Fitz Roy

After an amble down to town to try and see flamingos (they stayed away from shore and a few pink blobs were seen a few hundred meters away), onward we went to El Chalten. A small town full of little restaurants and hostels, it's picturesque with each building a different primary colour. Our hostel here has a colourful host who likes to call everyone motherfuckers. We arrived to cloud and rain and after a run to an almost bare supermarket, we sat down for dinner and wine. We shared stories with couples from the Netherlands and Australia hoping for good weather the next day.

Our wishes were answered as I drew the curtain back the next morning and we had crystal clear skies, no wind and the top of Mount Fitz Roy was just visible behind a hill. After a quick breakfast we headed off down the 20km trail. After 4 km we had our first view of the mountain, a lone cloud lingering by the lake. Truly gigantic against the horizon. We wandered on stopping frequently as we stared at the granite formation in front of us. The last 1.2km goes very steep, up 400m to the laguna below the mountain that stands at 1200m. All I can say is that James has the patience of a saint as I turtled my way up. The views were definitely worth it, no words can describe seeing mount Fitz Roy towering above you at 3400m in the sun.

We celebrated by treating ourselves to beer and pizza in a small place called La Cervisaria. Their Hawaiian not only has pineapples but cherries too! After a deep sleep I awoke to an achey right knee, with the wind howling and rain drumming against the window I passed on any further hiking this week. James set off to laguna torres while I explored town and stayed in the cozy hostel. Puerto Natales and W trek await....if the trails are open.

Hostel: £28 pounds for three nights in a 6 person dorm. Worth every penny just for the host, who must have learnt english from listening to Blink 182 etc.Read more