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Published: April 21st 2008
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Patagonia
The Navimag ferry, our home for 4 days as we sailed south down the coast of Chile. We left Bariloche early on the morning of Sunday 16 March, travelling to Puerto Montt, the regional centre of Chile´s Lake District. The bus journey took us through some pretty lake and mountain scenery - indeed, the scenery was such that the driver stopped the bus several times so he could take photos!
Puerto Montt is an unattrative hub of commerce and industry, but (as it is the embarkation point for the Navimag ferry) marked the start of our Patagonian adventures. The Navimag is a transporter ferry, rather than a cruise ship. It sails regularly through the Chilean fjords to Puerto Natales at the heart of Chilean Patagonia, a journey of four days. However, whilst still predominantly used to ferry trucks and truckers southwards, the company now also carries a significant number of tourists.
We boarded the boat on the Monday, having bought tickets for the nicest class of cabin, AAA, before leaving England (although when we were asked to board, I got stopped as the steward didn´t think I was a AAA passenger). Whilst our cabin was still relatively basic, it did have its own bathroom, and a port-hole providing views of the ocean (the cheapest tickets offer
Patagonia
Sunset on the first evening accommodation in 20-bed dormitories).
The boat as a whole was fitted similarly to a cross-channel ferry, but the crew made efforts to entertain the passengers, with regular showings of films (Motorcycle Diaries, detailing Che Guevara´s journey through South America was a particular highlight) and slide-shows on the local people, geology and geography. The rest of our time was spent talking to other travellers, enjoying the superb scenery, and on the bridge with the captain (security is a little more relaxed here than in London).
Some sea-sickness for Sarah aside (the boat spends the second night in the open Pacific), we had a truly wonderful trip. We met lots of nice people, enjoyed some wonderful scenery and saw a variety of wildlife including sea-otters, seals and whales.
On Thursday evening we arrived in Puerto Natales, gateway to Torres del Paine National Park which lies 112km to the north. The landscape of the park is dominated by the Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes. Small valleys separate the spectacular granite spires and mountains of the massif.
The national park is a popular hiking destination. Whilst hikers can opt for a day trip to see
Patagonia
Sunset on the first evening the towers (torres), many (including us) choose to walk the "W", which entails walking up the main valleys in the park over a period of four or five days and either camping or staying in basic hostels (known as refugios).
After a day organising our trip in Puerto Natales, we headed into the park for three nights. Our intention was to camp at the refugios, but after a seven-hour walk on our first day, it transpired that the tents provided at the refugios were too small for me (I had a poor night´s sleep, as I couldn´t lie flat and therefore suffered from cramp continually during the night). For our remaining time in the park, we slept in dormitory beds in the refugios.
We were blessed with beautiful weather for all four days of our walk, and the scenery was (again) stunning - in particular, in the Valle del Frances, which is headed by a cirque formed by impressive cliffs. The walk up this valley was probably the finest day´s walking we´ve ever done.
After our time in the park, we returned to Puerto Natales for a further day before crossing back to Argentina and the town
Patagonia
Mountain views on the second day of El Calafate.
The town itself is pleasant enough, but the reason for our stop was the nearby Perito Moreno glacier, located 80km away in Los Glaciares National Park. The glacier is one of 48 fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world´s third largest reserve of fresh water. At a length of 30km, the size of the glacier is truly impressive, particularly as huge blocks of ice collapse periodically into the surrounding Lago Argentino (Argentine Lake).
From El Calafate, we went north to El Chalten, which lies within the Los Glaciares park boundaries, although we did have some problems reaching the park initially.
Having booked a bus that would collect us from our hostel in El Calafate, we were waiting patiently in reception when a driver entered and asked for Sarah (or so we thought). We were a little surprised on exiting to find he had a taxi (we were expecting a mini-bus) but assumed he was taking us to the pick-up point at the bus station.
Unfortunately, I tried to clarify matters by asking "are we going to the bus station?". The Spanish speakers amongst you will know that "are we going to
Patagonia
Simon on deck on the second day the bus station?" and "we are going to the bus station" are phrased identically, except the intonation is different. Sadly, the intonation was lost, and the taxi driver took my question as an instruction about where we wanted to go. It was as he tried to shepherd us onto a bus bound for Puerto Natales we realised something had been lost in translation, and it was almost an hour (and a number of phone-calls) later that we were united with the correct mini-bus, and headed towards El Chalten.
The village is a fantastic base for exploring the surrouding countryside, notably the snow-capped towers of the Fitz-Roy mountain range. The walking was wonderful, but we also enjoyed returning each night to a comfortable bed and a choice of quaint restaurants.
Our final stop in Patagonia, and the only real disappointment of our time there, were the five days we spent in Ushuaia, which lies nestled beside the attractive Beagle Channel. Ushuaia is the self-proclaimed southern-most city in the world, although Chilean Puerto Williams is actually further south.
The town itself is somewhat unattractive, with no obvious regulations controlling the style of development. Also, whilst tourists are regularly charged
Patagonia
On the Bridge. Not a captain in sight! more than locals to enter museums and national parks throughout Argentina, in Ushuaia the premium charged to tourists seemed excessive.
We spent our first day there visiting a number of the town´s museums, including the Yamana Museum which provided a history on the region´s indigenous population - they were famed for their complete indifference to the bitter weather around Cape Horn, routinely moving about completely naked in the frigid cold and biting wind of Tierra del Fuego.
On subsequent days in Ushuaia we walked to nearby Glacier Martial, and spent a day climbing Cerro Guanaco in the Parque Nacional Tierra Del Feugo - we had amazing views from the summit, and perhaps this walk alone justified our time in town. After these two long days of walking, there was just time for a (much needed) haircut, before we returned to Buenos Aires.
We had high hopes for our time in Patagonia, and aided by some wonderful weather, it delivered everything we wished for and more. We would love to return again at some point in the near future.
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