Problems with t´Internet
Haven`t been able to post anything for a while. They changed our user name for this blog and didn´t tell us and then the whole internet connection for Bariloche went tits up on Thursday. We are now in Buenos Aires though where technology seems a bit better. So what follows is rather ancient history but never mind.
After our last Erratic Rock brekky (will really miss the brekkies!) we got the bus to El Calafate. This necessitated crossing the border into Argentina where they have a large sign stating that the Falklands (or Malvinas as they will insist on calling them) belong to Argentina. We had a chuckle to ourselves! The scenery for the most part was very flat and boring but we saw a couple of flamingos and some rheas. The landscape improved when it stopped raining maainly because the clouds were quite spectacular. We arrived in Calafate at about 1pm and as we had no Argentinian cash Katie went off in search of an ATM. All the machines in town were empty and the money exchange plaaces were all closed. We knew that there were no banks or ATMs in El Chalten, our planned final destination for the day so we were scuppered. No money for lunch, nowhere to stay, no money to get the bus to El Chalten. And Calafate is supposed to be a big tourist centre! Eventually we found a supermarket that allowed us to pay with plastic and finally had lunch at about 4pm. We also found a place to stay that didn´t want payment upfront. One of the money exchange places opened up at 5.30 and we joined a long queue but managed to get enough cash to pay for our lodgings and bus tickets by changing my emergency stash of US$. So on the Monday morning we left Calafate with a sense of relief en route for Chalten.
After another couple of hours of Patagonian steppe (not the most inspiring landscape in the world) the Fitzroy range came into view. Very dramatic, with huge rock towers and glaciers aand a huge blue lake.
On the way in to El Chalten the bus stopped at the National Park office where we picked up info. about walks in the area. The bus then dropped us off in town, which is very wild west in nature with wooden buildings, unsurfaced roads etc. It is changing very quickly though and will be quite civilised in a few years time I think. It was extremely windy and dust was blowing everywhere. Due to the problems with oney we hadn´t booked anywhere to stay but after stomping around for a bit we found a hostel. We tried to do a short walk after lunch but it was so windy we gave up and just got ourselves organised for our trek the next day.
The wind had dropped a bit overnight as we set off with our camping gear and supplies for 3 days. At first we wndered up through woods with views along the valley aand the mountains in the distance. We came to a mirador (viewpoint) after a while but it was quite cloudy and Fitzroy itself was not to be seen. Other peaks in the range were however visible and looked mysterious, going in and out of the clouds. We sat for a while hoping the clouds would clear but got quite cold so moved on. After aaabout 3 hours we dropped our rucksacks and climbed steeply up to another viewpoint and this time were rewarded with magnificent views of the whole Fitzroy range. It was very windy again so we crouched behind a rock for a while before heading back down. We then walked on past two lakes and through more woods where we saw some woodpeckers, black with red heads. We reached our campsite beside the Rio Fitzroy, in a spot where we should have had views of Cerro Torre but it was cloudy (or atmospheric, as Katie insists on calling it) so we couldn´t. We had a 3 course dinner in the tent, including a banana pudding in which we dipped sponge fingers. Then a game of Scrabble before bed.
The next day we walked back down and through El Chalten to pick up another trail. It looked a bit like rain and we couldn´t decide whether to do the walk or just put the tent up and be lazy. But we decided in the end not to be wimps and set off steeply out of the v alley, through woods, across some open hills and down into the next valley where we were going to camp. We reached the valley floor in pouring rain. The ground was waterlogged and boggy so we decided to head back to Chalten! It was very, very steep getting out of the valley and we were thoroughly wet and dejected. But once up to the top we made good time and it even stopped raiining as we descended to Chalten. Untilwe started to put the tent up and then it rained all night! However the next day was sunny and bright and we managed to dry all our stuff, have a shower, put clean(er) clothes on, laze around reading for the rest of the day, have dinner and get the tent down before it started raining again. We then repaired to a bar and spent a feeew hours making our drinks last until we caught the bus to Bariloche at 1am on Friday morning. We arrived in Bariloche at about 8am this morning (Saturday) the longest bus journey of my life! 1600 km of Patagonian steppe, mainly on gravel roads! We are staying here until next Saturday when we get the bus to Buenos Aires (another 1600km!) the last leg of my South American travels.
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