Maravillosa naturaleza de Patagonia (Part I)

Before packing my backpack for the third time during my exchange, I put on some music and spread everything I planned to take on the floor in my room. I left behind those things I wouldn’t really need for a week of hiking in Patagonia, and made sure I didn’t forget any essentials before I left for the national airport.

At the small airport, which is very quick and convenient, Katja and I met Julia who came straight from uni as she had just finished her last exam. I am glad I already finished my midterms two days earlier, because I really needed that period of rest to recuperate from the exam period.

Even though I expected my exams here to be a little easier than back in Rotterdam, I kind of struggled as the test format was really different. Whereas the majority of exams in Rotterdam consist of multiple choice questions or a good amount of open questions, my midterms here consisted of essay exams. This week I received my letter grades, and surprisingly I passed all!

After our 2 hour 55 minute flight, we arrived in El Calafate at 01.00 on Thursday morning, where we were supposed to be welcomed by a taxi driver with my name tag. The taxi driver, however, wasn’t there. As this airport was even smaller than the national one in Buenos Aires, we soon were the only ones left, accompanied by two security guides.
Argentinians usually don’t feel bad for being late, so we just assumed we had to wait a little. Every time the automatic doors opened we got our hopes up, but after an hour of waiting we gave up and decided to grab another cab.

We left for hostel America del Sur, even though we were only planning on spending the last three nights of our trip there. The hostel staff was so nice to let us stay in their common room for a few hours, until our bus to El Chaltén would leave at 08.00 in the morning. This was really great, because yes, we are cheap, and didn’t want to pay for a full night taking into account we would only be there from 02:30 until 07:30.

We ended up spending those few hours reading, resting, and taking photos. I managed to get some really good shots of the girls and their sleep masks!

El Chaltén is a small mountain village in the south of Argentina, within the Los Glaciares National park, and at the base of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy, both popular for climbing. For this reason, the village was named Argentina’s Trekking Capital, and it also took second place in a ranking of ‘Best cities in the world to visit in 2015’ of travel guide Lonely Planet.

Shortly after we arrived, we made plans for the next few days. The hostel staff was again very helpful, and we were pleased to hear the hiking trails started right here, and we wouldn’t need to be accompanied by a guide as the trails are clearly marked. More importantly, the park entrance is free!

Excited to get out in the sun, we put on our hiking shoes and left for the first two viewpoints: Mirador los Cóndores and Mirador de las Águilas.

The hike was short and easy, within an hour we reached the natural balcony of Mirador de las Águilas from where we admired panoramic views of the never ending steppe and the Viedma lake. We were the only ones there, and had the quietness to ourselves. I couldn’t actually believe how quiet it was, and couldn’t stop yelling ‘It’s SO quiet!!’, accidentally disturbing the silence.

The other trail took us to Mirador Los Cóndores on top of a small hill, overlooking the colourful town of El Chaltén. We also had spectacular views of the peaks of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy, and the valley. It felt so good to finally soak up some sun, that I couldn’t care less about the uncomfortable napping spot.

Believe it or not, back in Buenos Aires I haven't had much sun yet since I arrived. As the northern and southern hemisphere experience opposite seasons, it was still winter when I arrived in July. Now, in spring, it should normally be around 21°C, and sunny, but it is actually around 16°C, and rainy. Climate change has its impact on the city, which is an unpleasant surprise for which I hadn’t prepared when leaving the perpetual grey of the Netherlands for the subtropical shore of Argentina. I certainly hadn’t envisioned having to wear my big scarf for four months in a row. Therefore, although it was still cold in El Chaltén, we were happy to feel some sunlight on our skin.

Friday morning, after an early breakfast at the hostel, we set off to the park entrance to start our first big hike of the trip, a 22 kilometer walk around Cerro Fitz Roy. We reached the start of the trail at half past eight. It was an exceptional day as there was not a single cloud in the deep blue sky, and it was not windy. I couldn’t wait to see the top of Cerro Fitz Roy, and to be rewarded with a supposedly gorgeous view of a postcard perfect Patagonia.

Silence, sunlight and well-marked trails prevailed. The trial twisted through the woods, past clearings and under gnarled trees. This isn’t so bad, I thought. We made quick progress and soon reached the first view point of a glacier. During the little break we took, we were startled by a loud sound: it was the glacier cracking, not thunderstorm. We actually saw the glacier calving, and the sound was impressive, extremely loud.

We put some more sunscreen on our pale faces, and continued the hike through an unbelievable landscape for a few more hours until we reached the last, and most difficult part. The last kilometer up to Laguna de los Tres, the closest view point to the granite wall of Cerro Fitz Roy, turned out to be pretty tough.

The trail was very steep, climbing 600 meters in height in one kilometer in distance. Narrow rock ledges, covered in snow, required careful footwork and frequent stops as people passed each other. It reminded me of the four-day trek to the summit of Gunung Rinjani I did last year in Indonesia. Just like back then, our efforts seemed in vain, even as the views expanded below us our target didn't seem to get any closer. If I managed to reach the summit of Rinjani though, I thought as we plodded along upward and upwards through the snow, I can easily do this as well!

We watched our step very carefully among the loose rocks, and then the ground once again flattened, we had arrived! On sunny summer days, the Laguna de los Tres boasts its lively turquoise hues, but this time it was still frozen by the winter temperatures. As indicated by its name, the lake is surrounded by three mounts. They are the unmistakable silhouettes of Cerro Fitz Roy, Cerro Poincenot and Cerro Torre, aren’t they beautiful?!

It was with this sensation that we started our way back. The lakes called Mother and Daughter could be seen in the distance, the views were simply amazing! Satisfied, we continued our way downhill towards El Chaltén, and even slided down some icy parts of the mountain on our butt. Needless to say, after 10 hours of trekking, an extremely satisfying meal and a bottle of wine, I instantly dozed off in a deep sleep and slept peacefully throughout the (long) night.

We had a very relaxing Saturday, as after such a long hike we decided we deserved a rest and recovery day. Katja went horse riding, and Julia and I had a picnic at Lago del Desierto.

Recharging our energy was a good decision. Sunday morning we woke up with no sore muscles, and the sun shining through our roof window. It looked like another beautiful sunny day, which meant we could do the full day hike to Cerro Torre. This hike was labeled a relatively easy, eight hours round-trip of 18 kilometers. I felt ready for the challenge.

We started with a steep climb through the forest, but the trail levelled soon enough. The scenery was gorgeous and changed constantly: from a wide valley filled with trees to an open, stony area along the river. Almost all the time we had the peaks of Cerro Torre in full view.

At the very end, a small hill concealed the endpoint of the trail and our goal: the Laguna Torre with Cerro Torre in the background. We decided to keep going, and then finally came to the lake. In contrast to Laguna de los Tres we had seen on Friday, Laguna Torre was not frozen and we could thus enjoy an imposing view of the emerald green waters of the glacier lake against the blue sky. This was an ideal place for a rest! We sat there for quite some time marveling at the beautiful sight of Cerro Torre, watching the icebergs float along in the lake, having lunch, and sunbathing.

With everything completed, the only option was to head back home, returning along the same path. For hours we had all been lost in our own deep thoughts when, almost back in town, we were surprised by a loud noise. It was very strange to hear after so many hours of walking in the mountains, and we were not quite sure where it came from as we heard the cheering before we saw its origin. Locating the direction of the sound, we walked towards it. Arriving at a slope into the valley, we looked down and took in the scene below us with wonder.

It was a rodeo, but not just any old rodeo. This was a good old-fashioned traditional Argentinian gaucho rodeo. We walked down the hill to get a closer look and quickly found ourselves in the middle of the crowd. Dressed in traditional clothes, hundreds of people stood around watching the action.

The whole noisy scene was a contrast to the peace and quietness of the Patagonian wilderness trails we had left not long before. The time at the rodeo was an unexpected event, but for the inhabitants of the small village of El Chaltén, it was a style of life they had always known.