Patagonia

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This section of our journey started with us having to move on every day. We spent just one night in Puerto Montt as the only reason to go there was to catch a ferry out of there. Then we had one night on the boat to Puerto Chacabuco, where we set foot in Patagonia. From here we got a bus to Puerto Aisen and then another to Coyhaique. Coyhaique seems to be the largest town in this part of the world, but we couldn’t make a connecting bus further south, so we stayed the night. I’m glad we did, because I liked the feel of this place and if we could have done some more adventurous activities like rafting and canyoning, Leanne and I would have enjoyed a stay for a few nights. Next stop was Tranquilo on the shore of Lago General Carrera and then we moved on again to Chile Chico.

I hadn’t expected to be able to move from one place to the next every day so we had a bit of time up our sleeves when we got to the Argentine border. The transport by bus around Chilean Patagonia offers spectacular mountain views at every turn and we (the adult we in our trio) were happy to sit and watch for hours. The junior member of our party was happy to sleep a lot of the time. Bonus!!!!! Rio Tranquilo was a quiet and scenic stop for us. We visited the only tourist attraction, a boat trip to the Marble caves and Cathedral, which is an unusual rock formation. The colour of the lake (at the west end at least) is bright green. This is because of minerals, including quartz, that come from the glacial river water entering the lake.

Chile Chico is also very quiet, but the scenery had changed as we approached Argentina. Not as much snow on the mountains and the water is not green. The vegetation thinned out too. I think it might be in some sort of rain shadow as it is renowned for good weather. The weather was sunny for us, but particularly windy too. We may be the only tourists to ever stay two nights in Chile Chico. There isn’t much to do there. But we had decided that we weren’t catching a bus anywhere for one day at least. Instead we nearly got blown away at the two parks that Nathan enjoyed.

Chile is a developed nation in many ways, however you can’t just buy a bus ticket and get on the bus the way you expect to in Australia. From Tranquilo to Chile Chico we needed to catch a 14 seat van and we asked to buy tickets 24 hours in advance. They told us that there were 4 seats left in one van and one in another for the five people who wanted tickets. But we couldn’t buy the 4 tickets in the first van because they were reserved for locals, who pay a fraction of the price that we pay. On the morning before the van left we kept asking how many tickets were left, and every time the story changed. When the van finally got there Leanne and I had a seat and Nathan was on our knees, but our German companion was without a seat. We tried to ask if he could sit on the floor, but the driver had to finish his lunch before he could decide. Somehow it all worked out and Nathan even had a seat for some of the way. He slept most of the journey across Leanne and my knees and we took photos out the windows as we enjoyed the scenery. I don’t know what happened to our other friend from Singapore. I hope she got on the later bus. If she didn’t, she was travelling with a unicycle, but I don’t think you can ride that for 160 km on dirt roads over mountains with a heavy backpack.

Leanne and I are finding it hard enough to learn Spanish. Why do they have to change it every time we move to a new country? Chile is the hardest so far. They don’t pronounce S at the end of words and they speak faster. Of course they have a few of their own words that don’t exist anywhere else either.

ARGENTINA = EXPENSIVE. Within hours of crossing the border we had eaten steak and our wallets were bleeding. Bus travel is a lot dearer here, as is accommodation, tours and souvenirs. 70 AUD for a Patagonia t shirt! I guess that is why we see so many hitch hikers here. I still don’t understand why they can’t pay $50 for a bus ride after they have spent thousands on air fares, backpacks, outdoor clothing, accommodation and food. But obviously some people prefer to spend their days sitting on the side of a road holding a cardboard sign.

Patagonia is worth the expense. We had three days hiking around El Chalten (the Fitz Roy mountains) and our little niño managed to walk up to 10 km in a day over some hilly terrain. There was some complaining and some of bribery with chocolate and some story telling, including the ‘big bad wolf’ who chased the little pig down the mountain and back to our hostel.



An interesting fashion accessory for many men in this part of Argentina is the beret. I have noticed lots of them in El Calafate. This town is a tourist hub for the Perito Moreno Glacier about 80 km down the road. It is also 50 degrees south and cold winds make summer seem like winter. But we were lucky to have sunny weather, especially on the day we visited the glacier. We opted for the ‘Alternative Tour’ which takes a different route past some Estancias to visit farm animals. We then went to see the giant ice cube sliding down the mountain. Perito Moreno is awe inspiring for it's size alone. It is 5 km wide, 250 square km in area, 60 metres above the lake and 180 metres below the lake at its mouth. But what makes it most impressive is one geographic peculiarity. It reaches a peninsular in Lago Argentina and dams an arm of the lake. Which then fills up to a greater depth and forces its way through the glacier to form a tunnel and then arch and eventually ruptures leaving a gap between the end of the glacier and the peninsular. This happens every two years or so. In the panorama picture above you can see the different lake heights on opposite sides. Right side is lower. The next rupture is expected by the end of summer.

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Photos

The skipper
Taking us safely to Puerto Chacabuco

Sunrise
In a Chilean Fjord

Lupino
A flower that we really liked. It comes in many colours.

The highlight of Nathan's visit to Coyhaique
A FIRE!!!! The bomberos came to put it out (fire brigade) and Nathan inspected their work thoroughly.

Lago General Carrera
View from Tranquillo

Clouds above Chile Chico
They look like some sort of flying saucer

Fitz Roy Ranges
A view we saw during one of our hikes.

Same view as last pic
Sometimes Nathan won't open his eyes for photos.

Alpine lake in Fitz Roy Ranges
Very good water to drink. So clear!

Parilla and asador
Restaurants offer roasted lamb as a patagonian specialty in El Chalten and El Calafate. We tried it and .... YUM!
This one is Cordero Asador. Parilla is another form of meat overloading.

Grumpy little alpaca (on the right)
We were warned about it and it tried to attack Nathan. But none of the adults.

South end of the glacier
This is in the dammed side and we caught a boat from a floating jetty to see it close up. The normal jetty is under water. The level has risen by as much as 32 metres when dammed.

Comments

[Brian Rogers]

Lots of ice and no whisky!
Some great photo's and interesting commentary. This is the only way I will ever see South America and I'm enjoying the ride. Hope Santa manages to find you wherever you are on the 25th and we both wish you well for 2016.

[TheStevos]

Santa will find us okay!
Because we are in Buenos Aires and it is our last stop. We will be home by 22nd Dec. Jon