Patagonia – February 6-March 4, 1996
This was a 4-week tour operated by GAP (now G Adventures), a popular travel company with a reputation for offering hiking and active tours. I went on the tour with Jan Micklethwaite. There were 8 in the group.
Feb 6-7. 12-hour bus ride to Vancouver arriving at 05:10. Flight 12:45 via Miami arriving in Buenos Aires at 09:30. Stayed Gran Hotel Argentino Carlos Pellegini #37.
Feb 8. Buenos Aires. Humid 70s. Walked around downtown mostly t-shirt shops. Went to the movie The Ransome with Mel Gibson in English with Spanish subtitles. At 1am, the streets were full and restaurants busy.
Feb 9. Spent until 2 pm waiting for Jan in the hotel room, went out for dinner, and walk downtown on two streets with no traffic, many theatres, restaurants, and t-shirt shops.
Feb 10. Left the hotel at 10:30 for the airport. Flew Aerolineas 2 hours over initially pampas, many lakes, and fields, then desert and foothills to Bariloche, the major resort town of Argentina. Very much like the Okanagan. Stayed in a small family-run hotel. Traditional dinner with a lot of meat.
Feb 11. Left 06:50 for the bus and a two-hour boat ride on Lago Nahual Huapi, 2km bus or walk, a one-hour boat ride on Lago Frias (great clouds, few big mountains). Crossed border into Chile in 1 1/2 hour, 29km bus ride to Puella in Chile. Two-hour bus ride (waterfall) to Ensenada where we stayed for 2 nights.
Feb 12. Climbed to second hut on Volcano Orsono, a perfect cone. 13 km drive on dirt road, rained all the way on the walk but used an umbrella. Close to the hut and ski club was a mature forest not involved in any fire. To climb to summit requires ice axes, crampons, rope and a guide.
Feb 13. 1.5 hour bus ride to Puerto Montt on the Pacific (popo 90,000), many tourists. Seafood lunch. Walked to top of small hill with a cross, fish market, flea market.
Feb 14. Fly two hours to Punta Arenas (pop 100,000) on Strait of Magellan. Magellan penguin colony on Otway. Stayed at hostel/house. Two travelers had done the circuit on 6 days, very strenuous.
Feb 15. Two hour drive to Puerto Natales on one lane cement, one lane gravel. Walk on inlet. Big dinner at Casa Grande (nice lodgings).
Feb 16. Walk to top of small mountain NE of Puerto Natales, nice cliffs, very windy. Walk back to Casa Grande and big dinner.
Feb 17. One + hour drive in van north in campground near Hosteria las Torres. Walk to Torres del Paine, 3 hours, river, beautiful, great light initially then flat and gray. Torre Aostini Sur 2850, Torre Central 2899m, Torre Manzino Norte 2600m, Co. Nido de Condor (white/dark brown). Guide Jorge
Feb 18. Drive 26 km to Refugio Pudato, one hour boat ride on Tzonka to Refugio Camping Pehoi, a group camp on edge of a lake and many goose turds for two nights.
Hike 2 hours to Campamento Italiano, 2 hours to Campamento Britanio, 45 minutes to saddle above surrounded by mountains: Cuerno del Paine (horns) and Co. Paine Grande with Glacier Frances. Many avalanches.
Feb 19. Hike to Glacier Grey. Three hours to Refugio up valley, along lake, many icebergs in Lago Grey. Chilean Icecap third biggest in the world (330 km long). Walked to point and view of east side of Glacier Grey.
Feb 20. Lagoe Pehoe. Boat ride on Tzonka back to Refugio Pudeta, drive 26 km south to Camping Rio Serrano. Guides Fernando and son Alan in two zodiacs and one klepper down Rio Serrano. Rio Gray tributary added glacial silt. 100 m portage up and over hill to avoid Salto Rio Serrano. Camped in beautiful old grove of trees, rain, cold, zodiac one hour. Hike one hour up hill behind camp.
Feb 21. Short zodiac ride to rana Casa de Pakin (500 cattle, pumas). Eight rode horses and five walked three hours from ranch north west across flat plain, along Rio Geiki, up and over moraine to lake many icebergs and view of Glacier Geiki. Guide $5 and horses $35. Soccer game, short zodiac ride in rain to campsite. Lamb on a spit. Met two Germans on wrong side of river (with no pants).
Feb 22. Zodiac one hour to Pueto Toro on Seno de Ultima Esperanzo with dock and tourist boats from Puerto Natales. Walked to toe of Glacier Serrano on Mount Balmaida. glacier ends in lake with many icebergs. Took boat down Sero de UE four hours to Puerto Natales, beautiful, sunny, sat on deck. Stayed again at Casa Grande.
Feb 23. Drive in Ford van to Calafate, Argentina on rough, dusty road. Crossed border in midddle of no where and bought Paine t-shirt at border. In Calafate, stayed in hostel, very nice with ensuite bathroom, good shower and nice restaurant. Calafate on shore of Lago Argentino. Visited lagoons with flamingoes, and houses on opposite shore.
Feb 24. Perito Moreno Glacier. Up at 7 am, hike along lake to viewpoints. Boat ride under wall of glacier150-180 feet high calving ice all the time. The glacier abuts a cliff that dams up lake.
Feb 25. Drive Calafate to Chalten. Walked from Fitzroy Expeditions downtown to Chalten, lunch. Only small restaurant, post office and grocery store – “like the wild west”, very small. Repacked packs for hike to Lago Torre. Walked 2 1/2 hours along Rio Fitzroy, over Mirador del Torre to Camp Jim Bridwell. Tents were set up, catered suppper, pictures of moraines and Lago Torre.
Feb 26. Crossed river on rope bridge, hiked up moraine on left side of lake, up steep trail over cliff and slide, along the rocky bank onto the edge of the glacier. Hiked along the rocky side of Glacier Torre, across glacier to the far moraine, rivers and holes. Views onto the back of Fitzroy, Cerro Torre in the cloud and Egger Torre. Hiked back to Chalten. Jan lost on way back.
Feb 27. Up at sunrise for pictures of Fitzroy and sunrise. Hiked up to Fitzroy three hours many with many pictures of lower lake. Crossed river, steep one-hour hike up to lookout above Lago de Los Fitzroy in cloud. Hiked out in 3 1/2 hours. Drove back to Calafate and dinner in the hostel.
Feb 28. Bus from Calafate to Rio Gallegos. Found ATM. Fly to Ushuaia, arrived at hostel at sunset, out to supper at a nice restaurant.
March 1. Boat to islands in Beagle Channel to see cormorants, sea lions, and hike among cormorants nesting. Hiked up the glacier, ski tow, disorganized.
Mar 2. Fly Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. Walk to La Boca and Sentelmo Districts of Buenos Aires. Statue of Christopher Columbus.
Mar 3. Buenos Aires. No luck finding an ATM that would take cards. Went to Evita 4 pm matinee (small crowd with no reaction). Shuttle airport, flight Miami.