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Published: June 12th 2008
Ok, ok......so it has been what....44 days since my last entry. Good grief. But, with all fairness....I have been pretty busy! I am going to start this blog with where the last one left off....but not all the way up to where I am now....that is coming..... 😉 So here it goes....
We did as planned the next morning in Puerto Piramides. We watched a spectacular sunset and were gifted with an absolute beautiful day with hardly any wind. We sat up on the viewpoint for a couple of hours after sunset hoping to catch the whales...but no sign of them. I then spent a few hours copying photos and such in the internet cafe (takes soooo long!!!). We had tickets for the 6pm bus back to Puerto Madryn so I went walking by the beach around 5pm...one last peek....and to my surprise...I saw blowholes!! I ran up the hill to the viewpoint and was gifted with at least 4 whales off in the distance! So exciting!! Unfortunately, they were further out this time and they were not as active....no jumping out of the water like the previous day. Nonetheless, I was so beyond thrilled to see them one last
time before leaving the Valdes Peninsula....what a dreamy experience it was! Just before 6pm, we said our goodbyes to the friends we made at the hostel and then boarded the bus to Puerto Madryn. Once we arrived, we managed to book a bus for that night....so after a nice dinner in town...we were on our way to Bariloche by 10pm that night.
We arrived in Bariloche early in the afternoon and immediately met up with Sjirk and Rosie once again. We tried to check into their hostel (Hostel 1004 - it was recommended to me by MANY and it definitely fulfilled all expectations…and then some…) but unfortunately it was full. So after checking into a different hostel, we ran out and rented a car for the very next morning. We set sail early the next morning….the 4 of us together once again….starting our 4 day and 3 night journey around the Lake District of Argentina and Chile. It was a stunning 4 days to say the least. Lake after lake after lake….yet each was different from the previous one(s). The fall colours in full effect across the landscape making it even more spectacular. We were very lucky with the
Viewpoint (Chile)
This is where we parked the car (white one is ours...red one is where 12 ppl piled out of it) after driving up to the top of a ski hill for a spectacular sunsetweather as well….beautiful sunshine all 4 days.
The first night was spent in a hostel in Argentina and then we crossed the border into Chile the next day. The border crossing went fine except that we were rather absent minded regarding our food situation. We were loaded up on food for the 4 days….a lot of fruit, veggies, cheese, etc. Chile is extremely strict about bringing any produce, cheese/meat products, etc across the border so we had to get rid of it before entering. So…we did what was only natural and seemed like the right thing to do….we sat on the Argentina side stuffing our faces until we could not push in another gram. The border guards found this rather hilarious. We offered for them to join but it seemed they had already eaten. 😉 In the end, we devoured an impressive large amount and ended up throwing very little away. Our belts were undone and we were not feeling our best….but….it was worth it since we each did our share in not wasting too much food. 😉
The next couple of days were spent driving around Chile indulging in what was a truly beautiful landscape. One night
Pascal and I camped under the stars beside a lake in a camping ground that was closed for the season (winter). Having the entire place to ourselves, we laid on the beach for a few hours in pure darkness and silence….just staring up at one of the most impressive night skies I have ever seen. We witnessed quite a few shooting stars too which added to the dreamy sight. The last night was supposed to be spent back in Bariloche since the rental car was due back by 9am the next morning. However….plans changed when we encountered a closed border crossing. Sigh. We had driven up a mountain which brought us to the base of a ski hill. There, we paid a small fee in order to access the ‘viewpoint’ which involved tight switchbacks all the way up the ski hill. It climbed and climbed until you thought it couldn’t climb anymore….yet it still went up…. Finally, we reached the top of the mountain where we met up with another car….a Suzuki sidekick in which we witnessed 12 people exit from...no joke…TWELVE people squished into that tiny thing. From there, we parked and walked up another 10 mins to the
tip of the mountain….and there we sat waiting for sunset. The view was beyond spectacular….360 degree panoramic view….almost level with the tops of the surrounding mountains. It was truly breathtaking. Within 30 mins we were treated to one of the best sunsets I have ever seen. The snowcapped mountains and sky were lit up in a brilliant red as the sun slowly crept down below the horizon. Muy bonita!!! As soon as the sun disappeared, we booked it down to the car to get to the border which was an hour away. We made it there by 7:40pm to our relief since it closed at 8pm….however….it was already closed. Little did we know that it closed at 8pm ARGENTINE time….meaning it was 8:40pm in Argentina. We begged and pleaded with the guard but to no avail….had to turn back in Chile and drive a good hour to the nearest town in order to settle in for the night.
That night was an interesting one….amazing how people living in a town with maybe 15 streets in total have no clue what the street names are or where they are. We spent a good hour trying to locate a hostel but
finally settled into this little old lady’s hostel that was attached to her house. It was a strange place….the streets were full of drunks so she had many locks outside….she had no heat so she brought in a portable heater for us…which soon somewhat blew up (scary!!). So, we tucked in with all of our clothes on for warmth…and tried to ignore the fact that we were sure someone was peering into the bathroom window earlier. Somewhat of a creepy feeling at that place….we were glad when morning came! The next morning we jetted back to the border quickly for opening time and were 5th in line. Luckily, we made it through quickly and were well on our way to Bariloche. In the end, we were about 3 hours late returning the car but were only charged a small fee so it was no big deal. We checked into the awesome hostel mentioned above (Hostel 1004) and settled in for the night.
The next day was May 5th…my birthday. Who would have thought I would be spending my birthday in Bariloche, Argentina when I was supposed to be back in Canada on April 15. 😉 That day, 3 of
us headed over to a nearby ski hill and decided we needed some exercise so we walked up rather than catch the gondola. The view from the top was quite nice with a great view of Bariloche down below. After having some tea in the rotating restaurant at the top, we hopped on the gondola and rode it down while watching the gorgeous sunset….yet another brilliant orange/red sky. I am not sure what it is about Patagonia…but the sunsets and sunrises were amongst the best I have ever seen! That night we sat around the hostel playing cards and drinking wine when I was suddenly surprised with a group of people coming out singing happy birthday to me with a Dulce de Leche cake (this defines Argentina….I yearn for more Dulce de Leche!!). I was so surprised….those sneaky buggers. 😉 The group I had rented the cars with gave me a little photo album that contained printed photos or us from our two road trips. It was so thoughtful and generous…I loved it!
The next couple of days we did some chillin’ and sightseeing and two of us (Rosie and I) bought our bus tickets for our next stop….El
Chalten. We managed to score a bus that only operates twice a week going down the famous Route 40. It was a 34 hour bus journey that ended up being one of the most memorable bus trips I have taken. The bus was smaller…not a double decker like most buses are in Argentina…and contained about 5 passengers and three drivers…very empty! We crossed through El Bolson….one of my intended stops but had to change plans since it was getting covered in ash from the erupting volcano in nearby Chile. We had to wear medical masks in the bus for a good 2 hours which was quite funny really. Everyone was taking photos of everyone else including the drivers. The drivers and a few passengers sat up at the front having a little maté party while posing and giggling for photos. This was quite amusing along with the fact that they kept stopping for “photos”. It was not even us gringos requesting the stops….the drivers were out with their cameras! The entire journey ended up being like this so it was sort of like our own private tour oppose to a commercial bus drive which was nice.
We reached El
Chalten at 6am….while it was still dark out….and pouring rain. Rosie and I walked the 20 mins in the dark and rain to the hostel to find it was closed for the night. The front doors were locked and lights out even though it was 7am by the time we got there and this was the biggest hostel in town (Rancho Grande).
I will add here that the 2 American girls we had arrived with had a reservation that morning so we were surprised to find the place dark and nobody there. It was pouring down rain HARD and was dark out and cold and we had no where to go. I managed to find a side door that had not been locked so we let ourselves in out of the pouring rain. There we stood….in the darkness…surrounded by computers and other equipment…in a place we virtually just broke in to. We were not sure what the outcome was going to be…we just did not want to be standing in the rain any longer. We sat down on the floor....napping...soaking wet...until about 7:30am when a reception dude showed up…turned on the lights and the computers and
got all prepared before turning to us to say “can I help you?”. Did it not even dawn on him that we basically broke into the hostel and could have stolen everything inside? Apparently not….we found it rather amusing and nice really....to be in a place that is obviously safer than the other places we had been. We checked in and went straight to bed….the luxury of a real bed oppose to a bus!! We ended up sleeping until about 1pm which is a bit of a shame but necessary. We walked around town that afternoon and became familiar with what was to become my favorite place in Patagonia. We gave it the nickname of “the town of cerrado” (cerrado means ‘closed’ in Spanish) since it was a true task to find anything that resembled ‘open’. It was low season so most of the places were closed up for the season and most of the inhabitants had left. It became a blessing in disguise really…..a beautiful little town nestled into the valley of mountains….one of the famous ones being the Fitz Roy mountain range….basically all to ourselves. We had met a couple of American girls on the bus and made
plans with one of them to join us in the wee hours of the next morning to hike up to the Fitz Roy viewpoint to watch the sunrise. We set out that next morning in total darkness with a flashlight each and a couple of stray dogs…..and ended up walking an extra few km’s due to missing the exit in the darkness. Luckily we figured it out and found our way up the 4 km to the viewpoint right before sunrise. That sunrise was so beyond incredible that it left all three of us in a pile of goo. We just melted in the excitement….staring at Fitz Roy all lit up in shades of red and purple. We stayed there for a good hour and a half…soaking it all in….tripods set up for an amazing photo session. When we finally snapped out of it, we headed back to the hostel for breakfast. On our way back we were scolded by not one…but two park rangers for having the dogs in the ‘park’…apparently no dogs are allowed even though the town of El Chalten is in the ‘park’ and is loaded with dogs. We explained they were not our dogs and
one of them told us to throw rocks at them so that they would not follow us. I could not believe it and basically told him he was an idiot and that he should focus on population control oppose to yelling at gringos when stray dogs follow them. I don’t think he was all that impressed as we walked away but so be it. 😉
Ok, so I received a message from a rather angry "Maria"....quite the horrid message really showing what a racist horrible person she was so I have posted it below in the comments section. Perhaps this blog was misunderstood and requires some more explanation therefore here it is: Because our bus arrived in the dark during the night....we never got the park ranger stop that apparently most buses do. So, with that being said, we had no idea that no dogs were allowed in the park. And we were confused because the entire town is in the park. But apparently they don't allow dogs past the gate where the park rangers are. This is good to know for any travelers heading to El Chalten. I respect that but I don't think scolding us early that morning was a very tactful way to approach the situation. Being an 'edumacated' person in the area of conservation biology, I can see why they don't want dogs chasing the wildlife but shouldn't controlling the stray dog population be a better means of approach (along with TACTFULLY educating travelers) oppose to screaming at and/or scolding tourists who had NO IDEA they were not allowed? All this did was make us angry which is why I wrote what I did above. I did not call him an idiot or anything along those lines....I just told him he was being ridiculous to think I was going to throw rocks at a dog when I am likely one of the biggest animal/nature loving people in the world. Throwing rocks at a dog is animal abuse in my opinion so I did not take it lightly that he wanted me to abuse those dogs. Ok...moving on...
After a hearty breakfast, we (us 3 and the other American girl) set out on a 24 km hike (12 km each way). Again, we were joined by a stray dog…one of the two that had joined us earlier that morning…and we started our way
up.
Ok, so this needs clarification as well because this may have been read incorrectly. We did NOT take this dog up the hike with us from El Chalten. When we left the hostel, there were NO DOGS around and we were thankful after the fiasco earlier that morning. We hiked for about 1 hour when we came across some people sitting on logs resting along the trail....not sure if they were going up or coming back down. The one dog was with those people...the same one we had with us earlier that morning. We hiked past them and suddenly realized that dog was following us now. We tried a number of attempts to chase it off (no we did not throw rocks but we charged at it and yelled at it, etc) and it kept turning around after a point and coming back behind us. We eventually gave up and so the dog stayed the rest of the hike with us. I should have clarified this before but didn't think it was necessary.... apparently it was after receiving the 'nice' message from "Maria". Now that this is all clarified....I would sure think twice about staying in the hostel "Maria" speaks of after reading the things she wrote. It is lucky that I am a better person and will not judge Argentinian people based solely on her. She seems to be a rather angry prejudice/racist person in which I have very little tolerance for and luckily did not find elsewhere around Argentina. I find it sad that she tries to speak for the people of El Chalten with horrible words like that. If you are reading this....it is up to you whether you want to listen to and support someone's business that is ran by someone who is obviously not a very nice person and is full of racism and hatred. Not to mention jealousy because apparently this person has no idea how to save up money in order to go to university and go traveling on their own....as I did....
The hike was quite beautiful….especially with the fall coloured trees all around and the Fitz Roy range on our right side creeping closer with each step. The end of the hike ended up being something we did not expect….we scrambled up over rocks for quite some time while whining about how much it sucked when we
all suddenly fell silent. We looked over the crest of the hill and there it was….a beautiful glacier! We sat down and had lunch there while soaking in the spectacular view that was laid out before us. We shared some lunch with our dog and met a South African guy that was trying to find his two friends that were camping out there somewhere. We also compiled as much extra clothing that we could for Lisa…one of the American girls…who had been playing around earlier on the hike and slipped into a pond that was about 2 feet deep. As the sun was getting lower and we were not moving so much….she was getting colder and colder. The worst of her problems were her wet shoes and socks. The South African guy recommended using some heating ointment that he had for sore muscles and such…rubbing them on her feet. She jumped on it quickly and felt some instant relief. I had a pair of extra socks so she put my dry socks on and then put bags over her feet before putting her wet shoes back on. Big mistake. Never put plastic over top of a limb that has been
doused in heating ointment. She was in agony and could barely walk. We ran into the other two South Africans and one had an extra pair of shoes. So we were able to take the plastic bags off of her feet and have her walk in a dry pair of large shoes. This gave her some relief…for about 45 mins…before we headed separate ways from the guys…meaning she had to return the dry shoes and put her wet ones back on. We all made it back in one piece and a valuable lesson was learned…..never play around by jumping large puddles/ponds while hiking in the mountains. 😉
The next day was welcomed with a beautiful sunny blue sky and not a cloud in sight. Rosie and the other 2 girls decided to go do another hike and I decided to climb back up to the viewpoint we had been at the previous morning in order to get that beautiful postcard shot of Fitz Roy. I definitely did not regret my decision and was successful on getting some amazing photos of the magnificent range. Since time was a bit of a concern….we (Rosie and I) caught a bus that night
to our next destination….El Calafate. I will miss El Chalten….such a dreamy little town.
I am going to leave this here....and start a new page for the next part of the journey. Pictures will be added over the next week now that I have more time....just not today....
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barrygahan
Barry
Great pics from Patagonia.
We were there in December (supposedly summer) but it looks like you had clearer skies.