Having just walked off the Huemul Circuit, we had only a precious two more full days in El Chalten before we would head south. El Chalten and the Fitz Roy range had a plethora of additional trails, vistas, and highlights we could hit. It calls itself the "trekking capitol of Argentina," and for good reason. Unfortunately, an additional priority for those two days was laundry! With the weather on the Huemul Circuit going from cold 60+ mph wind with snow flurries, to sunny and warm, I'd pretty well worn most of the clothes I brought. Or I at least wore enough of my clothes to worry if people would smell me before they saw me. The other thing we wanted to attempt, was hiking up to the base of the Fitz Roy towers and Lago de Los Tres.
The weather did indeed deteriorate as expected the day after the Huemul Circuit. Full overcast of clouds rolled in, off and on rain showers, and wind in town. So far weather was working in our favor, and we avoided the bad weather on the trail. I found a lavaderia and dropped my dirty clothes off. We also hit some of the stores in town to try and stock back up on backpacking food we'd need soon for Torres del Paine. I had lugged some dehydrated meals from home for trail days over the first couple weeks but was running low. Putting together meals in a foreign country on the fly that are light enough to carry, packable, and had enough calories to keep me going was a challenge!
That afternoon we had a brief break in the weather and walked across town to the first few kilometers of the Huemul Circuit. We hoped to spot some new wildlife species and try to get some photos. I had a list of species I really wanted to see while in Patagonia. The Huemul or South Andean Deer was high on the list, but a long shot given how rare and endangered they are. Other species like the Megallanic Woodpecker, Andean Condor, and Chilean Bumble Bee I was feeling much more confident about.
We had barely worked our way up the trail before I saw a giant shadow on the cliff walls above us, and the massive condor circling above.
Calling them big, doesn't come close. They are Boeing big. The largest raptors in the world, more than 10 ft tip to tip. 3-4 feet wider than a Bald Eagles wingspan. We watched a pair and juvenile circle us for several minutes before catching a thermal and disappearing over a bluff. Condors, check! They ended up being fairly abundant in the southern end of Patagonia and we would see several more over the next week and a half.
We saw a few other bird species from a distance, including the spectacular Long-tailed Meadowlark, and Kestrel. But neither stuck around after making their presence known. Soon the weather was starting to build back up, particularly the wind. A pair of Chilean Flickers did stick around long enough to let us collect a few photos as they sheltered on the backside of trees.
After collecting my perfectly cleaned and folded laundry, we found some dinner. I was still trying to recover from the long trail days, so decided I could have pizza again, but with soup this time.
We noticed that pumpkin was prominent on the menus, in particular pumpkin soup. After some googling, learned that it was an important part of the culinary mosaic in this part of Argentina. It was delicious! Simple, clean, and refreshing.
The next day, our last full day in El Chalten, we decided to catch that view of the Fitz Roy towers up close from Lago de Los Tres. The mountains were obscured all day the day before, and the weather was borderline at best for today. But there is some Fred Beckey quote about how you don't really know what the weather is like, unless you go look for yourself. So, we loaded up with sandwiches (wine-less tomatoes), camera, and went for a look.
Right away around the trailhead we spotted some new wildlife. Austral Parakeets! Just the novelty of a parrot type bird, in the wild, and not a released pet was so fun to see. And those greens!
We saw a huge amount of dandelions on some of the trails, it quickly became clear how those seeds may be spreading.
The clouds continued to linger over the summits but the trail itself was gorgeous.
About 7 miles and ~3,500 feet higher we made it to the lake. It was awesome, even if the peaks remained obscured. These mountains have some of the most outrageous rock and alpine climbing lines anywhere. Climbing icons have epic stories from this range. Originally, when I had scoped this trip, I had wanted to get on some of those lines. Injuries to climbing partners and just the logistics of carrying around all the necessary gear for 3+ weeks didn't make it practical.
We stuck around for about half an hour in the cold hoping it might clear with no luck.
We made quick work of the 7 miles back to town. I took one last pass through the grocery and convenient stores looking for backpacking and bus ride snacks before grabbing dinner. We debated if we should have sat it out a little longer, but the mountains never escaped the clouds all day.
You know I'm sampling empanadas all trip. Plus, can someone explain to me the MASSIVE wonder-bread sandwiches?
This is the smartest dog in town.
Dinner that night was the coolest stew, pumpkin, carrots, rice, potatoes, the normal stuff... and peaches in the stew!
The next morning was a perfect bluebird day. Figures. Fitz Roy at least gave us a nice parting view.
We were retracing our path some as we hopped on the early bus back to El Calafate. The Patagonia shrub scenery was feeling familiar now, but still the anticipation and novelty of the landscape wouldn't let me sleep much on the bus ride. We had better weather on this bus ride. Good enough that I was that silly tourist trying to get pictures of guanacos and rheas through the window as we flew by at 70km an hour.
The bus-stop dog wishes everyone happy holidays.
We had one single day in El Calafate. It's a much bigger town than El Chalten, and while both are really geared toward tourism the vibes were completely different. Gone were the small hostels, hole in the wall shops, and corner bakeries of El Chalten. El Calafate was the bigger, more polished and refined brother. El Calafate definitely had it's appeal and I would have appreciated an extra day or two there, but I'd pick the little brother if I had the choice.
Both Argentina and Chile really embraced the connection this region has with Darwin's Beagle voyage.
Waffle sandwich and empanada? Yes, please.
Our rental for the night was on the edge of town right next to the Laguna Nimez Wildlife Reserve. This was the main attraction for us during our stay in El Calafate. We spent most of the late afternoon following birds and foxes around the reserve with almost everything we saw being a completely new species for both of us.
This Spectacled Tyrant has some of the coolest eyes I've seen on a bird, like a fleshy pair of horn-rims. I thought they were going to be common on this trip, but this was the only place we saw them.
Brown-hooded Gulls were common everywhere we went. Handsome looking birds.
Southern Lapwings were one of those birds I first saw early in El Chalten and made a huge effort to get close enough to see. They ended up being a familiar site and sound for the whole trip. Like big Killdeer.
Upland Goose chicks would be a precursor for much of the rest of our trip.
Black-faced Ibis were another species that ended up being super abundant in southern Patagonia.
There were a pair of Cinereous Harriers that literally ran us off the trail in one corner of the reserve. I assume they were keeping us away from a hidden nest we never saw. Regardless, the fly-bys were close enough to make their territorial point.
Andean Duck
I love Shovelers. Their oversized cartoonish bills just make me smile. These Red Shovelers were beautiful. The feathers looked like something a fly-tyer would covet.
Chilean Wigeon
Then the stars of the show flew in, Chilean Flamingos. Another species I really wanted to see. No bus window holding me back here.
Another perk of this reserve was there was a great little cantina right next door!
The next morning, we had the earliest bus out of El Calafate that would take us across the border into Chile and the town of Puerto Natales. Puerto Natales would be our jumping off point for Torres del Paine. The first cab I tried to call left us high and dry. We needed to get across town to the bus station and since we were crossing an international border on this bus leg, I didn't want to be running into the station at the last minute.
I tried a second cab company, explained the first one stood me up and we were in a hurry. Our new cab was there within a couple minutes. Good start. And even with my mediocre Spanish, I think the urgency was communicated to our driver. He showed up in this little sedan with the suspension of a waterbed. We loaded our bags in and he took us on a rally course drive across town. Complete with hand break turns and latin punk music blasting from the radio. It was awesome! No problem making our bus.
We worked through getting our visas setup, got comfy in the bus and settled in for a long ride. The bus eventually left the pavement for a well-maintained dirt road to the border crossing. Chile takes their border crossings and fruit/vegetable checks very seriously. While it wasn't quick, our bus made it through customs, back on tarmac, and into Puerto Natales by early afternoon.
Puerto Natales sits right on the water at a pinch point between the Golfo Almirante Montt and the wonderfully named Ultima Esperanza Sound (Last Hope Sound). We would only be here for one night before heading into Torres Del Paine.
I thought I could squeeze the last few days in Argentina and Torres del Paine into one write-up. But there were just too many good wildlife observations! Plus, Torres del Paine probably warrants its own space.
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