yes, ALL) the water in TdP and Los Glaciares is safe to drink directly from the streams? They say it's some of the purest water in the world—crop fertilization and urban pollution are miles away from here.
We made it! Here's Laguna Torre, with its powerful view of Cerro Torre and the surrounding peaks and glaciers.
Can you imagine climbing this thing? (Note that this face of the peak is 7000 ft high.)
On the way back
Descending back into town
Looking up the valley in the direction of the campground
That night, Heather cooked us a meal worthy of a holiday in Argentina: a traditional asado, without the blood sausage and cooked on a stove rather than a grill (they don't allow fires in the national park, anyway), but still utterly delicious. We washed it down with some Argentine malbec and mate. Yum!
It being Christmas Eve, and both of us being very nostalgic for our traditional home celebrations of the holiday (we were singing carols while hiking), we had decided that we should at least seek out a church and attend a Christmas Eve service. It turned out there was one church in town! The service (all in Spanish, of course) was fine—interesting, at least. The hymns (actually just "songs," I'd say) had a guitar accompaniment and were kinda hokey, only lyrics were provided, and we sang nothing I recognized besides a token "Silent Night." It was fun, though it was a far cry (and far from being as enjoyable) as the magical, musical Christmas Eve service at St. Paul's, Grinnell.
The setting was amazing, though. Here's the church:
Christmas Day! At a time when I should have been emptying my stocking, I awoke to a beautiful day in a remote, beautiful corner of the world.
Here's the view from our campsite.
As our only full day in town, we were practically compelled to make the 15-mi round trip trek to Laguna de los Tres, a lake which (like Laguna Torre did for Cerro Torre) offers the best and closest view of Cerro Fitzroy.
Fitzroy from the trail:
A little piece of the longest chain of mountains in the world…the Andes.
After a steep climb, passing lots of other trekkers out to enjoy a hot, sunny Christmas Day, we reached the lagoon.
Fizroy up close!
All these photos are of Torre or Fitzroy, so I figured I should present at least one photo of a different mountain. Here's the "small" one on the right side of Laguna de los Tres.
Imposing mountain + verdant meadow = beautiful photo
Cool cloud formations over Fitzroy and Laguna Capri
That night, we walked over to the river by the campground to finish off our vino tinto and sip some more mate.
The next morning, we had time for a short hike before the bus left to go back to Calafate. This hike led us up a short ways to a great overlook of Chaltén and the Fitzroy range.
This morning, clouds had moved in to hide most of Cerro Torre and the top of Fitzroy. At least we got lucky the first two days!
A panoramic view of Chaltén and the Fitzroy range.
Before I go on, I'd like to just write a few sentences comparing Torres del Paine and the Chaltén area. Both are world-class destinations, filled with spectacular scenery in a pristine wilderness. But here's where I see the main difference: Chaltén has a couple of "blockbuster" sights (namely, Torre and Fitzroy) that narrowly outclass anything in TdP (including the Cuernos and the Torres del Paine), but the rest of the scenery seems like nothing overly spectacular for someone familiar with the great mountainous areas of the American West. Torres del Paine, however, seems like a different world, and it surrounds you on all sides (rather than in a couple focal points off in the distance): the vibrant green hills, cloudy-turquoise lakes, and bounteous plant and animal life. Of course, this view may be biased because (1) we were backpacking in TdP, bringing us much closer with the nature there, and (2) we had uncharacteristically hot and dry weather in Chaltén, and unstable, "I'm nature and I'll do what I want"-style weather in TdP. Also, simply the fact that TdP is a place to backpack, to "journey," while Chaltén is a place to relax, a "haven," and take day hikes, changes the whole dynamic.
If you have to make a choice, I say go for Torres del Paine.
Any, enough of playing the judge. Let's get back to El Calafate, where I've been altogether too many times already.
We had one more night before flying out to Buenos Aires, and we still hadn't been to the biggest tourist attraction of the area, the reason why El Calafate has experienced all that recent tourism-fed growth: the Perito Moreno Glacier, just a 1.5-hour bus ride from the town. We got a reservation for the morning of the next day. (Our flight left in the late afternoon.)
Of course, that last night, we couldn't resist returning to our favorite restaurant, Pura Vida, which didn't fail to disappoint. On the way, we passed this flag, which granted me the opportunity to take a picture showing how good the Argentine flag looks on a beautiful blue-and-white, partly cloudy sky.
The Perito Moreno Glacier, along with Iguazu Falls, is one of the most prized of Argentina's natural wonders. It is one of only three Patagonian glaciers to be advancing, and its accessibility, easy viewing, and sheer size and beauty draw throngs of visitors each day.
It's possible to go for (pricey) guided treks onto the glacier itself, but we didn't have time for that. We did, however, decide to pay to get on a boat that would take us close up to the glacier.
It was a perfect day for picture-taking—lots of clouds, constantly shifting to scatter the sun's rays in interesting patterns on the light-blue ice, and the mountains in the distance.
The front wall of the glacier is huge, with an average height of about 200 feet.
It wasn't hard to take spectacular photos…
(Don't worry, the clouds weren't quite this foreboding, although it was chilly. I've done a few lighting adjustments. ;-) )
After the boat ride, the bus took us over to the main viewing area, the tip of the land that separates the glacier into two faces (at times in the past century, the ice between the two faces has crumbled, leading to a narrow channel between the sides. But now, it's in its "ice dam" state.)
The glacier is very active. While viewing it, you constantly hear creaks and cracks. Every once in a while (5-20 minutes or so), after a crack, you'll see a huge hunk of ice calve off the glacier wall, and plunge into the sea with a roar that echoes around the valley. It's amazing to behold—and amazing to see such a huge force of nature, an unliving thing, cause such action.
That's a two-story ship on the right, for reference…
The right half of the glacier. All those people are watching the show…waiting for the glacier to calve!
Looking up the ice field towards its source, the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.
After returning to Calafate yet again, it was finally time to say goodbye to Patagonia. Well, wait, not quite yet! Our plane made a stop in Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, (debatably) the "southernmost city in the world." We knew that this was another destination on many an international tourist's circuit, but had opted out of going there because our schedule was constricted enough as it was. However, the sight of seemingly endless series of uniformly snow-spangled, dark mountains made me put this on my list for the next time I visit this part of the world. (Something that will inevitably happen!)
A few hours' flight, and we were back in hot, bustling Buenos Aires. We hadn't allotted much time for the city, only 2 days, but I was glad we had spent most of our time in more beautiful, pleasant areas.
Our hostel was located about a block away from the huge obelisk at Plaza Republica, on the Aviendo 9 de Mayo, (debatably) the "widest street in the world." I'll give it one thing: the drivers certainly were crazy.
One of the most intriguing places in Buenos Aires is the Recoletta Cemetery, which is basically a little walled city of mausoleums, housing the most affluent and powerful of deceased Argentines.
The first night, we headed to an rustic, turn-of-the-century building around the corner from the hostel, where we took a tango lesson, then watched a show. Tango is a defining element of porteño (port dweller, or one from the Buenos Aires area) culture, and although it would have been nice to see some more "authentic" displays on a streetcorner somewhere, it was still impressive to see the showy, touristy stage production as well, and it was especially fun to practice some moves in that setting.
Last up on our itinerary was
To simplify our sightseeing, we took a tour bus, which took us to places such as the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the equivalent of our White House (although Argentina's president only works here, and lives elsewhere.)
Last stop on our itinerary was La Boca, a famously "colorful" neighborhood in more ways than one (it is also a somewhat dangerous, and run-down neighborhood.)
For one, it offers some nice posing:
La Boca is also home to the Boca Juniors, one of the two rival Buenos Aires soccer teams, and the team of past Argentine legend Diego Maradona. Interesting fact: La Boca was once a port, and when the Boca Juniors were being formed, they decided that the next ship to be sighted would determine the team colors. The ship was Sweedish, and since then the Boca Juniors have been a distinctive (and very cool) blue and yellow. See the tablecloth in this photo, next to Heather taking a big sip of mate.
La Boca is best known for its colorful houses. When it was a port city, the people who painted the ships would use the leftover paint to spice up their corrugated-metal homes.
Okay, that wraps up Argentina! I hope you all enjoyed the stories and pictures…
And if anyone ever wants advice on going there, Heather and I would be happy to oblige…and to go with you.
What an amazing place!
1 comment:
Nate - My husband and I are enjoying your pics and commentary. We just returned from a trip (a bit shorter than yours) to Argentina - el Calafate, el Chalten and Ushuaia. We arrived in el Chalten a few days after you left. It was neat to see pics that you took - and the AMAZING weather/views you had. We had 2 days of rain/snow and then the last day cleared up enough to see almost all of Cerro Torre and all of Fitz Roy. Thanks for posting and for your thoughts on Chile v. Argentina. TDP will have to be another trip for us. We learned our lesson - leaves lots of extra time to account for bad weather.
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