El Calafate
Merry Christmas!
We spent our Christmas this year in El Calafate, Argentina!
We celebrated it with some fellow Canadian travellers! Wine, a good chunk of
steak, and friends. Not a bad way to spend Christmas.
There's really one thing people do here in El Calafate.
Glaciers. Some might say that going to see the glaciers is like spending the
day watching paint dry. Spending a couple hours at Perito Moreno however, is anything
but.
Perito Moreno is a glacier that attaches to the third largest
ice field in the world. What makes it interesting is the fact that it is
actually advancing. {insert size of glacier here} As you sit and watch this one
you actually get to see some action. Huge chunks of ice will calve and split
off the glacier throughout the day. What looks like a tiny snowball from where
you stand is actually the size of a car. This is evidenced by hearing what
sounds like an explosion when it hits the water. The glacier constantly groans
under its internal pressures. Every once and a while a giant pillar of ice,
must be bigger then a semi-truck will break off and collapse into the water.
Quite a sight.
El Chalten
Welcome to the outdoor playground of Argentina. With a couple
of marquee hikes, a plethora of rock climbing routes, mountain bike trails, and an up close view of the Fitz Roy
mountain - all available to you as you walk out your door, - you won't get
bored.
We spent our first day hiking 28km round trip (more km than
Andrea or I have ever travelled by foot in a single day). It was to Cerro
Torres. A set of 3 towers, which can be seen as you look over a pretty green
glacier lake. Or not. It was so cloudy we didn't see much, but the post cards
looked really nice! When we got to the lake, the wind was so strong (stronger
then Torres del Paine) that at times your options are duck and cover or get
pushed off the trail. For the record while we didn't see Torres, we did
get a pretty clear view of Fitz Roy, later that evening over pizza.
Our other activity in El Chalten was rock climbing. Climbing
a real cliff for the second time in my life I realize how different it is then
a rock gym. Hand holds are not nicely shaped chin up holds that you can pull
yourself up with. The smaller and sharper hand holds are much less forgiving.
Our last climb had us climb in tandem to a pitch halfway up a cliff side. The
adrenaline was pumping as we perched on the toe sized ledge on the side of the
cliff. Just don't look down... Oh wow, too late! After climbing to knee shaking
heights, there really is only one option. You have to go back down again!
(actually you could keep going up – but really, what are we, crazy?) It takes a
lot of chutzpah for a newbie to first lean back off the cliff and trust the
guide that you first met that morning. Does he know what he's doing? Is his
equipment good? That knot is going to hold me? Are you sure? Are you really
sure? Really really sure? At this point, what other options do you have? So you hold your breath and lean back and....
Well, you know how the rest goes, I wrote this didn't I?
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