Because the horse trails are so rocky here, it’s important to make sure that the horses’ hooves are well protected; so the next part of our day as cowboys was to learn how to shoe a horse (the one on the left is for the front; the one on the right is for the rear). … Continue reading
After rounding up the horses, we went inside the pesebrera where the saddles and bridles are stored, which is also where the baqueanos start their day with the sharing of “mate” (pronounced “mah-tay”) and a fried bread called “sopaipillas.” Mate (or, more accurately, “yerba mate”) is a type of tea favored by Chileans and Argentinians. … Continue reading
Our second full day at Hotel Las Torres Patagonia was spent as “Baqueanos Por Un Día,” that is, as “Cowboys for a Day.” I had previously said that the cowboys in Patagonia are called “Gauchos,” but that is not completely accurate; the term “Baqueanos” is preferred in Chilean Patagonia. Our morning began with a greeting … Continue reading
Unlike the hikes elsewhere on our trip where the trails have been well-defined, the ascent to the summit of Cerro Paine was an unmarked scramble over rocks and gravel for the entire 1.5 mile, 1,600 ft. ascent. Our legs felt it immediately; each step up requiring concentration. So, even though our climb to Laguna de … Continue reading
It’s been difficult for us to decide whether the sunsets or the sunrises are prettier here in Patagonia. After checking into the hotel Sunday night (and being decadent and having a massage – those tired legs), we had dinner and went to bed early, leaving the drapes open. This morning, we watched the sunrise through … Continue reading
We spent this past weekend Getting from El Chaltén, Argentina, to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in Chile, a distance of only 110 miles, point to point, but a bus ride of 350 miles taking, about nine hours, due to geography and the crossing of national borders. We left El Chaltén Saturday in the early … Continue reading
We spent about an hour at Laguna de los Tres, admiring Monte Fitz Roy… …before starting the journey back down – every bit as difficult as the hike up, just in a different way. The last 1/4 mile of the trail is a scramble over loose rock and gravel left by the last glacial advance … Continue reading
Although Monte Fitz Roy is visible from nearly everywhere around El Chaltén due to its height, it’s quite a challenge to actually get to the base of the mountain. There are two main routes: a nearly straight line northwest to Fitz Roy from El Chaltén; or, the route we took which heads southwest to Fitz … Continue reading
We awoke to a glorious morning. It had rained while we slept and whatever weather system had been lingering to create Wednesday’s cloudiness had passed in the night. Here in El Chaltén, we’re staying at another four-room B&B; this one is called Confin Patagonia. Like everything else in El Chaltén, it has a magnificent view … Continue reading
Twice, when I was younger, I went on week-long backpacking treks in the Appalachian Mountains. A seven mile day (measured as the crow flies) was considered a good day of hiking. Yesterday, we hiked a half-marathon, 13.1 miles! Around here, the hike we did is known as the Laguna Torre, Mirador Maestri. The trailhead is … Continue reading
On Tuesday, we made the three-hour bus ride north from Calafate to El Chaltén, a climber’s and backpacker’s haven completely surrounded by the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. The entire town was built by the Argentine government in 1980 to buttress Argentina’s claim to the area in a border dispute with neighboring Chile, so unlike other … Continue reading
It was a two hour ride from the Spegazzini Glacier to the Perito Moreno Glacier’s North Face, retracing our path back through the Brazo Norte and passing Punta Bandera. We had seen Perito Moreno from the balconies on its opposing shore, as well as from the Brazo Rico where we viewed the South Face by … Continue reading
The Spegazzini Glacier is the same size as the city of Buenos Aires, and yet it is not the largest glacier in the park, Upsala has that honor. Here’s the approach to the Spegazzini Glacier: And here’s a close-up of the face which we were able to get very close to,… …in spite of all … Continue reading
The first glacier we visited was the largest glacier in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, the Upsala Glacier. That’s it in the distance, to the right: As we approached, the captain saw two icebergs that had calved from the face of Upsala, so he took us in for a closer look. Now you can see why … Continue reading
Lago Argentino is the largest freshwater lake in Argentina. It’s a little more than 3/4 the size of our Lake Okeechobee in Florida and is fed by glacial meltwater from the glaciers in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, the third largest icecap in the world (after Antarctica and Greenland). Although there are about 150 glaciers in … Continue reading
One thing that surprised me about hiking on ice is that even with crampons digging in, a hiker leaves no trail. Every time I turned around when taking up the rear of the group, I found it impossible to determine where we had come from. There was simply no trace of our trail. So, it … Continue reading
Yesterday, Sunday, we went on a 13-hour adventure called “Big Ice.” After being picked up by shuttle and transported to a larger bus, we drove west about 60 miles to Perito Moreno Glacier, the third largest glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. Here’s the view of Perito Moreno Glacier in three photos from the “balcony” … Continue reading
For the trek out onto the glacier, our party consisted of 21 hikers and 3 guides, which were split into two groups; we were the oldest hikers by about 25 years, but we had no trouble keeping up. Here we are heading off onto the ice. We were normally at either the end or the … Continue reading
It was only a 20 minute ride across the Brazo Rico to the start of our hike up the lateral moraine of the Perito Moreno glacier. We had a good view from the boat of the area of last year’s rupture of the ice bridge that I described in my prior post. Once on shore, … Continue reading
We’re now in southern Patagonia, below Latitude 50° South, in El Calafate, a city of 22,000 people at the edge of Argentina’s Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. We’re getting near the bottom of the world (although that honor belongs to the city of Ushuaia, which we will be visiting in a couple weeks). There’s not much … Continue reading
We’re leaving Bariloche today for the latitudes below 50° South and we won’t have a car again until the last week of the trip. From here on, we’ll be relying on planes, buses and shuttle vans to get from place to place. But here in northern Patagonia, we’ve managed to drive over 600 miles, not … Continue reading
It was a short ride from Isla Victoria back to Puerto Puñuelo. Along the way, it started to rain, resulting in one of the most vibrant rainbows we had ever seen; a double rainbow, in fact. And it was a complete semi-circle. Dale listed the colors from a mnemonic she learned as a child: red, … Continue reading
The Parque Nacional Bosque de Arrayanes was created to preserve the great stands of Arrayanes trees on the Quetrihué Peninsula. The Arrayanes is in the Eucalyptus family and is a very slow growing tree. The one that Dale is leaning against could be as much as 600 years old! The Arrayanes propagate by seed and … Continue reading
This afternoon, we journeyed around Lago Nahuel Huapi on the “Cau Cau.” The boat was scheduled to leave Puerto Pañuelo at 2:00 p.m., with a return at 7:00 p.m. When we arrived at Port Pañuelo at 1:30, there was only one boat in port and we thought, “what have we gotten ourselves into?” But, soon … Continue reading
It’s been nice having our own transportation here in Bariloche. It’s enabled us to see much more of the area than if we had relied on buses, taxis and excursions. Here’s a picture of our rental car, a compact Chevrolet. Everything is manual: transmission; windows; door locks; lights; and, there is no alarm. But I … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 