Blogs from El Chaltén, Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 13

Apres plus de trente heures de bus sur la route 40, nous voila pour trois jours dans un village de montagne. Nous rencontrons Camille et Jerome dans le bus et commencons a voyager ensemble.... read more

Parque Nacional Los Glaciares - El Chalten - Geduld ist eine Tugend Der Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, anerkannt als solcher seit 1937 und seit 1982 zudem Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO, liegt ca. 150 km nordwestlich von El Calafate in Argentinien. Auf der Ostseite des suedlichen patagonischen Inlandeises findet man hier auf 4.460 Quadratkilometern eine Landschaft, deren heutiges Erscheinungsbild unverkennbar von der Eiszeit gepraegt ist. Um diese in ihrer jetzigen Form auch fuer zukuenftige Generationen zu bewahren, ist der Zutritt zum Park auf wenige Orte beschraenkt. In der Praxis beschraenkt sich dies im Wesentlichen auf den noerdlichen Teil des Parkes, den Fitzroy-Sektor, und hier wiederum auf die erst 1986 gegruendete Ortschaft El Chalten, die sich selbstbewusst auch 'la capital nacional del trekking' nennt. Auch wenn die Ortschaft seither eine rasante Entwicklung durchgemacht hat... read more

El Chalten is when we seriously considered ourselves to be in Patagonia, although the region officially begins just north of Bariloche. This town hugs the border that Argentina shares with Chile and is located in the northern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. It's claim to fame: the Fitz Roy Range and most impressively Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy. Rugged and wild are two words that accurately describe the area. It's a hikers dream with trails and peaks that are so accessible, all you have to do is get out of bed in the morning. The town of El Chalten itself is still developing at a rapid pace, trying it's best to keep up with the growing demands of tourism. It has a long way to go but their first ATM was installed the week ... read more

I guess to some degree I felt obligated to take the long rough road down Route 40 towards Chalten and Calafate. The two day journey was a long one that just seemed like it would never end. About a day and a half of the ride is unpaved, meaning very bumpy. Most of Patagonia is step. There really is nothing for miles upon miles but the wind that blows through the land never seems to take a breath. It´s just a constant hard gust. We broke the ride up into two parts staying in a run down town called Puerto Moreno (not to be confused with the glacier in Chalten). There was nothing there, just dirt roads and cats. Arriving in Chalten late night the hostal that was booked for me apparently overbooked the rooms. Because ... read more

The thing about maps is that the trails look so short on paper. I arrived in El Chalten on a blue sky day at about 6:30 in the morning after a 30 hour bus ride. After finding a hostel, I glanced at a map, picked a likely destination and started walking. Tee shirt and jeans were comfortable and the day looked great. I didn´t know much about the place... my new travel philosophy is founded on last years pre-trip Internet experience - I got so much information off the web last year that I felt I´d already been there so I never went. I knew that El Chalten was a place to hike but not much more... at the trail-head I took a digital photo of the map and headed out. Water bottle in my right ... read more