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Published: November 21st 2007
Mt Fitzroy - El Chalten
A view of the peak in the distance as we approached by coach.Wed 21st Nov:
On Monday afternoon as I was making my way to the coach station I took a wrong turning and got attacked by an alsation dog who sunk his teeth into my leg. The dog belonged to the adjacent restaurant so I went in there to get some help. The manager was initially unsympathetic saying I shouldn´t have gone down that route. However I complained that there were no signs, and the dog should be enclosed; the restaurant was nearly full and by now many were looking at the scene, so I pulled up my trousers and showed my blood-soaked leg. His attitude changed instantly - he and two of his staff were attending me with iodine, alcahol (not for drinking) and swabs - like moths round a flame. However I couldn´t hang around too long or I would have missed my coach. Although my skin was broken in a few places, the blood made it look worse than it was. I went on my way bandaged and with stained trousers.
After an hour and a half´s journey we reached the site of Perito Moreno, the nearest glacier. The size of it was just awesome, with a height of
Ready for the Trek Ahead
With the beautiful backdrop of the mountain I got ready for the long trek ahead. 60M and over 4 Km wide. Seeing some of sides calve off in the afternoon sunshine was spectacular. It was however very windy and it was very cold out of the sunshine. It was 9:30 when we got back to Calafate - still light, as the daylight is longer down here.
Yesterday I decided to do some trekking, so I had an early start as I had booked a trip to El Chalten for the day (210 Kms away) - a four hour journey each way. Fantastic scenery on the way - like a diorama of snow-capped mountains. When we reached El Chalten we had an information talk on the National Park and a overview of the trails we could take. As we had six hours before getting the return coach, I went for the 5.5 hour trek up to the base of Mt Fitxroy, the highest peak in the area. Some incredible mountain scenery (see photos). It was very invigorating but steep and rough in places, so I just about made it back in time .... hot and exhausted. The descent was more difficult than the ascent. The weather was fantastic; the wind had died down overnight and it
Mountain Flora
Though I didn´t see much wildlife the colours of the flora made up for it. was like a beautiful spring/summer´s day. I gradually took off layer after layer of clothes as I was dressed for winter conditions. ´Didn´t see a lot of wildlife while trekking, apart from some lizzards and lots of butterflies. I had no trouble sleeping when I eventually got back.
Today is checking out time and a flight this afternoon to Ushuaia, the furthermost city south before antartica. I should arrive there at six this evening. In the meantime I´ll hire a bike and visit a chocolate factory just outside the town, also have a browse around the suburbs.
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Lisa
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Missing Friend - Torres del Paine/El Calafate
hi A good friend of mine, Ronan Lawlor from Ireland, is missing in southern chile/argentina. The last known whereabouts we have for him are torres del paine around Nov 18th. His rucksack was found in the America del Sur hostel in El Calafate. Ronan was due to collect his rucksack after 3 days trekking in the Torres del Paine on November 20th. If you have met Ronan on your travels or have any information please contact his family who are desperately worried at inforonan@gmail.com A website has also been setup http:www.ronanlawlor.org which is being kept uptodate with information from the local authorities as well as the Irish Embassy in Buenos Aires Many Thanks, Lisa