Took place 3/3-3/9
I know this is WAY long overdue, but I have just been so busy back and forth from seeing old friends, trips, and enjoying my last half of Buenos Aires.
SATURDAY - Buenos Aires to El Calafate
Dark and early at around 530 am a taxi with Elisa and (ISA) Bryan picked me up outside my apartment heading to the EZE international airport. What we thought would be an hour long drive ended up only taking 20 minutes because the lack of cars in the streets.
After landing in El Calafate, We took a taxi to our hostel- I Keu Ken Hostel, which was just out of a storybook tale. Brightly colored, quaint, and filled with random traveling memorabilia, we quickly looked past the fact that it was way up on a steep hill on top of town and marveled at the views the huge windows provided. After walking around town and purchasing my Hielo y Aventura tour for the next day, I decided to buy a gourmet sandwich at a cafe and eat at the hostel, passing up on meeting the people in our program we knew for cooking at their hostel. I met guys from Australia and London, and a New Yorker who all seemed eager to show me pictures of the glacier and talk out their experience in El Chalten, Elisa's and my next destination. I went to bed eager for my ice trek the next morning.
SUNDAY - El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier
At 8 in the morning, the Hielo y Aventura tour bus picked me up outside the hostel and drove a group of excited trekkers to the balconies of the glacier. I met a girl from Switzerland, and since both of us were doing the trip solo we decided to become quasi-travel buddies. Elisa and the other people from my program didn't want to pay the hefty $150 price tag, but I figured, when am I ever going to be able to crampon across a glacier again?? Plus I wasn't about to go all the way down to Patagonia and not step foot on a glacier.
I was greeted with a great omen for the day in that with my student visa, the normal 100 peso charge to enter the national park was reduced to merely 15. Woohoo! We walked around the balconies snapping pictures of the monstrosity that is the glacier, following our guide until we reached our bus at a different location.
The bus then took us around the glacier to a private bay, where we boarded a boat that would speed us along to the Hielo y Aventura base camp next to the glacier. After snacking on a quick lunch, we strapped on the crampons and before I knew it I was trekking in ice. We took about 20 minutes for an instructional test-drive, for the guides to make sure we were all physically capable to climb uphill and ease downhill in the ice; only one person was asked to turn around.
After we trekked up and down little ice mountains, and I saw things like little ice lagoons and a waterfall INSIDE of the glacier. After the 2 hours out on the ice, the tour came with a complementary glass (yes I say glass not shot) of whiskey and an alfajore. Since I had been practicing my Spanish with one of the guides the entire trip, he snuck Alex (my Swiss friend) and I a few extra alfajores for the road. :)
Side Note: I am so thankful for being able to experience such a trip, because it truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... so thanks mom and dad!!
I fell asleep instantly on the bus ride back without even realizing how much the trek wore me out. I was reunited with Elisa, and the two of us met up with our group for dinner at a restaurant called Pura Vida. Everything was Patagonia-grown and bred, and it may have been my best meal here. I split two plates with Albert, and we shared the lamb stew and gnocchi, both so rich and fulfilling and delicious and everything you want a home-cooked meal to be.
MONDAY - El Calafate to El Chalten
Monday we boarded a bus in the early afternoon to head to El Chalten, our real trekking destination. We found our hostel (Condor's Backpacking Hostel) which already was a bit of a letdown compared to I Keu Ken. No breakfast served, and cozyyyy (euphemism) rooms, the atmosphere was a bit less of a home and more of a hostel (go figure). We cooked pasta bought at the supermarket in El Calafate (El Chalten was so small it barely had one). The New Yorker, upon recognizing Elisa and I brought over a bottle of wine and shared it with us, describing his frightful backpacking night without a sleeping bag in the howling winds of Laguna de los Tres. It was his first time camping. I think he was so relieved to have made it out alive that he had no qualms about sharing his wine, and later paying for our dessert at the Serveceria.
After, we went for a beer at a Serveceria (I'm totally butchering the spelling), where there were only two options, both brewed in the bar. It was different than any beer I have had, sort of sweet but delicious. Overall a nice travel day between trekking and the hiking that would come next.
TUESDAY - El Chalten, hike to Laguna Torre (10 mi)
Greeted with the strongest winds of my life, Elisa and I made the 10 mile round trip trek to Laguna Torre and back along with two girls from the program, Becca and Laura. When we got to the lake, the wind was so strong that I could put my whole body weight into the wind and still be standing up. It was a fun day, and not as difficult as I thought it would be.
Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a delicious quinoa dinner- the first time I had ever eaten or cooked it, and post-dinner a trip to the chocolateria with two Swiss guys that were sharing a room with Becca and Laura in the hostel. Probably the best tasting chocolate I have had in my life. I would've brought some back for you dad, but I definitely would've already eaten it by now.
WEDNESDAY - El Chalten, hike to Laguna de Los Tres (15 mi)
What a day. Elisa and I headed out at 8am as to not have to worry about scheduling ourselves for sunset, and immediately were a tad bit sore from the previous day. The hike was breathtaking, with clear skies and almost immediate views of Mt. Fitz Roy greeting us at every turn. We paused at Camp Poincenot to gather our bearings before the last hour straight uphill (I kid you not, literally scaling rocks as stairs to make it up a mountain to see the lake), and pushed for the final trek around noon.
And what a lake- the view completely obliterated any pain I had felt from pushing up those stairs, and it was the perfect spot to enjoy our peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches for lunch. The water was probably the tastiest I had ever had (even beating Tahoe water!) and Elisa and I both were on cloud 9 with accomplishment and marvel at the view.
We stopped again at the camp upon greeting friends from the program- and hung out for a couple hours since we were in no rush to return back. We headed back down a slightly different route to get a glimpse of another lake, Lake Capri, and ended up reaching the hostel at around 6pm. Definitely a full and fulfilling day.
We meant to go to the chocolateria again to reward ourselves with chocolate and wine, but both of us were so worn out from the trip that after making pasta and veggies we could barely even make it up and down the stairs of our hostel.
THURSDAY - El Chalten to El Calafate
A great lazy morning of sleeping in, reading (the books I zoomed through this week were the Hunger Games for quick re-read before the movie, the Alchemist, and Brave New World, another quick re-read), and a last visit to the chocolateria. We had wanted to day hike to a viewing point, but I got a blister that looked almost infected and I didn't want to push it.
We took the bus to El Calafate, where we had a true Argentine dinner. By true Argentine dinner I mean we sat for literally 3 hours pouring over a beer, burger, and fries. Great success. We played cards back in our hostel, read, and slept- on mountain time I could never get enough sleep.
FRIDAY- El Calafate back to Buenos Aires
We woke up late for breakfast provided by I Keu Ken, and lazed around reading overlooking the magnificent lake view. I'm continuing to read through HP in Spanish, and surprise myself how it gets easier almost every time I open it.
It was hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful place, but with Elisa's family coming in and Haynes and Billy visiting, we had stuff to look forward to for the weekend. Will post on the weekend/past week when I get back from classes this afternoon!
Besos!!!
Hi,
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