El Chaltén, Argentina

Hikers heaven.

We're starting to get a grip on the size of Argentina. By area it is the eighth largest country in the world, and Patagonia alone comprises one third of Argentina. Zoomed out on a map, the trip from El Calafate to El Chalten seemed almost walkable, yet the 210km journey still took five hours on a bus. Extrapolating this journey time to any longer distance was daunting to say the least. Our plans to conquer this giant continent are diminishing with every crippling passage.

There's really not much to El Chalten. A bus terminal, a handful of restaurants, cafes, and outdoor equipment shops are all that services this sporadic array of hikers accommodation. That's right. We're in hiking and climbing heaven. When the clouds lift, snow peaks are visible in the back drop of some barren outcrops and the braided Rio de las Vueltas courses through a wide and autumnal valley. Its quiet, cool and spacious aura gives an overwhelming urge to relax. So we did. At least for an afternoon.

Opening hours in Argentina are a confusing. Opening hours in Argentina on Sundays are a complex mindboggler, and opening hours on a public holiday in Argentina are an outright mystery. Such is life, we spent much of the day racing to shops which we thought were open only to find them actually closed, as we had very little to eat and it momentarily looked like we might be missing lunch and dinner that day. Fortunately we had some bits and bobs with us and were able to prepare a meal. To his credit, the owner of our hostel offered to call his mate to open his shop for us. I think you get the gist. Travelling with our pantry is beginning to become the norm.

We managed to stock up on food early the next morning and embark on the Lago de las Tres hike which started at the edge of town. It was one of three easily accessible (and free) day hikes which this town offers - amoungst a multitude of longer or shorter and far more challenging hikes and climbs. It was windy. Violently windy and raining, and with my knee still unfit we really had to question what we were doing. We ascended and the rain turned to snow and the winds grew claws and pincers which stung our hands and faces. We only had 20km to cover and halfway in we were seriously contemplating an early retirement to hot drinks and central heating.

Stubbornness pushed us onward and to our surprise the weather took a small turn for the good. Modest glimpses of blue sky were cause for profound celebration. Daring not to stop for fear of losing our hard earned body heat, we laboured onward up the final kilometer and its associated 400m of elevation gain. The reward? A great view of the valley which we had just trekked and an acceptably good view of the lake and it's surrounding peaks. The real prize - The Fitzroy Mountain Peaks, remained hidden in the afternoon cloud.

During our descent the weather steadily improved and sunshine finally struck us halfway down the hill. It was our third hour of sunshine since we landed in Punta Arenas (two weeks ago) and we took great delight in celebrating it! We frolicked on the slopes, soaked our faces in warmth and thoroughly appreciated the now golden view of the valley. We even attempted lunch in the sun, before the cold winds drove us into shelter. It didn't last long. Cloud quickly returned, followed by snow, then rain and the day ended very much as it started, only our physical condition was much worse for wear. It didn't phase us, the buzz from an hour's sun was enough to last us through much more rain, considering the rate at which it's falling around here.

We would have hiked again the next day, but my leg has reached it's limit and some feet up time is in order. We cancelled that night's accommodation and hopped on the 9pm bus to Esquel. Upon boarding we were apparently told the 17 hour journey would be five hours longer - we actually didn't understand this at the time - and were left to ponder the translation as our journey progressed at disgraceful pace. It took 25 hours to cover the 1200km (I'm sure it was more - there must have been a large detour while we slept) and we were lucky to reach Esquel in time for our prebooked night's accommodation.

We did however take some joy in travelling the not-overly-famous Ruta National 40 - Argentina's equivalent to a now virtually defunct Route 66. RN40 runs north-south over almost the entirety of the country, covering a distance in excess of 5000km. The Patagonian stretches are desolate. The most desolate and uninhabited area of the planet I have ever witnessed. There is nothing between the blips of towns which lie deathly quiet in isolated solidarity. On the immensely long stretches of road, time stops. There are no gas stations. No telephone wires, no power lines, no side roads. No intersections. No fences, no farms and virtually no animals. The only signs of life are the tiny shrubs which struggle for life in this Mars-like landscape. Yet for us, it was merely a few moments of awe in a journey we would otherwise love to forget. We welcomed the comfortable beds and real food of El Chalten with open arms. There's a lot more RN40 to come, so don't expect this to be the end of the whinge!Read more