Chile Part 3 - Peaks of Patagonia!

We spent our final 10 days in South America surrounded by Patagonia’s towering mountains, calving glaciers, rushing waterfalls and endless beauty. There is much debate over which wilderness area is more spectacular, Argentina’s Glaciers National Park with its Fitz Roy mountain range or Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park with its multicolored towers.  We decided we needed to visit both to decide for ourselves. 

We started in Argentina’s mountain town of El Chalten, a frontier town founded in the 1980’s that sits at the base of the awe-inspiring Fitz Roy range.  We felt at home with El Chalten’s laid-back, outdoorsy atmosphere and its quaint breweries and restaurants.  Two famous hikes start in town and climb to breathtaking views of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre.  For two days, Jay and Christy pushed their out-of-shape bodies up 50km of trail while the boys went hiking, rock climbing and exploring with a guide. 

After two long days hiking and a 4 am wake-up call, our tired bodies welcomed the day off transfer to Chile’s Torres del Paine national park.  We stayed at a “camp” actually inside the National Park, and we had the unique experience of staying in our own 2-story domed tent and dining with other guests in large community domes.   The highlights of our visit were Luke and Ryan’s amazing hiking feats.  With the promised incentive of “no homework days” plus $5 for app purchases (21^st century currency!), they hiked about 20 km per day on challenging terrain. 

On the debate of which park is better, our guide Alejandro summed it up best by saying Fitz Roy is more beautiful, but Torres del Paine is more dramatic.  Both parks boast stunning scenery in virtually untouched environments.  They also both have very cold running streams, perfect for numbing your feet after a long hike! 

In addition to hiking amongst the two parks’ high peaks, we also witnessed huge chunks of ice calving off of the massive Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate and cruised alongside a beautiful blue glacier on Lago Gray in Torres del Paine. 

In our opinion, the far South of both Chile and Argentina represent the best of their respective countries’ tourism options.  The next time we get that far South, we’ll focus our time in Patagonia and hope to make the jump to Antarctica. 

Argentina - Big City and Cowboys

As we sailed across the Atlantic from South Africa, we were exposed to three sides of Argentina.  The old: the still beloved Evita, who served as first lady and worked on behalf of the poorest Argentines; and the history of what once was among the richest countries on Earth, with European influences and South American riches.  The ugly: the aptly named Dirty War, which saw military dictatorship and people “disappearing” on a massive scale, still unaccounted for.  The current: a failing President; an economy in decline, with pegged exchange rates and foreign currency controls; a disgruntled populace, looking for improvements in their lives.  We were also prepared for a country that has a serious love affair with food and fun – including the tango, Argentine beef and dulce de leche. 

Buenos Aires was the largest city on our itinerary and it showed.  It was a bustling crowded place with numerous shops and restaurants and the highest concentration of McDonalds we’ve ever seen on one street.  It also had the grand buildings you would expect from a wealthy European-influenced city.  Grandpa Milton learned first hand why we had been warned repeatedly about the pickpockets on the subway when a couple managed to jostle him and make off with his travel wallet.  The surprise of Buenos Aires was the dogwalkers, sometimes taking up to a dozen dogs on a walk at a time.

The highlight of our second day was “dinner in the dark”.  We joined about 40 shipmates and ate dinner in complete darkness to simulate the impact of being blind.  If you haven’t done it, it is worth spending an evening this way.  It certainly gives you a brief experience of what it is like to live as a blind person.  Christy wrote an essay on the evening so look for that at the bottom of this post.

Our third day featured a visit to a ranch in the pampas (grasslands), the home of Argentine gauchos (cowboys).  It was highly entertaining day featuring horsemanship demonstrations and a delicious BBQ lunch.  Jay wrote a piece about it for our travel class also posted below.

We only had the opportunity to scratch the surface of Argentina and will be sure to return sometime to explore Patagonia in the south and the rain forest in the north.

Christy's story is here!

Jay's story is here!