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Published: February 13th 2008
Happiness is...
Local beer overlooking one of the seven lakes, Bariloche, ArgentinaThankfully at a reasonable hour we emerged the next day, passports at the ready (best border control yet - table tennis table to keep us amused while we waited) to head for our next destination, Bariloche in the Argentinian lake district. A very hot and long yet stunningly beautiful drive day took us past all 7 lakes, reminiscent of Canada in parts, before finally setting up camp some way from the town centre. Famous for its chocolate and skiing potential in the winter months, Bariloche is very Swiss with its steep sloping rooves, hearty food and general high level of cleanliness. Out of snowy season, the weather was relatively sunny with a distinct lack of white anywhere to be seen. Wandering around town Matt and I happened across a highly teutonic themed restaurant where we had a very substantial and incredible lunch (pork medallions in malbec sauce with sweet potato and micro brewery beer for under a fiver?!) overlooking the glacial waters of one of the many lakes. In the afternoon it was time to head up via cable car for a beer at the viewing platform overlooking the lake before racing all the way back down in toboggans (snow free
Satan
So christened by me for his scary, wonky eyes. This dog is awesome, campsite, Bariloche ones!). Back to the campsite, we had organised a boys and girls evening to give us all a bit of a chance to unwind. For the girls this was an evening of bowling, chocolate fondue and demented cackling: for us it was poker and pool followed by a trip to a couple of Irish pubs, the latter of which we ended up getting ripped off with tourist prices (so much so I ended having a heated argument in Spanish with the barman and eventually an undercover police officer). The next day there were quite a few sore heads, which were nicely cleared out by a paddle up through Crystal lake in 2-man kayaks to take in the breathtaking scenery while of course indulging in water fights and general shenanigans.
As with pretty much everywhere visited so far, there was not enough time for us to see everything Bariloche had to offer before we were on the road again for a 15 hour drive through the middle of nowhere to (days like this really make you appreciate how enormous, plain, and deserted most of Patagonia is) yet another charming town, El Calafate. Base camp for nearly all the treks out
Funky spiky flowery thing
Vague relative of the monkey puzzle tree perhaps? Looks cool anyway, Bariloche to the numerous glaciers in the region, El Cal is a beautiful town full with decent outdoor shops, some very good ice cream parlours and some excellent grill houses (Ricks offers the best lamb that I will probably ever eat). Of the glaciers, the most famous is Perito Moreno, which until recently was the only glacial mass still expanding outside Antartica (it now just maintains its mass rather than all the others that are getting smaller thanks to global warming), which is where we went to visit the next day. With a face 5km wide, it is not the biggest glacier around these parts (there are 3 bigger), although the first time seeing it is nothing short of spectacular. Getting a boat trip towards it we were lucky enough to witness massive chunks of ice shearing off into the milky glacial water, before heading back to shore for an overview from above of the glacier to see its body disappearing off into the distance. Words really don´t do this majesty of nature justice - get there and see it! Buzzing from the exhiliration of a very busy day´s photography, we headed back into town for a group meal for New
Boys night out
Irish pub, barman´s perspective, Bariloche Year´s eve, accompanied with much alcohol (for a change), a fair bit of dancing and covering the Dragoman truck in Tucan stickers (maturity is an integral part of our group dynamic). Moving on into town, we ended up in a bar absolutely stuffed with people to salsa the night away with the locals.
Onwards from El Calafate, we headed down back into Chile (more inevitable delays at the border) via Puerto Natales towards Torres del Paine, surely the jewel in the crown in Chile´s many beautiful National Parks. Arriving in thick low cloud, we could get no bearings of the park nor see any of its wonderful sights. Matters failed to improve the next day when we headed off bright and early to walk up to the towers, an 8 hour day of trekking there and back. Kitted up for the worst, I was very glad of my thermals and waterproofs (although still not convinced jacket keeps me dry!) as we trotted up over the brow of the first hill into a fearfully strong icy chill. Making good time, Matt and I overtook many of the first group and plowed on towards the Valley of Silence. Wandering through forests
Independence Day 2?
Spectacular sky, El Calafate, Argentina somewhat remisicent of Lord of the Rings, we eventually emerged in a field of boulders over which we began clambering, but weather worsened with us hiking straight into a blizzard. Deciding to get up to the Towers instead we retraced our steps and began the ascent (yet more boulders - uphill and snowing heavily - all good fun). Having passed several of the group who had been unable to see anything at the top, we persevered and eventually arrived in time to see.....nothing! Being stubborn, I persuaded Matt to stay up there for the best part of an hour as we waited for the snow clouds to clear, coming tantalisingly close towards the end, but only the very base of the towers was visible. Disappointed, we had to hurry back (running in sleet in hiking boots is always fun) to meet the others to head on back to camp for some highly welcome hot food (with the best gravy ever - ended up drinking it out of the pot!)and a glass of wine. The second day at Torres was an altogether nicer proposition, with clearer skies and an easier walk ahead of us, around the shores of Laguna Azul. With
Patagonian dreaming
En route to Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina glacial water, this lake is stunningly beautiful, aided in no small part by the accompaniment of the towers looming in the background (thankfully clearly visible). Back to camp later on, we sat in the bar playing cards and then realised it was still light at midnight!
The third day in the park was unfortunately a return to form for the bad weather as we headed out via catamaran to start our trek to the Grey Glacier. As Matt and I had decided to get the boat trip up to the glacier at the end of the walk, we were under a fairly tight time constraint (covering a 4h trek in 2h45), so my normal photo excesses had to be curbed in favour of speed (this is possibly the only day on tour where Matt may have taken more pics than me!). Battling against a ferocious 50mph glacial wind (actually blowing us backwards at times!) we headed up hill and down dale before jogging the last bit (in hiking boots with backpack - felt like army selection) to get to our destination. A very cosy hippie style communal retreat greeted us upon arrival, where we enjoyed our squashed pack lunch
Very cool flowers
Again no idea of what they are! Perito Moreno NP sandwiches and a coffee before boarding the boat for our trip to the glacier. Getting appreciably closer to the icy mass than we could in Perito, we were treated to whisky and pisco sour chilled with freshly hewn iceberg chunks so got nicely tipsy while enjoying the spectacular bluey hues of the glacier up close before boating back down the lake to get back to camp, stopping off for an excellent steak sandwich en route. Having covered over 22k walking in the course of the 3 days, we were fairly worn out and ready to hit the hay, and having drunk the bar dry of beer we had to resort to hot chocolate to go with our cards before retiring to a very windswept tent.
Although many of us were somewhat weary due to being woken repeatedly during the night by the wind, the following morning the weather was thankfully clement. The move on from Torres was very welcome for a number of the group, mainly those prone to moan that it was too hilly (are mountains not normally?!), too cold (read the brochure - does tell you to pack accordingly!), there was nothing to see (it is one
The glacier looms
Perito Moreno Glacier of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, and will be returning with a big fat SLR to do its majesty proper photo justice) and this was not the reason they came on holiday (why book it then?). Driving on back via Puerto Natales for supplies, we stopped for a very tasty coffee and slice of cake (mmmm) in a local coffee shop that was completely overcome with the sudden influx of customers. Here again the flaws in Chilean payment processes were very apparent, however the armchairs were comfy and there were quite a lot of reading materials to keep us occupied while we waited. The extra energy was welcome, as surprisingly enough the border crossing back into Argentina took some time (not as thorough as Chileans, they are still very serious), but once back on the road we made good headway to rock on in to Punta Arenas, from where the next thrilling installment will continue.
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