El Chalten

(9-11April)

With the "power" of hindsight, I would have not spent much time in El Calafate, rather I would have just used it as a stopping place to go to Perito Moreno one half day, and I would have preferred to stay in El Chalten, about 200 Km away, north of El Calafate. While touristic as, if not more than, El Calafate, El Chalten is set right at the entrance of a national park (Glaciers North), and the trails start just at the end of the town, that is, likely, a few hundred meters away from where one sleeps. 

They say that if you spot a huemule (a kind of deer), you should report the position to the park rangers.

We stayed two nights in Albergue Patagonia, a lovely place that I would totally recommend. We also spent one day on the mountains, testing our outdoor gear at the feet of Fitz Roy, the smoky mountain. I have been told that people wait weeks in El Chalten for the good weather conditions in order to climb this peak.

We did not manage to see the peak of Fitz Roy from the park.
However, we got a nice shot on the way from El Calafate.

The weather in Patagonia is very unpredictable, locals say that there are four seasons per day. In particular, there are tremendous winds. I had never experienced something similar before: the second day of our hike, we were in the middle of strong rain and winds (and I was with the wrong gear) and the wind was literally moving me left and right at its will. Next: buy water-proof gear.

The ranger told us we can drink water straight from the lake or rivers.

We are about to move south now, towards Puerto Natales and then, hopefully, Torres del Paine. I will keep you posted.

Numbers. We are sleeping in double rooms with private bathroom in hostels, at the moment. The price is around 230 AR$ per room per night. The buses in this region are quite expensive: the 220 Km between El Calafate and El Chalten are costing us 180 AR$ round trip, and since we are in low season, there are very few connections.