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Day 23- Saturday 25th February
The Facts:
Disemabarking at 7am
Ushuaia
Flight to El Calafate
The longer version
After disembarking the rush was on to find someone to post all our new jackets and fleeces (supplied as part of the trip) back to Australia. The Correo (Post) was open on, but they only do International Parcels Mon-Fri during selected hours, even though the customs sectio which is needed for this was open! We could only locate a DHL Office (not outlet for postage), and OCA who delivered freight only within Argentina! So we managed to stuff all the goodies in our bags and board a flight to El Calafate. Now, here was another interesting Taxi Ride- 135km.hr, 4 people, 4 full backbacks and no seatbelts. The taxi could not go any faster if it tried! And this was only from the airport to town.
El Calafate was a nice little touristy town. It reminded us of Jindabyne, but had some very nice Chocolate shops. We also had to do some supermarket shopping for camping supplies. We discovered they don’t sell things in small quantities, and they love mayonnaise which occupies up to two sections in an aisle!
Day 24 - Sunday 26th February
The facts:
Bus to El Chalten
Trekking in Fitzroy region
Camping at Agonstini campground
The longer version: A morning bus ride took us El Chalten an even smaller tow in Los Glaciers Parque Nacionale, one of the most highly rated hiking areas in Patagonia. We grabbed some food from the supermarket (deciding not to get ham or cheese after observing the hygiene standards of the kitchen) and then some lunch. One must remember not to choose ‘Grande’ in Argentina, as that is really what it means. The elderly Japanese mountaineers behind us, were taking photos of the 600g steak and pizza in amazement. We also ordered a pizza, and again, some small errors in ordering meant that the Hawaiian pizza came with olives and cocktail sauce. We were able to take half the pizza with us, and enjoyed it down the trail. The track started off with a nice steep section as we got used to our packs, and then continued to climb in what was described as an easy trail. It only took us a couple of hours to get to the campsite and set the tent up. After this was
done, we walked up to the moraine of Torre Glacier, noting that cloud covered the show piece of Cerro Torre. We had met a guy who had been waiting 3 days already to see Cerro Torre, and wasn’t leaving until he had seen it. We hoped for better luck.
Day 25 - Monday 27th February
The Facts: Ice Trekking on Torre Glacier
The longer version: Today we had booked a trip to go walking on the Torre Glacier. Normally this has spectacular views of Cerro Torre, however clouds were covering the peaks today. Anyway, to get to the glacier we first walked half an hour back around to the base camp for the Outfitter, which we did at a fast pace as we thought we were running late. However, Argentinean time isn’t so fast and the group walking in from El Chalten did not arrive for another 45 mins! We then walked 20-mins to a place that was about 10-mins from our actual campsite and was on the edge of the moraine of Lago Torre.
To cross over the river we used harnesses and a Tyrolean rope. This was just the beginning of
the pain and suffering as we hauled our bodies up beside the lake and glacier terminal (had to go high over a rock slippage). On the glacier things got a lot easier. Walking on the ice with crampons was easy, and to walk on iced 45 degree slopes no problem. The water melting across the glacier was incredibly clear, and the rocks were melting holes through the ice- very cool. We were also able to do an ice -climb with ice-axes. An interesting experience, and good fun to try. We took the short cut back to camp to save ¾ an hour of walking and relaxed. The clouds were still covering Cerro Torre.
Day 26 - Tuesday 28th February
The Facts: Clouds clear to reveal Cerro Torre
Hiking to Poincenot camp with views of Mont Fitzroy
The longer version: We awoke eventually to clear blue skies and the magnificent sight of Cerro Torre, and its mushroom cap. Our friend, who had been waiting 5 days now to see it, was now able to leave. We hiked out, over the saddle and into the valley where the peaks around Mont Fitzroy could be seen.
We also saw and heard the Magellanic Woodpecker in action, its brilliant red head giving away its location. Enjoyed a nice evening and sunset over Mont Fitzroy with alarms set for 4.30am for a walk to see Mont Fitzroy turn red in the morning light.
Day 27 - Wednesday 1st March
The facts: Up at sunrise- for magnificent views of the cloud
Walk to Blanco Glacier and lake
The longer version: 4.30am and the alarms went off. We had a 400m vertical climb over 5 km in the dark. Lucky it was in the dark, because I think the walk would have taken us twice as long in the daylight as it looked, and was, pretty tough! Unfortunately, as the morning light grew, showing up the Lakes close by, and Lago Viedma in the distance, there were clouds in the distance ruining the morning light over Mont Fitzroy. Still, we were up there so enjoyed the views. After wandering down the hill (at the same speed we went up it) it was time for a nap. We then walked downstream to Glacier Blanco, which was an awesome walk through huge boulders, to the
lake and hanging glacier in the background. Continual rumblings forced us to look up with the binoculars in the hope of seeing some action of avalanches on the glacier, but it as not to be seen.
Day 28 - Thursday 2nd March
The Facts: Back to El Chalten and Calafate
The longer version: A steady start had us leaving camp after the campground was nearly bare. However it was just in time to run into one of the guys from the Antarctic Trip who was doing a 13 day guided hike! Holas aside we headed on and in the strong winds made it back to El Chalten just in time for a snack and internet check prior to heading back to El Calafate. By snack, I mean Karen ordered a crumbed steak and ended up with a crumbed steak that covered two regular size plates. Reminder: things are big in Argentina. The long days were good for the bus rides, however the drivers seemed reluctant to use headlights! Still we survived and got back to America del Sur hostel in time for a few hours sleep and the next bus ride back into Chile.
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