Patagonia: a nature lover's dream destination
Hola, ¿cómo estás? I can’t quite believe that my time here, in Argentina, is quickly coming to a close in a few days. However, before I leave, I’d like to share my experiences from my time in Patagonia. It was profoundly surreal to finally be in a place that I had only seen in photos and the Patagonia brand. Even though I was in Patagonia for a brief time, I quickly fell in love with its rugged beauty, charm, and the dangers lurking in the background. Even though we experienced some hardships and challenges, it was well worth it and Patagonia will forever hold a piece of my heart. I traveled in Patagonia from June 18 – June 25. Our trip encompassed trekking in Calafate and El Chalten and its surrounding areas. These two villages are located in Santa Cruz province in the Patagonia region. Both are part of Los Glaciares National Park. The memories will continually be a part of my life and influence my future self. I accompanied three other girls from Universidad Blas Pascal on this trip. We ate, trekked, slept, and enjoyed the vistas throughout our time there. Even if, by the end of the day, I felt like collapsing or frozen to the bone, I am incredibly grateful that I had the chance to experience Patagonia with wonderful friends.
On June 18, the my three classmates and I boarded our flight from Cordoba to our destination in Calafate. The view from the plane was breathtaking with all the expanses of wide open land which slowly turned into forest-laden mountains rising towards the sky. We arrived at the airport in the evening and drove for approximately a half an hour until we reached our hostel; Hostel Keu Ken. I was fairly skeptical about the hostel since, before we came, I had briefly looked at their website and it wasn’t the most professional. However, out of all the hostels I have ever stayed at, it was the best. Marcelo, the owner, warmly greeted us and showed us to our rooms. One of the other girls and I had opted to pay a little extra to get a double room, while the other two girls had decided to stay in a larger room with strangers.
Since we hadn’t had supper yet, we walked the long distance to the grocery store to get ingredients for a meal. It was freezing cold since the temperature had dropped, and there was a brisk wind blowing on us. The winter season in Patagonia was more evident since we were further south. When we returned, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of our classmates was also in Patagonia with his two friends who were visiting from the States. I also met Grayson; a guy from Australia who is touring Latin America until December. At the end of the day, we crashed into bed knowing that tomorrow would be full of activities.
El Calafate
The night before, Jon and his two friends decided to come along with us to view the glacier. We accidentally set out to the bus terminal slightly late, and had to sprint all the way there. Right from the start, we were exhausted from trying not to be late! Once on the bus, it was a relaxing, scenic two hour drive to Perito Moreno. There was snow glazing the tops of the mountains, emerald forests, and ice-covered lakes. Before we even arrived at our destination, we got a glimpse of the glacier since it is 19 miles in length. It is also the third largest fresh water reserve. It is unique, in that, unlike other glaciers that are retreating, the Perito Moreno is advancing slowly. It is genuinely a stunning site. The many walkways across from the glacier provide various panoramic views of the glacier. The chilling blue combined with whites and blacks is extraordinary. At certain times, people can pay to walk on it; that seems really dangerous. While we were there there were many thunderous noises as parts of the glacier ruptured and crashed into the water. If so desired, there were also boat rides to get closer to the glacier. However, we were content to view the magnificent sight from a safe, respectable distance.
Back at the hostel, dinner was an amazing group effort. Jon and his two friends, the two girls I traveled with, Grayson, and the two proprietors all joined in pitching in and feasting together. It was a great end to a wonderful day. One of the proprietors made us the typical Argentine drink (wine and Coca-Cola); it is surprisingly good. We had a pleasant time talking about various topics ranging from traveling to cultural customs. Sadly, Jon and his friends were leaving the next morning and we had to say good-bye.
comparing height differences
June 20, we had a relaxing day filled with slack lining and a tour of Walichu caves and a museum. The Walichu caves contains historic drawings on the cave walls. Near the caves was an awe-inspiring turquoise lake. With the wind whipping through my hair and the view of the lake against a backdrop of snow covered mountains, I was content and filled with a sense of peace. Our trip continued as we traveled by bus to El Chalten. The duration of the trip was from 6 pm to 9:30 pm. The bus was kind enough to drop us off right on the doorstep of Hostel Rancho Grande, the place we would be staying for while in Chalten.
El Chaltén
Since we had arrived in winter, it was essential that we bundled up to protect against the harsh elements. Many people don’t hike during this time because the weather can be unpredictable and dangerous. If I was to do this again, I would highly recommend not doing it in the late fall to winter time period (May – August). We were fortunate that we didn’t get injured or die out on the trail.
On June 21, we decided to do the Laguna Torre hike. The trail was fairly easy and there were only a few sections that were covered deeply in snow. The snow glistening on the trees, stones, mountains, and rivers reminded me of walking through Narnia. It was a beautiful and calming sight. The only downside was that it was freezing cold, and my shoes were filled with the snow which quickly turned into chunks of ice. The hike was a total of 18 km in length which took us from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Once we were higher up and clear of the trees, it was evident that the wind was blowing harshly. It made it very difficult to climb and hike since the snow would whirl about and into my eyes. When we got to the our destination, the Laguna Torre and a view of Cerro Torre, we didn’t get to fully enjoy the view since the wind was blasting so hard that it was almost impossible to stand up. I believe that since we were surrounded on three sides by mountains, that the wind would circle around causing it to blow harder than normal. My hands, face, and feet were freezing that I barely took my camera out to take photos. There was a glacier near the lake; the lake is formed by glacier melt. The view of the Cerro Torre was mostly obstructed by clouds and the blowing snow. My friends and I hid behind huge rocks in hope that the wind would calm down slightly, however it continued to howl and whip around. Surprisingly, we saw some type of bird there that was not at all fazed by the wind, and was eyeing our food. We ate a little before we headed back to our hostel since we were starving and cold.
The next day, we rose at 6 am so that we would make it back in time before nightfall. The previous day, we had rented hiking boots since our most challenging hike was today. In retrospect, I am so glad that we rented them for this hike. On our schedule was the Laguna de los Tres hike. In summer, this hike would not have been too difficult, however, in the snow, ice, and wind, it was almost impossible. This hike contains the famous mountains (Mt. Fitz Roy) that are the signature design for the Patagonia brand. The hike was a mere 20 km in total, but it felt like an eternity. Waking up so early unquestionably had its benefits since we were blessed to see an amazing sunrise over Mt. Fitz Roy. The colors of the dawn slowly climbed up and shone on the land and the mountains. It was a stunning sight to behold. When we finally made it to the bottom of a valley that would gradually take us to the place where we would hike up to the lake, I was already extremely cold and exhausted. The extremely cold temperatures were taking a toll on all of us. Finally, we reached the bottom of the mountain that we would have to scale to get to our destination. It started out as a gradual climb up which abruptly became a practically vertical mountainside. This part was covered in snow and ice. The snow came up to my hips or higher in some places, and the ice was thick and unavoidable. In one long stretch, there was no way to make footholds in the ice and I clung to branches of plants so that I wouldn’t fall off the side of the mountain. Other places we had to dig our feet into the shallow pebbles and stones that could sometimes be quite far apart that I was afraid that I would fall. Frighteningly, my arms and legs were trembling quite a bit, and I was afraid that I would collapse. On the final stretch, a kind man (one of the only people we saw there) helped me get the rest of the way up since I couldn’t reach any of the footholds. I am eternally grateful that none of us died or got injured slipping on the ice and snow. Having this experience has absolutely impacted my life in a huge way. Once we got to the top of that mountain, I was dismayed to see there was another smaller mountain to climb to reach our final destination. All of us were so drained of energy that we barely dragged ourselves up this final part. However, it was most definitely worth the trek. Below us was the frozen lake while across from us was Mt. Fitz Roy. It was a magnificent sight to witness with its snow covered peaks of blue and gray. There were people skiing down towards the lake which surprised me greatly since it seemed fairly dangerous. As I turned the other direction, away from Fitz Roy, my breath caught as I finally notice the vista of all the land that we had crossed to get to our destination. It was breathtaking to see far out the non-snow covered plains with the winding river which gradually turned into a land covered in trees, snow, and hills. The fun part was, when we finally decided to descend, we slide down the mountainside. It was way quicker than ascending it and took a lot less energy. We trudged the rest of the way back to Calafate. Then we headed over to the place where we had rented our hiking boots and returned them. Since we didn’t bring our other shoes with us, we walked, in only our socks, back to our hostel and collapsed into bed. Although this was the most challenging hike I have ever been on, it was so worth it. I am very thankful that we arrived back safe and sound.
June 23, we slept in since we were so exhausted and sore beyond belief. One of my friends had to leave early, so we said goodbye. We decided to only do a small hike since we were so sore and tired. The hike was a total of 6 km and wasn’t difficult at all considering that we didn’t have to climb too much and it wasn’t covered in snow and ice. We visited Chorrillo del Salto where we were able to view a waterfall. After wandering around the waterfall, we climbed up and got a decent view of the valley. There, we rested and closed our eyes for a bit. The sun was out and the weather was fair; not too cold not too warm. We didn’t stay out too long since we were still tired, and had a nice night in.
The following day, June 24, we rose at 6 am so that we could accomplish the Mirador de los Condores hike. It was incredibly spectacular to see the sunrise over the valley, El Chalten, Mt. Fitz Roy, and Cerro Torre. We encountered a prime spot on a huge rock to watch the sunrise. The wind was brisk and the temperature, cold, yet we still enjoyed our last day in Chalten. At the Mirador de los Aguilas, we spotted some eagles lazily flying around in the sky. Sadly, at 6 pm we departed from El Chalten back to El Calafate.
On June 25 we boarded our flight back to Cordoba at 9:30 am. It was regrettable to leave Patagonia so soon. I wish that we had more time to explore more of the trails and other places that are part of the Los Glaciares National Park. However, I greatly appreciate the time given to me to take the time to go and travel around in that region.
Although it was sad to leave the Patagonia region, I am glad to spend these last few days with the people who have become such an important part of my experience and my life. This experience, my travels in and around Argentina, has greatly influenced my life and I am forever appreciative to the people here and those in my life who have supported and encouraged me to follow my dreams.