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Published: February 11th 2010
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I was glad to leave Ushuaia, where the highest temperture during summer is only 10°C! But it was not yet time to leave the south, my next stop was in Patagonia, El Calafate and El Chalten. It took a while to get there as I had to take a bus to Rio Gallegos on the east coast crossing through Chile again before heading west to Calafate. I finally arrived at 2 am in a really nice hostel and going straight to bed. The next morning I was looking forward just to relax and take in the beautiful scenery around me. And it was also time to organise the rest of my trip, I booked a tour for the next day to see the glacier, a hike in El Chalten and the buses up north.
The following day I went to see one of the most amazing glaciers in the world, Perito Moreno. Even though I have seen many glaciers, this one was definitely one of the most impressiv ones! I walked along the side of the glaciers waiting for some ice to break off and crash into the water. The glacier is moving quite a bit every day and still
keeps the same size so I did not have to wait too long to see this happening. It was amazing to watch and hear the ice break off and fall into the water. Unfortunately the weather was not too good but in the afternoon a few sunrays came out to light the blue of the ice, which made it even better!
I headed to El Chalten the day after, a small village about 3 hours north of Calafate in the National Park. Also this area is well known for glaciers and the well known Fitz Roy mountain. On the day of arrival I have been already informed that weather forcast wasn't too good for the coming day, where I have planned a hike on the glacier. Well, never the less I got up the next morning hoping the wind will blow away the clouds. But it was my bad luck, I started off with a group to do the hike and after an hour in pouring rain we reached a view point, where we were supposed to see the glacier.... well, there were just clouds and rain and strong winds so that the guide decided to cancelle the hike!
I was disappointed, but glad to sit in the warm of the hostel restaurant and enjoy a hot chocolate after walking two hours in the rain.
Due to my plans I had to leave the next day and could not delay the hike. How annoyed I was when I saw the amazing weather the next day, I even could see Mount Fity Roy on the way out, at least something. A long journey lay ahead of me, first 3 hours to Calafate where I had a stop over of about 3 hours, than a 5 hours bus ride to Rio Gallegos before catching a 13 hours bus to Puerto Madryn. But by now I am used to such long bus rides and the buses here are very comfortable.
I arrived the next day in Puerto Madryn and first to take off all my warm clothes, finally summer! It was about 30°C and the sun was shining. The hostel was just half a block away from the beach; what a view after just seeing mountains for the last couple of weeks!
The next morning I headed out to the Peninsula Valdes in hope to see some orcas. The trip
is nice, but unfortunately a long drive. The tour went first on a boat trip to see the sea lions, which were very smelly but quite fun to watch. Next we visited a small penguine colonie as well as more seals. At one point we were informed that some orcas were sighted in the morning so we spent some time watching out for them. But it seemed they already had enough and left the place, what a shame....
Next day was already time to move on to my last destination, Mar del Plata. The place is famouse to be the holiday spot for the people from Buenos Aires. Which was quite obviouse, because the beaches were completly packed, but to be honest, not the nicest beach I have seen. But the nightlife was great and I met a lot of local people, which left me with some fun memories of my last part of this whole trip!
Back in BsAs I spend the days with shopping souvenirs and eating lots of meat for a last time before heading back to cold and snowy Switzerland, which I reached with nearly a day delay. All in all it was an
amazing trip and I do not want to miss a single minute of the time I spent in Southamerica. I hope I will soon be able to go back again!
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