Blogs from Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 10

There is no bus route direct from Rio Gallegos (which acts as a hub for buses to places in the far south of Argentina) to El Chaltén, so we got the bus from El Calafate. It left at 8.00am, cost around AR$120 and arrived around 12. The bus stops as you enter the national park and everyone got off to listen to a talk from the park rangers, with the choice of Spanish or English. The talk is really informative and tells you about all the different hikes and trails around El Chaltén. They tell you how long they take (their estimates are pretty spot on) and how far they are etc. We were really lucky with the weather, which was sunny and most importantly clear. The rangers said people could stay over a week and ... read more

With a roaring thunder and a great splash, a huge chunk of ice broke off the serrated snout of the towering Perito Moreno Glacier and plunged into the milky, turquoise Lago Argentino--it was for this that I, like so many others, made the pilgrimage to the obscure little town of El Calafate. I'd come to El Calafate for five days in late March, well past the December-February Patagonian summer when the small town would triple in size to 20,000 with tourists. Now, the crowds had gone, but autumn was setting in with rain, fierce winds and clouds that obscured the picturesque mountains surrounding the town and dulling my photos. When storms had been predicted for the days ahead, and I could no longer hike, I reluctantly left my beloved El Chalten , population 500, where for ... read more

(Photos now added!). After the Torres Del Paine trek and the dormitory living of Puerto Natales it was nice to get back to El Calafate and a slightly less frenetic pace of life (God, it does get wearing having to get up each morning and be places for a particular time). El Calafate is a small, pretty town tending towards the twee, nestling on the shore of Lago Argentino. Like Puerto Natales it is another town of lake and wind. In addition to the road connection it is also home to the main regional airport making it the principal point of entrance for tourists wanting to visit the glaciers national park, and more precisely the region's leading attraction, the Perito Moreno glacier. Basically as Puerto Natales is to Torres Del Paine so El Calafate is to ... read more

FACES OF PATAGONIA: When the best laid plans come unstuck if you find No Hay. "Serendipity" is Travelblog's middle name. Where wonderful things happen by accident...awesome finds when you are not looking for them...lucky to do so...quests leading to the delightfully unexpected. Horace Walpole first penned the meaning in 1754 describing how princes in Serendip (Sri Lanka) were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”. So used correctly the use of the word requires the wisdom to make the connection that something great has happened by fortuitous occurrence. So I got to thinking...in a Travelbloggy kinda way. Is a change of plans brought about by an unforeseen event, maybe a disaster, that leads to missing your quest entirely, but you have a great time anyway...is that serendipity? ... read more

Day 12 Another early (8 am) start with a long hike (24 km's) to the base of Mt Fitz Roy. Short drive to the entrance of Los Glaciares National Park along a gravel road running alongside a vast valley of the Rio Blanco river. The trees along the valley cliffs are just starting to turn yellow and in a months time apparently turn a deep red before dropping for winter. The walk is generally flat following the river with a sheltered forest at the start before opening up into more open an exposed areas with great views of another significant glacier (Pridras Blancas). There are over 300 glaciers in the park with only the very large ones named. The end of the trail up was a strenuous 400 mtr rise in altitude over 2 km's along ... read more