seekingmygreaterperhaps

*Shoooooo, whooossshhhoooo* That’s the wind in Patagonia. I’m just trying to set the scene for y’all.

This December, I traveled to the Argentinian side of Patagonia. This hiking trip was a dream for me. I am not a backpacker, but I do love to be out in nature, and I think of myself as a hiker. Patagonia is a hiker’s paradise. I understand why they named a clothing brand after this area. Before I went, I had no idea how large Patagonia is- it is 1.061 million kms, and it rests on the border of Chile and Argentina. Also, it is super far south. I went in the summer, and beforehand I was like, yeah I’ll bring a hoodie, and my friend was like… and a winter coat, hat and gloves? I’m glad I heeded her advice, because it was cold and windy. Where I stayed also experienced ~20 hours of sunlight during their summer, so it was sunny pretty much the whole time I was there. This makes it very easy to hike in safety.

The Itinerary

I flew from Brasilia to Buenos Aires, and spent 2 nights there. I’ll talk about BA in another post. From Buenos Aires I flew to Calafate. I spent 3 nights in Calafate (if you are short on time, as long as you have one day to see the glacier, that’s the main highlight, although I loved my other activity- I’ll get to that.)

I took the 3 hour bus to El Chalten- this is the hiker’s paradise. There are no flights to El Chalten, so you have to take the bus, or you can rent a car if you’re bougie. I spent 4 nights there before taking the bus back to Calafate, spending 1 night there before an early morning flight back to Buenos Aires.

I loved my trip, and this timeline worked out well for me. 🙂

Calafate

Legend has it, that if you eat a calafate berry, you will someday return to Patagonia. I hope eating it in the form of jelly between an alfajore counts, because then I had it plenty of times! This berry is what the city is named after. I arrived in Calafate and had the first afternoon to myself. I walked around the town, had lunch, went into the shops, found a hat/ scarf/ gloves to buy, and then enjoyed time at the hostel. I stayed at America del Sur hostel, and it was absolutely incredible. The view was amazing, the staff were friendly, and they had a good vibe to the common areas.

After a good night’s sleep, I was excited about my “minitrekking glacier experience” at the Perito Moreno glacier! This is the must-do in Calafate, with lots of ways to experience the glacier. I wanted to trek on the glacier, because I had never done it before. I went with a guided tour where they strapped on the crampons and led us around the ice!

The glacier is formed by years of snow coming together and compacting to form the ice. You can tell if you get really close that it is all tiny ice “cubes” or shapes that form one giant ice cube. I don’t know what I was expecting, but in my mind, I was picturing the Titanic iceberg and the cartoon one you see in counseling workshops- just a pointing piece of ice. This was way cooler. (eyyy- get it?)

The tour I went on gave us a boat ride, the trek on the glacier, and time to walk on the board walks. The Patagonian ice field is the 3rd largest ice field in the world. This glacier isn’t the largest of that ice field, but it is the most easily accessible. It’s hard to show the size in these photos… but it’s ginormous. Also, when the glacier calves, it sounds like a cannon shot, it is quite loud!

After seeing the glacier, I had a whole day to fill the next day. I had already seen the town of Calafate, and there really wasn’t much else to do except tours. Many tours focus on the glacier or want to make you pay to do farm labor to “experience the gaucho lifestyle.” Pass. So I talked with my hostel and they helped me sign up for a kayaking experience of La Leona, the petrified forest. The picture they chose to advertise was a petrified tree stump, and I was going in with low expectations.

I am so glad that I was so incredibly wrong. I had the most fun day, the other people on the tour were so light hearted and amazing, the scenery was stunning, and the guides were really funny. I cannot recommend this tour enough! It might have even been (gasp) more fun than the glacier trek. They provide you with all the gear for cold water kayaking, because you are kayaking on the beautiful turquoise water of the glacier. It’s a 20 km kayak in all, but you go with the current, and they pick you up in the van.

Around lunch time, we stop kayaking and go for a little walk through the petrified forest. I had no idea what to expect, but it is tree stumps and bones that have been turned into stone over time. Our guides were very knowledgeable about all sorts of rocks… all of which I have now forgotten. Opa. However, we walked in the sandy dunes, and they led us through a beautiful canyon.

This petrified forest/canyon is HUGE. It goes on forever and ever. The picture didn’t quite pick up on all the colors of the striations in the landscape. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, but this reminded me a lot of it, and it took my breath away. On the way down, we were almost sand-gliding because of how crumbly the side of the mountain was. What an adventure!

El Chalten

There are two main hikes that are talked about on all the travel blogs- Laguna de los Tres, and Laguna Torre. They are both ~20 km. I was going to do one on each of the full days I had in Chalten, so on my arrival day I had time to make it to the hostel, figure out the lay of the land, and get mentally prepared.

On the first day, I did a 5km hike that was very low-key to Chorillo de Salto.

This was a great way to make a splash in Patagonia. The waterfall was very tall- it is really hard to show height in pictures, and it was a nice easy hike to and from. Afterwards I ran into some girls I met at the hostel in Calafate, and we had lunch. It’s very easy to meet people when you are traveling solo.

I woke up bright and early to tackle the hike to Laguna de Los Tres. I was hiking by myself, and set out at 7:45 am. The hike is steadily uphill the entire time. It’s a 10 km hike to the top, and then you turn around and go back. The last 2 kms is so extremely steep, they estimate that it takes people 2 hours to complete just the last 2km. The scenery was fantastic throughout the entire hike. You can take a pit stop at a small lake on the way, and you can amble through a couple different viewpoints. When I look back at the pictures I was taking, they all look very green, so it’s hard to choose some to highlight for you!

Before you begin the really steep descent, there is a warning sign in Spanish and English (they really want you to get it) that says you need to be in good physical condition, be wearing the right shoes, and not to hike it in the dark. When I saw it, I was like- psh- I am in good physical condition. Well… apparently not. It was the hardest physical and mental hike I have ever done. I thought I was a hiker… but this was really challenging for me. I was getting passed left and right, and had to keep telling myself it wasn’t a competition and to just enjoy the view and the journey. I felt like I was going to puke at one point and had to sit down. Hikers are nice people and a couple of them asked if I was alright- I just needed a rest. Guys- I swear I work out and am active! This hike kicked my butt.

The glacier lake was stunning. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and I couldn’t see Mt. Fitz Roy that towers over this lake. It was super windy at the top, so I sat behind a rock as I ate half of my sandwich with cold fingers as I gazed upon the lake. I sat up there for about an hour, praying the clouds away, but they were there to stay that day. I slowly made my way down, which may have been harder because of the decline + slippy rocks. Don’t worry- because I am sitting here typing this, I made it down. I exited the trail around 5:30 pm. It was a long day of hiking.

The next day, I was sore. But I wanted to squeeze what I could out of my time in Patagonia, and I told myself that I could still attempt the next long hike (~18km) to Laguna Torre. The hike itself was much more manageable. There were still some inclines, but nothing like the day before. Praise God, because I don’t think I could’ve made it. The vegetation and path that this hike leads through is very pleasant.

I arrived at Laguna Torre and the wind was whipping down the mountain. It blew me over to where I was stumbling a little on the rocks! I took shelter behind big rocks that other hikers have created, but didn’t last too long. The end goal of the Laguna Torre hike isn’t nearly as pretty as Laguna de los Tres, and the big mountain vista I was supposed to see… yep, also covered in clouds.

Thankfully, the hike was beautiful, if not a little windy. It was hard to regulate my body temperature in Patagonia because you would hike and get hot and want to take off layers, but then the wind would whip and you’d be like, welp I guess I’m sweaty today.

On my last day in El Chalten, Argentina was playing the final of the World Cup, and I didn’t want to miss it, so I did a smaller hike to the Miradores (literally translates to the viewpoints). I am SO glad I did this hike. The mountains I had been chasing only to be left disappointed when they were covered in clouds… peeked out. They were out for just about 10 minutes, but I saw them on this hike from a distance.

From the other end of the hike, I could see the river leading towards the distance. The wind over there was also terrible, in case you were wondering. I have a video where I am holding onto my hood, then take my hand away and it instantly blows off. My legs were happy with this easier hike on my last day as well. I was tired.

Some Food Highlights!

• Empanadas- I had one possibly every day I was in Patagonia. They are cheap and easy to transport, even for “box lunches”
• Alfajores- two cookies filled with dulce de leche (or jam) covered in chocolate. I also might have had one of these every day of my trip. If you go to El Chalten, go to Chaltenos- it’s an artisan alfajores place, and they are the best.
• Cordeiro- known in Patagonia, this is lamb. I got it straight from the grill and it was delightful.
• Sopa de Calabaza- pumpkin soup. This brought me life after I was freezing on the mountain all day.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this very long blog post! I had a fantastic time in Patagonia. It was physically challenging at times, but it is so important for my soul to recharged in nature, so I’m glad I went.

Until next time!