I am now in El Chalten which is a town about 3.5 to 4 hours drive from El Calafate. We drove up here the day before yesterday and are staying in a hotel. The town itself is quite young, only started I think in the mid-80´s. All the houses are very quaint & chalet style. It is a base for hiking in the area so it is definitely targetted for the tourist trade.
Yesterday & today we hiked for about 8 hours each day. Oh my poor feet! We are using Chalten as a base for 3 days then drive back to Calafate on Tuesday (Christmas Day).
The people in this group are mostly quite nice. Again most are Aussies, one English guy & 3 ladies from California. Our tour leader is called Marcos. He´s very funny when he tries to learn Aussie expressions. And I am getting to practice my Spanish a fair bit. Sometimes I even think I do okay!
Patagonia is beautiful but I cannot believe how windy it is. I don´t think I have ever experienced so much or so continuous. Yesterday was very difficult to hike because you would get a face full of sand or your hat would fly away. Not ideal conditions. But today was stunning. The wind settled down, the sun came out, the sky was very blue & all in all stunning.
As usual, internet is painfully slow so I won´t always respond immediately to your emails. But I thank you anyway for them & your comments & well wishes.
In case I don´t write before then, I wish all my family & friends a happy & safe Christmas. Feliz Navidad!
¡Hasta Luego!
Janine xx
