El Chalten (courtesy of Laura)

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Had our legs not done enough moving in the past few week? Apparently not. So even more walking after the beast of the Torres? Yeh, sure. And in the so-called trekking capital of the world.... weather depending of course, as we soon found out.

After a long day of bus rides and waits journeying from Puerto Natales, we were greeted by an unforgettable sunset over the Parque Los Glaciers. As the bus rounded one of the last (long) bends into El Chalten, the sun sank behind the mountains casting out long shadows into the red sky. My camera couldn't do it justice at the time, suffering from repetitive shaking due to the uneven road. I wasn't able to hold it still for a moment.

The hostel too was only meters away from the bus stop, looking more like a prison than anything else. It was however to be our home for the next few days, it had hot water, a kitchen, bug free (debatable) beds and a roof, all that we needed and expected for under £8 a night. We had a home and bed was calling after a long day on the move.

Day 1 of 3.

For the days waking ahead, we meant to tackle the view point of Mount Fitz Roy, the sky lacked a certain something... Oh yes, the sun. Although blue skies sprawled out for miles in the direction that we would not be walking, only heavy clouds loomed the over the mountains, sinking into the valley the our feet would soon be plodding up. However, we seemed certain that sunshine would at some point fill the afternoon skies, and this unfounded optimism would not be dashed by the bleak view from the hostel window. So armed with Alfajores and waterproofs we set forth into the gloom.

Our first supposed viewpoint of Fitz was around an hour into the walk. It would have made a fine picture, if it we could have seen it. Was it even there? Is this mount a myth? There seemed to be whirls of cloud whipping around some rocky mound in the distance but any further up was shielded from view by nothing else but real shit weather. And with no hint of transforming into glorious rays of sun, what kind of fools would we be if we did not carry on... Truth be told, one of us, mentioning no names here, had already lost the faith and followed on reluctantly.

Dinner time was also a less than fun affair. For one, trying to fork pasta with fingers too cold to grip is just plain difficult. A shovel would have served better. Second, there is no second, it was simply way past the point where we should have turned back. It was a steep hours climb to the viewpoint, but peeping out of the woods for a glance upwards soon confirmed that we would not be venturing up there today. After a quick jaunt off to see a nearby icy blue glacier (which was no doubt the highlight of the days tramp) we emerged from the shelter of the trees to face the brutal weather conditions for a soggy 11k dash back home. Dripping wet, our trousers clung to our legs whilst the wind pummelled rain painfully into our faces and our shoes got so sodden there was no longer reason to even try avoid puddles. Not happy chappies.

However, just as a soldier does, a traveller also marches on their belly. So when we eventually made it back to town we made the obligatory stop at a cafe and feasted our eyes upon the largest slice of chocolate cake Patagonia has ever seen. Accompanied by two hot chocolates, our spirits we quickly lifted and we found the strength to trudge back to the hostel and spag bol it up for tea . We even had parmesan. Day over.

Day 2 of 3.

We walked.

Although this time the sky looked much more inviting and we set out with smiles on our faces, ready for some cracking views of Fitz and the surrounding rocks and glaciers and stuff. It was alright. Bit windy though.

The most superior part of the day was tea time, as Laura and Thurid had offered to cook us dinner in thanks for James's mountain rescue efforts. Unfortunately, this was scheduled for 8pm; a long, hard, stomach rumbling wait from our usual teatime. At least no one can accuse of being late late guests! It was more than worth the wait. We supped on glorious amounts of steak, garlic bread and buttery onions and of course, had a good giggle. Which is not all that surprising when we added up the empty wine bottles. Lucky for us, we didn't have to get up at 7am for a bus like the girls did!

Injured knee update: We learned that Thurid had become famous in Chile due to her fall, it had been broadcasted on national tv and had been exaggerated to a near fatal 4m fall. We couldn't wait to google it when we got back!

Day 3 of 3.

Well, we walked AGAIN. A repeat of day one, minus the cloud and rain. And what a difference it made! We got amazing views of Fitz Roy and the entire valley was coloured in beautiful reds, oranges and browns as the trees were changing into their autumn attire. It was well worth the effort to tred the same ground twice. On the way down though, the weather did turn sour but we found refuge in the towns very own waffleria which went down a treat.

The end.

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