El Chalten & Mount Fitz Roy National Park - Days 67 to 69

Have a look at our Youtube video of the hikes we did in Fitz Roy National Park: https://youtu.be/HCe_mMYFnPc
Our trip so far: Central and South America

A near perfect reflection of Monte Fitz Roy in Laguna Capri

We trundled off, the 1.5km with our little wheeled rucksacks behind us (a good buy so far) arriving in good time at the bus station via the Santander bank, where we pay no charges, here or in the UK, for our three hour bus ride to El Chalten. It turned up 45 mins late, making us glad we didn't go for the half hour changeover time on our return before going to Puerto Natales. By which time I'd accosted some poor bloke, a big bearded American, in the queue, asking him when he was going to finish his book, where he was staying, he probably thought he'd pulled!

Sarah and Vaughan and the big yellow lorry they are travelling in

Relatively short bus ride but through much of the same sort of boring scrub landscape we've spent lots of time driving through, so thought perhaps I'd better give finishing my book a go. Success, by both parties, just before the scenery changed and 'Mount' Fitz Roy came into view.

Vaughan and Sarah showing us the inside of their lorry

Trundled the 1km from the bus station to the hostel, if we'd remembered we should have booked a transfer with the company based out of the hostel as we could have been taken all the way there. Ho hum, still, not as bad as people we know who were on the right bus, but forgot, walked the 1km with huge packs on, only to find the bus parked outside! We were greeted by a very nice young man telling us we were the lucky ones, we'd been upgraded to the hotel next door. Also that the last two days had been the only ones in the three months he'd been there that it had been sunny and not completely clouded in! It is a proper hotel, toiletries and everything, not to mention bowls of toffees all over the place! Goes for about twice the one we were booked into, hurrah!

Our up graded hotel in El Chalten

Thought we'd go out for a beer and have a look at the facilities in the hostel, after all, if we were going to cook, it would have to be there, and the Tripadvisor reviews all say the same things, kitchens small and not well stocked, probably to make you give up and eat in the hostel, serving food 24 hours (why?) walked out of the kitchen towards the book exchange to be stopped in my tracks as there was Sarah, the English half of the U.K./NZ couple last seen at Santiago airport. 

and our room - posh isn't it!

We knew they were doing 51 days in Patagonia in a big off road lorry/bus thing but what were the chances of that? Grab a beer and sit down for a good catch up, only for Nancy and Josie the French Canadians from the glacier to walk past! That was not quite so surprising, but there are a lot of hostels in town so still quite a coincidence, and we'd so nearly walked down the road, not up! Lovely evening.

On the Laguna de Los Tres walk

Up for a good breakfast, though all sweet, no savoury, before heading up, along with everyone else in El Chalten, to Laguna de los Tres, the standard hike to get the best view of Fitz Roy. It's a relatively easy 10km until the last km which is quite steep and just seems to go on and on. Good views and lunch before shouting rude comments to Nancy and Josie as they sauntered past from the lake edge. Good chat and made a dinner date at B&B the beer and burger bar before letting them head off, well they are both very quick, running down whenever possible, trying to encourage me to do the same, as they have both suffered in the past with painful knees, for which I carry my walking poles, running reduces the weight in each step apparently! Hmm, don't do running, and not sure the brain can process information fast enough!

Our first view of monte Fitz Roy

Back in time for a shower and quick look round town, not that that took long before, our date, met my American waiting for his burger, hope we are not all going to be disappointed. No, absolutely fabulous, and a happy hour pint, and good chips too! We decided not to join N&J for their sunset hike, another beer was calling, and we have English movie channels......

At Laguna de Los Tres with Monte Fitz Roy behind

Second day, second standard hike, Laguna Torre, recommended by N&J and Sarah and Vaughan. Interesting lake, with icebergs floating in it, slightly shorter than yesterday and relatively flat, till Brian stuck his oar in and decided that with a path on his GPS, not on the map that they hand out to all and sundry, and not on the 'proper' map we borrowed from Alex we could make a nice circular walk! Hmmm. Questioning people we met, everyone looked blank, but sure enough, at the point marked on the GPS there sort of was a path, they'd blocked it off, and didn't want you to use it, and it was very overgrown, but the other options were a lot further, so I was sent in to bushwhack! We did hit Laguna Capri where we expected it, and I suppose it worked, but there had been a lot more up than I'd allowed for when I set my pace on the way in! So, knackered, we bought a beer (from the supermarket at 1/3 the price of the bar) and some crisps for after our shower and decided we'd then go and treat ourselves to our first, and probably last, Argentinian steak, though actually we shared a meal as 400g of meat is quite enough for two. It was fabulous, made all the better with the thought of an easy day tomorrow!

And who should we see there? That's Nancy in front, Josie behind

Ha, we started talking to the lone lady sitting next to us who recommended another hike, I thought this had a viewpoint after a short while and we could just go there, but sadly I was a bit confused, this was another 'hard' rated climb, 4 hours in! It was a pleasant walk, but without much to see till we got to the top, or the viewpoint, which wasn't the top, but to the top we had to go, very steep, and a lot of a slog. Fortunately for Brian who should we find at the top but Nancy and Josie, so he didn't get the ear bashing he deserved. He was surprised to see them there, I would have been more surprised not to see them there, knowing they were planning their relaxing day yesterday!

And there they are back at the hostel about an hour before us

We let them go ahead though I did try a gentle jog for some of it, and we would have really made it back in record time, except we met an English guy who thought he was going to the easy viewpoints, I gave him my map and explained his mistake and took him back to where the path divided, though not before meeting a Spanish speaking family who thought they could pop to where we'd just been in a few minutes too. We left them heading off to the viewpoints too! Our good deeds done we arrived at the icecream shop two minutes before it opened, about an hour after Nancy had got there, but she was still waiting! Great icecream, back for a shower before meeting up at their new hostel for a quick beer before going over the road to the burger joint, which was so busy tonight it really couldn't cope, the food was just as good but arrived in random order, along with random beers. Oh well, we shared a table with a couple from Barnt Green, 10 minutes away from where we live, who have been travelling 18 months! 

El Chalten as we walked up on the Laguna Torres walk

Walking through meadows with amazing scenery up ahead

We had a fabulous evening, lots of laughter, before saying our farewells to Nancy who we will be sure to look up if we ever end up in Canada and Josie who we may catch up with later in this trip, who knows. We are all off to El Calafate tomorrow, them earlier than us to get their flight to Buenos Aires and us to catch our connecting bus to Puerto Natales.

 

And it was worth the effort once we were there

 

People go to amazing lengths to get a good photo

 

How about this one?

 

Does that iceberg look like its got a birds head and beak to you?

 

The deviation to Laguna Capri following a track on my gps where no map showed a path!

 

But we did eventually find our way to Laguna Capri and got this photo and the perfect reflection photo at the top of this entry

 

A condor flies overhead

 

And we spotted this red headed woodpecker on the way back

 

On todays walk up to Lomo del Pliegue Tumbado. El Chalten in the background

 

What is stopping that rock from rolling downhill?

 

A parrot/lorakeet

 

After a 2.5 hour walk in trees with little view we finally emerged onto open hillside. Our final target was that white pointed top just to the left

 

Getting into the tough steep part of the walk, but the views really opened up

 

Jackie consults with a couple of people on the way down to see if its worth it

 

The really steep part of the final ascent. Jackie was not happy and I'd already been called a bully!

 

But as we got to the summit who should we find there but Nancy and Josie. Look at the smile on Jackies face, I am saved from an ear bashing!

 

And the views were as good as we'd hoped. Monte Fitz Roy on the left, Laguna Torre glacial lake beneath it that we'd walked to yesterday, Laguna Capri just about in the centre that we took a detour to yesterday and El Chalten is in the distance on the right

 

A closer view of Monte Fitz Roy and Laguna Torre

 

This little chap was gliding around overhead on the summit hoping for scraps from the trekkers

 

Back down in El Chalten again. The mountain we climbed is just peeking out on the left behind that big mass of rock directly below that upturned 'T' shaped cloud

 

A final drink with our new found friends Josie and Nancy. We've done a lot together since we met a week ago on the bus from Ushuaia. We may see Josie again somewhere in South America, but we're only likely to see Nancy again if we visit Quebec in Canada. Farewell you two, we've had great times

El Calafate – Days 65 to 66

Have a look at our Youtude video of the Perito Merino Glacier: Perito Merino

The Perito Moreno Glacier

After three nights in the Aves del Lago Hostel in El Calafate we are about to leave for a three hour bus journey to El Chalten, which is at the foot of mountain Fitz Roy and the starting point for a number of one day and multi day hikes into the mountains.

Our hostel on the edge of town by the bird sanctuary

We quite like El Calafate and particularly the hostel we’re in, it’s a little out of the centre of town, but is next to the bird sanctuary and Lago Argentino so the views over the lake and mountains are outstanding and worth the 15 minute walk into town. The town of El Calafate seems to exist and survive only on the presence of the glacier, Perito Moreno, as there is little else to do here. There are a few museums, most with the standard entrance fee of 300 Argentine Pesos (£16), the bird sanctuary, shops and restaurants and a nice Los Glaciers park, so three nights here is more than enough, except that it’s a nice place to just chill out for a bit.

Nancy, Josie and Jackie at the glacier

The day we had out at the glacier with Nancy and Josie, both French Canadians we met on the bus (and shared a room with in Rio Gallegos) was a real treat. After failing to find a car to rent for the day we eventually hired a taxi to take the four of us to the glacier and wait the 3 hours we took to walk the walkways in front of the glacier. This seemed a better and cheaper option than booking a bus tour as we were picked up at our hostels, driven there and were not queuing to get in with a bus load of others. He dropped us off at the top of the hill and we walked straight down on the walkway to the glacier, which was stunning.

A huge chunk splashes into the lake

The glacier itself is huge at 31km long, 5km wide at its widest and 700m deep at its deepest, where it moves at an average speed of 2m per day. It is one of the few glaciers that it not retreating but is considered stable, occasionally retreating a bit and at other times (such as now) advancing a little bit. This is because more snow falls on the upper reaches than ablates into the lake at its snout.

On the left is where the snout has met the land

It disgorges into Lago Argentino and at the moment has advanced so much it has reached the opposite shore right by the walkway and has cut off the upper stretch of the lake, known as Brazo Rico, from the main part of the large lake that stretched back to El Calafate 80km away. As a result of this the flow of water down the lake has been interrupted, causing the Brazo Rico section to rise higher than the main Lago Argentino, in the past by as much as 30m in height. In the past, when the blockage ruptures the flow of water has caused flooding down-stream all the way to El Calafate and Lucia, who runs our hostel near to the lake told us that three years ago the water reached within a few feet of the hostel, which today is more than 200m away!

Feeling cool at the glacier!

The very modern walkway has been constructed to allow visitors to walk across the full width of the glacier and see it from very close quarters. They run up high so it is possible to see across the top of the glacier to see it stretching off into the distance as a huge white flat roadway. In other sections of the walkway we are taken down low to see the 70m high snout tower up over us. As it is a fast moving glacier huge chunks of ice regularly fall off (calve), some the full 70m height and drop into the lake with a huge splash and impressive noise. We saw one such event that I got a couple of poor photos of and saw another just as we arrived. Of course such events are unpredictable so it’s almost impossible to film it happening, once you heard the noise its already too late!

A condor flies overhead

We were really impressed with the glacier and the walkway and organisation, even though there were quite a few people there we had no problem in getting good views as the walkway is so extensive and well planned. We both thought we were going to be disappointed but we both came away feeling this was a visit well worth doing. It’s a very impressive glacier and the closeness really makes you feel small next to the massive power of nature.

It is possible to take a boat trip, but we decided not to since the walkway offers closer views, the boats just can’t get as close because of the danger. It is also possible to take a walking tour on the glacier itself but we didn’t do that as we’ve been on many glaciers before both walking and ski touring and we know the best views are at the snout of the glacier.

A new born foal in El Calafate

Yesterday we walked round the town, visited a couple of museums and had a nice chilling day, today we’ve walked round the bird sanctuary, all wrapped up as, although it’s mainly sunny there is a strong and quite cold wind blowing straight from the glaciated distant mountains. We’re now about to walk back to the bus station and continue our onward journey. Maybe we will catch up with Nancy and Josie again in El Chalten, they went yesterday and some other people who have stayed in our hostel have also gone there today. It seems to be the tourist route round here!

The cat from next door who really wanted to come into the hostel but wasn't allowed!

The los Glaciers park complete with statues of Francisco Moreno and Charles Darwin

The distant mountains seen from the window of our hostel

Flamingos fishing in Lago Argentino

They look like they are running off together into the hills

A google map image of the glacier. The little red marker is the point where the glacier has cut the lake off causing the one half, in the bottom of the photo, to fill to a higher level than the main part of the lake above