The final trip I took in Argentina was to Patagonia, in the
south. I went with two friends, and we planned a week-long trip, stopping at El
Chaltén, El Calafate, and Ushuaia. It was an absolutely amazing trip, and quite
possibly my favorite trip I took this semester. It was a great way to end the
semester!
On the first day, we flew in to El Calafate, and then took a
3 hour bus ride to El Chaltén, which is Argentina’s newest city (founded in
1985) and home to the best trekking in Argentina (according to my Lonely Planet
guidebook). The bus ride was beautiful, with a constant, breathtaking view of
the mountains surrounding us. After we arrived in El Chaltén, we checked into
our hostel and went and ate dinner with a cool little restaurant that had cool
signs and pictures hanging all over, and the waiter there was super impressed
with our Spanish – he said we sounded like natives! We think he was just trying
to get a bigger tip, but it was still nice to hear.
On the second day, we went hiking. We hiked the Fitz Roy
trail, which is an 8 hour, 25 km/15 mi trail that went uphill pretty much the
whole way. It was pretty intense! However, it was insanely beautiful. The
mountains were picturesque, with snow on the peaks. The trail took us through
the mountains to the Fitz Roy overlook. The Fitz Roy is the largest mountain in
El Chaltén, and it’s certainly a sight to see. With the clouds hanging around
its peak, it almost looks like a volcano – that’s actually where the name of El
Chaltén came from. The natives thought that it was a volcano, so in their
native language (I don’t remember what it was called) “El Chaltén” means the ash that surrounds a volcano. We continued on the trail, through trees and across streams and up and
down the mountain, until we came to a sign that said “Danger: must be in good
physical condition to continue on this trail”. We kept on going, and we soon
found out the reason for that sign: the trail was super, super steep, and kept
going and going. You kept thinking you’d seen the top, but then you get there
and realize you’re not even close. It was super difficult, and what made it
more difficult was the fact that there were a bunch of old people flying up
this trail, passing us with ease while we were barely able to breathe. However,
we eventually made it up to the top, and it was totally worth it. We climbed
over the top and were greeted with a view of a lake nestled in a crater-ish
thing between several mountains, which were covered with snow. It was so
peaceful and serene, and there are no words I can use to adequately describe
how beautiful it was. We sat up there, ate lunch, rested, enjoyed the view, and
took lots of pictures. Eventually it was time to begin the long trek back.
After several hours, we arrived back at the hostel, completely exhausted but
very happy. We cooked dinner, showered, and went to bed early, ready for
another day of hiking.
On the third day, we woke up super sore from our previous
hike. We still wanted to take advantage of all the trails in El Chaltén (and the
nature that is nonexistent in Buenos Aires) so we decided to do two short
trails: the Mirador de los Cóndores and the Mirador de las Águilas. These were
about an hour each, and took us up to a place where we had a panoramic view of
the city and the surrounding mountains. Again, it was very peaceful and
tranquil there. We hopped on a bus that evening to go back to El Calafate and
begin the next leg of our trip.
Our stay in El Calafate began with a hike around the Laguna
Nimez to go birdwatching on the fourth day of our trip. There were tons of
birds around – even flamingos! I must say I never expected to see flamingos in
Patagonia, but I did! I also found snipes, which do exist! I guess snipe
hunting might actually be a real thing then. It was super windy this day,
making it a little bit chilly. Overall, Patagonia wasn’t as cold as I expected
it to be. We wore layers, but we did so much hiking that we stayed toasty.
After hiking around the lake, we went shopping in the city for awhile. We
picked up several gifts for family and friends at home, but the best part was
that we discovered a pastry called a “cañoncito”. It had dough kind of like a
croissant but a little different, and it was stuffed with dulce de leche. It
was so good we had to return to this confitería the next day to get more! After
shopping, we went back to the hostel and at an asado with other people staying
there. It was super delicious, and it never ended – they just kept bringing out
more and more meat, and they looked so sad when we told them we couldn’t eat
any more! With our bellies full and our bodies tired from hiking, we went to
bed.
On the fifth day, we went to go visit the most popular
attraction in El Calafate: the glacier Perito Moreno. We didn’t actually walk on it, but we went to the National
Park area, where they had metal walkways set up around it, so you could walk
around it and look at it. They also had a boat tour that takes you up super
close to the glacier, which we did. It was so impressive, and so huge. It made
me feel very small. Every so often, small chunks would fall off of the glacier,
which sounded like thunder, and splashed into the water below. It was quite the
sight to see! My friends and I had gotten very little sleep during this trip,
so we had a moment of slap-happiness walking around the glacier, making it even
more fun. After the glacier, we returned to the confitería we found to eat more
cañoncitos, then bought pasta and made mac ‘n cheese for dinner, which was the
first time I’d had mac ‘n cheese since being in Argentina! We finished up our
last night in El Calafate with our typical dessert of fruit and dulce de leche.
On the sixth day, we left El Calafate to go to Ushuaia aka
the end of the world. It’s the southernmost city in the world (before
Antarctica), so it rightfully gets the name “el fin del mundo”. It’s beautiful
there. It’s a tiny city right on the coast, with mountains all around. I think
this was the part of Patagonia I was most excited to visit, because we went to
go see penguins! We took a boat tour that took us around Ushuaia. We saw an
island with cormorants (a type of birds), another with sea lions, and then one
with Magellinic and Gentoo penguins! The boat got super close to the island (we
couldn’t get off on the island and walk around – there’s only one company
that’s allowed to do that) and we got to watch the penguins waddle around the
beach for awhile. There were a couple who would swim up close to the boat and
then speed away, like the scene from Finding Nemo where they touch the “butt”.
They were so adorable! I really
wanted to take a couple home with me, but I don’t think I had enough room in my
suitcase for that. This was the highlight of the Patagonia trip for me.
On the seventh day, we went to the Parque Nacional Tierra
del Fuego to do some hiking. It was beautiful, and despite the fact that we
walked on a often-traveled trail it felt like we were the only ones who had
been to this part of the world. It was so quiet and tranquil. The trail started
by a lake, then would wind through some trees for awhile, then would pop out on
a small, rocky beach, then go back in the trees. It kept this up the whole way.
We met someone from Holland and someone from Denmark on the trail, and we all
stopped on one of the beaches to take a break and drink some mate. It was so
serene and peaceful, drinking mate on the beach with mountains in the
background. We finished that hike, ate a late lunch, then headed back to the
hostel. The week had caught up to us, and we were exhausted. We rested for
awhile, then went out to a restaurant to try some Patagonian food. I had lamb,
which was pretty good! I’d never tried lamb before coming to Argentina, but
I’ve eaten it a couple times and I like it. We went to bed early, ready for one
more day in Patagonia.
On the eighth and final day in Patagonia, we decided to
explore the town some more. Our flight left in the evening, so we didn’t really
have time to go hike some other trails, but we did some exploring! We walked by
the waters and discovered some yummy cafes. It’s a really cute, colorful city.
We were all pretty tired, so we just wanted to do something chill. Eventually
we went to the airport, and went to head back to Buenos Aires, with some delay
(it wouldn’t be Argentina if everything went smoothly!) The BsAs airport we
were originally supposed to fly into got changed to the international one
that’s super far away, which was annoying. We found out they did that because
they had to switch to a bigger plane – however we got on that plane, and it was
only half full, if that. It was one of the bigger, international planes that
have 8 seats in a row and the tv screens built into the seats. It was a nicer
plane than the international ones I flew to/from the US and BsAs! It was such a
waste. We got there eventually, hopped on a shuttle that took us to the
original airport, and we took a taxi home from there (much cheaper than a taxi
from the international one!). We finally got home around 2 AM. Traveling was a
pain, but it was totally worth it.
I’m so glad I got the chance to travel to Patagonia! It was
definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I got to spend it with great friends. I
definitely want to go back someday to see more of it, because it’s huge and
there’s so much I didn’t get to see.
I took TONS of pictures (mostly of mountains) on this trip,
so here are a few of my favorites:
Penguins in Ushuaia
