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The South American Odyssey
  • The Craze for Travelling
  • The Craze for Travelling

The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Poincenot camp
    Poincenot camp1Puma information board

    Start of the final climb

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    About a 100 mts from the merge of the trails, we reached the Poincenot camp. People doing multi day treks camp here. There is a toilet facility and flat clearing under the trees to put up tents. There is a sign post describing the dos and don'ts in case one meets a puma. We were in prime puma territory but that many people hiking we didn't expect to come across any. After the camp, we crossed the Rio Blanco and reached the point from where its straight up. The final point is 1.5 kms from here and there is an elevation of 600 mts. The track is very loose from here on with stones and rocks everywhere. To add to that, it is a very steep climb as well. There are no trees or bushes to provide any shelter from the strong rays of the sun.Read more

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    The final stretch
    The final stretch1Wowww!!!

    Fritz Roy viewpoint

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We covered the 1.5 kms of the last stretch in about an hour. The views as we climbed we extremely beautiful behind and the view when we reached the viewpoint was breathtaking. It was a real Wowww moment. We stopped for a few minutes at the viewpoint taking in the view and taking pictures. It was absolutely mindblowing.Read more

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    Lago de Los Tres

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    After relaxing a while at the viewpoint, we climbed down to the Lago de Los Tres. It is named after the three French climbers who were the first to win the Fitz Roy summit. There was hardly any wind and the perfect reflection of the beautiful Fritz Roy was stunning. We just couldn't have enough of it. We stayed a while at the lake before proceeding further.Read more

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    Laguna Sucia

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    From the Lago de Los Tres, we walked a few hundred meters for a beautiful view of the Lago Sucia just below the Poincenot peak. It was an equally fabulous view but the lake was a few 100 mts below from where we were. There seems to have been a trekking path all the way to the lake earlier but now there was a metallic plaque in the mountain side with a notice that only officials with permits are allowed beyond a certain point due to extremely dangerous track conditions. A small stream flows down from the Lago de Los Tres to the Laguna Sucia via a waterfall. From a small hill nearby, we could see both the lakes and mountains in a mindblowing panoramic view.Read more

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    Laguna Madre (Mother Lake)
    Laguna Madre (Mother Lake)Chorillo del Salto

    Cloud swirls(Lenticular)on the way down

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    The views away from the Fritz Roy were equally beautiful. On the way down, we saw some interesting swirls of clouds. Later we found it is quite a common phenomenon in this area. These are know as Lenticular clouds, often mistaken for UFOs.

    As air travels along the surface of the Earth, obstructions are often encountered. In this case, the Andes suddenly rising from the flat steppes. These disrupt the flow of air into "eddies", or areas of turbulence influenced by these obstructions.

    When moist, stable air flows over a larger eddies, typically caused by mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves form on the leeward side of the mountain. If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops below the local dew point, moisture in the air may condense to form lenticular clouds. Under certain conditions, long strings of lenticular clouds can form near the crest of each successive wave, creating a formation known as a "wave cloud." These wave systems can produce large updrafts, occasionally enough for water vapour to condense and produce precipitation.

    This time, after the steep descent from the Lago de Los Tres, we took the route directly towards El Chalten. After a while we crossed the crystal clear waters of the stream Chorillo del Salto. After a few hundred meters, we took the deviation towards Laguna Capri and continued through thick bushes covering the plain in this area.    Read more

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    Back at El Chalten

    January 24, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We finished the trek at around 7 pm. Here again we saw the circular swirls of clouds above the village. This side of the village has a farm theme with many hotels amd restaurants having very old farm equipment displayed in the lawns around. Most of the restaurants are made in wood.
    We had our dinner here in one of the restaurants and then went to our hotel for the night. Now, again, we saw those spooky swirls of clouds in the sky and as the sun set they too acquired beautiful yellowish/orangish colors on the edges.    Read more

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    Lomo del Peliege Tumbado trek

    January 25, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Next day we woke up and got ready by 9:30 am. After that we walked just outside of the El Chalten village to the entrance of the national park. The starting point of the Lomo del Peliege Tumbado trek is the same as the starting of the Mirador de Los Cóndores trek we had done before.
    El Chalten is famous for the various tours and treks around the village and out of the many options that are available, we had picked the 4 best ones. The Tumbado trek is said to have the best panoramic views of not only the Fritz Roy and the nearby mountains, but of the whole chain of mountains and the valleys around. The whole trek is about 8 kms to the viewpoint of the Laguna Torre (marked as medium) and then a 2 kms extremely steep climb to the viewpoint of the mountains around.
    We started our trek at around 10:30 am. It was quite sunny and the initial path was a slow climb up with no trees or tall plants to give shade. It was a bit of tough going mainly due to the heat of the direct sun.
    About 3 kms from the starting point, we reached a marshland with lovely views of the valley below. We could also see the Fritz Roy massif across the pampas topography.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Viedma LagunaRocks and rubble on the way upThe steep last stretch for the Tumbado viewpointFritz RoyLaguna Torre

    Laguna Torre viewpoint

    January 25, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Around 12:45 pm after about 2 hours of trek, we reached the Laguna Torre viewpoint. The views around are stunning. On one side, we could see the Fritz Roy and the snow covered mountains and on the other side, the beautiful blue stretch of the Viedma lake. The track was steep and made of loose stones and rocks. We could see the trail snaking its way up the hill that forms the last steep stretch of the trek. Slightly to the side is the breathtaking viewpoint of the Laguna Torre at the bottom of a glacier with the beautiful Poincenot and Fritz Roy in the backdrop.Read more

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    Laguna Viedma
    Laguna ViedmaLaguna TorreColored volcanic hills on the other side

    Reaching the Tumbado viewpoint

    January 25, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    We waited a bit at the Laguna Torre viewpoint for Maria and Hristo to catch up but were constantly annoyed by the hundreds of flies that would come and buzz around us. After about 20 min we continued with the climb further along the final stretch. As we gained more height, we could see Laguna Viedma further into the horizon and the chain of Andes also reaching the horizon at the other end. Here we were able to take panoramic pictures from Fritz Roy at one end and the Laguna Viedma at the other. We could also see the colored volcanic hills on the other side of the valley now.
    The climb was extremely steep and at some places very tricky with loose stones and gravel with absolutely no foot hold anywhere.    Read more

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    Panoramic view at Tumbado

    January 25, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    The views from Tumbado viewpoint were breathtaking to say the least. Neither words nor pictures can fully describe the stunning sights all around. From the top we could see full 360 degrees around and every angle or degree we could see was just extraordinary. Totally out of the this world. It was a sight worth taking in and this trek had totally lived up to its expectations.
    Here, there weren't any flies to irritate us so we sat in soaking the views and had our packed food.    Read more

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    Back to El Chalten

    January 25, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    The trek back was along the same path we had come up. We had waited almost an hour at the top for Hristo and Maria but we didn't see them so we presumed that either they had stopped at the viewpoint just below the final hill or had turned back, so around 2:30 pm, we started our trek back. About 7-8 min into the climb down, we met Hristo and Maria going up. They continued up while we continued our perilous climb down the loose gravel.
    We reached back at the village around 5:30 pm and walked straight to the vegetarian place we had seen the day before. They had a mix of Indian and asian cuisine there. We had rice with dal and masala lemonade and lassi for dinner.    Read more

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    Lago del Desierto tour

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    As had been planned very meticulous, the first 3 days of clear sky days, we had trekked and today was a day when we were expecting some rain and sure enough it was quite cloudy when we woke up in the morning.
    The plan for the day was to go and do the Lago del Desierto tour since it did not involve much trekking or being outdoors. It was a raod trip to the Desierto lake, North of El Chalten. There was a boat ride to the other end of the lake to pick up people trekking their way from Chile into Argentina and those on the boat could have a few minutes on the shore. Then, on the way back, the boat stops midway near a glacier where there are short treks to view the glacier up close.
    We started the day with our pickup arriving at 7:30 am. Bu 8 am, we were heading out of El Chalten. The route, to begin with, was the same that we had taken when being dropped off for the Fritz Roy trek 2 days ago. The road continues along the Rio de Las Vueltas, then Rio Eléctrico and tgen further up North. Its an extremely scenic route. Luckily, it was cloudy but not raining.    Read more

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    Lago Condor
    Lago CondorChile-Argentina standoff locationSalto del Anillo

    Lago Condor

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    About 40 min into the trip, we came to the beautiful Lago Condor along the roadside. Our bus driver was a very nice and friendly guy. He doubled up as a guide and stopped the bus for a while for the people to get off and take pictures.
    Further along the road, in a forest location, we came to the point where Argentina and Chile had a standoff before the creation of the national park in this region. This part of Patagonia was so remote that it had not been allowed to any country. Chile troops had come to occupy it but were beaten back by the Argentinian side. The memorial commemorates those who lost their lives. The situation was eventually resolved when the whole area was declared a National Park.
    The next stop was at the Salto del Anillo waterfall.    Read more

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    Reached North shore

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    The boat was a speedy one and we made good progress. There were glaciers on both the sides feeding the lake. Halfway through the boat ride, the wind became extremely strong and the boat started splashing a lot of water in front and on the sides. It was too windy, cold amd wet to stay outside for too long. Eventually, around 11 am, we reached the North shore of the lake.
    From the Chile side the last village on the Carretera Austral is Villa O'Higgins and if one wants to cross over into Argentina, there are no roads or ferrys. A passenger ferry starts at Bahia Bahamondez near Villa O'Higgins and can take people across the O'Higgins lake to the Candellario Manilla port. From here, its a 21 km trek across the border into Argentina, then past the Laguna Larga and then to the North shore of Lago del Desierto.
    It was here, that we were now. The boat stops for about 15 min here.    Read more

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    Lago del Desierto North shore

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We stopped at the North shore. A few brave souls who had trekked the cold amd isolated 21 kms from the ferry port in Chile were picked up here. We got of along with the others in the tour and walked around. There was an Argentinian border post here. There were quite a few Calafate bushes so we had a good time eating the berries. After about 20 min, the boat started on its return journey across the lake.Read more

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    On the way backGlacier VespignaniOur briefing placeThe different treksStart of the trail

    Starting the trek to Vespignani glacier

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Halfway back on the lake, we were dropped off on the Western shore. Here, we were briefed about the 3 different paths we could take to see the glacier up close.
    There was the green path which was a 20' easy walk tgat could be done by anyone but it didn't have the view of the glacier. Then there was a diversion from the green path along the yellow path that was a medium difficulty trek of 25' but with a view of the glacier. Another diversion lead to the red path of medium difficulty but 45'. We were told to choose one of them depending on our capabilities and that the boat would be back to pick us up in 2 hours at 1:30 pm.
    Hristo and I decided to try and go for both the red and the yellow trails within the time period we had. Around 12 pm, we started on the green trail.    Read more

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    Cascade on the wayLago del Desierto

    Along the red track

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Since we wanted to do 2 trails within the given time, Hristo and I set up a brisk pace. The path was quite steep and soon we had left the others behind us. There was a thick forest all along the path. We even passed by a small cascade and within 20 min of starting, we reached the viewpoint of the Lago del Desierto.Read more

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    Final viewpoint on red trail

    January 26, 2018 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We continued across a small wooden bridge to the final viewpoint on the red trail. We had managed to do the full trail in less than 30 min, so we felt confident of doing the yellow trail as well. From this viewpoint as well, we could see the glacier and the Lago del Desierto. After stopping for a few minutes, we started our descent. When we reached back at the 1st viewpoint, we still couldn't see the girls so we presumed that they were coming slowly sinve they had wanted to do only the red trail. We continued further down. Soon Hristo lead by quite many meters ahead of me. In the distance, I saw the girls in the forest a bit away from the trail. Hristo stopped briefly and continued further. When I reached that spot, the girls had reached very near the trail and Melinda was limping and Maria was helping her. On asking, they told that Melinda had slipped and twisted her ankle. I stopped for a while but they told me to continue since I couldn't anyway help with anything more. They were planning to walk slowly back to the starting point and Melinda felt comfortable enough to be sure she will be able to walk with the branch support they had picked up from the forest.Read more