hello from Ushuaia, also known as the end of the world. Behind us lie some action packed long days filled with beautiful impressions of stunning Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. After 2 days of trekking in El chalten we made our way to El Calafate. The town itself is nice but a bit too touristy for my liking. The main attraction here is the famous Perrito Moreno glacier which is simply breath taking. To get there we left early in the morning and took a bit of a dirt road where we got the chance to get a better idea of the Patagonian steppe and saw quite a few animals including plenty of eagles, Guanacos ( they look a bit like Lamas and also do spit as one guy from our group found out when he approached one too closely) , plenty of sheep (the area is famous for it) and some birdis that look a bit like Emus. Once we got closer to the glacier we walked the last hour to get there had our lunch there and later on took a boat ride to get really close to it. Not only is the size impressive as well as the way the different ice pieces seem to form this big chunk but also the noise that the glacier makes as big piles of ice fall into the water. Sounds a bit like a thunderstorm and truly is a spectacle in itself... The following day we left Argentina and crossed into Chile heading to a city called Puerto Natales. Here we had lunch hired camping equipment and did our food shopping for the big trek ahead of us. After that we continued our way for another 2 hours to enter the National Park of Torres del Paine which is absolutely stunning.
a park with stunning mountain ranges, lakes etc etc.... We camped the night and started our trek the following day. 10 of us decided to go for the ´real adventure´by doing camping which meant that we did have to carry the gear for quite a bit of gear with us as well as food for a few parts of the trek. The rest of the group opted for staying in Lodges...
The first day we took a Catamaran to the starting point of the famous W trek. and had a long day ( about 7-8 hours) going about to the Greys Glacier covering a distance of over 20km. After our little meal haha we did feel bit like dogs ( I teamed up with a german girl and our irish guide) all eating our pasta out of the same pot but I think it is part of the experience. we all fell into bed( or more like into our sleeping bags) that night which ended up being very cold one as we woke up the next day with frost on our tents.
We tried to have a relatively early start and carried our gear for bout 2 hours leaving it at trhe next camp site. from there it was a nother 6 hours to visit the next attraction The Valle Frances.quite a challenging hike as a large proprition of the trek consists of climbing over huge rocks. we covered another 20k that day... Luckily the night wasnt that cold.
The next day ended up being very long about 8 hours as we didnt see that there was a short cut to the next camp site .. I would just rather think of it as we did the proper trek and the others opted for the easy one out hahaha... the last bit was up this mega steep bit which was even more challening as we had been carrying our gear all day long... we pretty much collapsed once we got to the camp site. The site was directly next to the lodge so we thouyght to treat us to a luxury night and paid the whopping 20 US dollars for a proper dinner.
The following day we left at 6. 30 am to get a head start from t he crowds for teh highlight of the entire trek. The Torres del Paine or as some like to call them the Pain towers... as the climb there is pretty tough especially after the previous 3 days, hureting knees and blisters on our feet. ahahah but it was really fun and we were rewarded with a stunning view of the three redish mountain towers. I will post some picturees on facebook shortly. The overall day was quicker with about 6 h of walking but still about 20ks to cover... Overall the scenary was super nice, there werent as many other people as I thought there would be and you still get a real feeling of nature. its so clean that it was totally fine to drink the water from the streams and rivers which came straight from the glaciers. one of the guys that was one a different trek than us ( he is pretty hardcore) even had a little encounter with a Puma....
We got picked up by the other driver who took us back to the first camp site where not only a long awaited shower was waiting ( yes after 4 days without one we were veeeeeeeeery keen to get in there) but also a very delicious barbecue. We were all quite happy that the next day was a pure driving d ay so that our feet and legs could get a bit of rest... we took the ferry crossing into Tierra del fuego and camped about 10 min from the border to Argentina.
The following day we crossed over into Argentina and finally arrived in Ushuaia. the end of the world. We had a quick wonder round town, got our laundry sorted and had some delicious meat in form of a good bye dinner for tnbe group as the first people started leaving the following day. Wanting to take advantage of Ushuaia activities we heded to the Tierra del Fuego national park for a 3 hour hike which was quite beautiful ( it somehow gives you the feeling of being in an enchanted forrestwhich is created by the combination of light, the cristal clear water and the interesting trees. ) From there we headed back into town and took a cruise on the Beagle channel where we saw loads of Sea lions as well as Pinguins which were simply adorable. .. Most of the people left yesterday which was quite sad as it was an amazing group. The remining 4 of us went to see a nearby glacier ( yes another little hike) and I treated myself to the hairdresser to feel a bit more feminine again.. haha I must admit that I am quite exited to be wearing something else than trekking pans again in a couple of days.
Around lunch time I am off to Buenos Aires where I will stay the night and then leave for London on friday , get there saturday morning and continue on to Amsterdam in the afternoon. I hope you are all well stef
