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A three-hour bus ride north of El Calafate is the only town set in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (South). The bus makes a stop at the Park Rangers office so we can have the talk on the rules and regulations of the park. Then from the bus station, armed with the Lonely Planet map, and our giant packs on our backs (ours are three times the size of anyone else's!) we go to find our hostel. The road layout isn't so clear and after a wrong turn and a 20-minute walk we eventually see it. Our room is spacious with the luxury (!) of a bath and a safe. The town is small and is surrounded by mountains and we go out to find some lunch in one of the many tiny restaurants. We immediately like being in a small town and are relishing the chilled nature of the place. The town is full of hostels and restaurants that are busy through the summer, however, for seven months of the year the town pretty much closes due to the bad weather and inaccessibility on the trails. It must become a ghost town.
There are many day walks that start from the edge of town and that first afternoon we take the 2km hike up to the top of the hill overlooking the town below. It's a beautiful day with clear blue skies and it is a stunning sight with the snow capped mountains in front of us and the green hills behind. As the ozone is thinner in these parts we have to make sure we are covered or have sun tan lotion on at all times. The walk is called Mirador De Las Condores due to the many condor's that are usually seen soaring in the sky. We don't spot one!
On the second day we take the Laguna Torre trail which is 22km round trip to a lake beneath a hanging glacier. The walk is tough for the first couple of hours and winds its way into the hills covered in silver trees overlooking the gushing river below. The path is well marked and busy with other hikers. The sound is only broken by the odd cough from the patient and Hola every five minutes to other trekkers (no doubt the majority of who are not actually Spanish speakers but it feels the right thing to say). The path eventually flattens out to the level of the river bed and from there, there are amazing views to the highest peaks of the Fitz Roy ranges and the fragmented glaciers that lay on them. The strong winds occasionally blow up dirt from the path and as the last of the man-flu is still lingering we turn back early and take off a few kms. There are Puma's in the hills here but they are very elusive. In fact, there seems to be little in the way of wildlife apart from the red headed woodpecker tapping away for termites.
Feeling ready to tackle more of a challenge, the next day we take a medium/hard trail to Laguna Capri which is a 14km trail that starts off with a near vertical muddy path. Climbing boulders and clutching at clumps of grass to pull ourselves up we then enter into woodland that continues winding it's way up the mountain. It is amazing how high we have climbed in a short space of time when we stop to look down at a viewpoint onto the valley floor below. The path continues climbing for approx two hours of walking time until we reach the lake at the top. We take out our picnic and have to cling on to slices of chorizo and cheese before the wind takes it. It's a beautiful area with mountains, waterfalls and glaciers in the distance and we fill our bottles with the cool water from the lake. The trees are probably only weeks away from changing into their autumnul colours which would have made this sight even more beautiful. There is a campsite here and no sign of a shower block anywhere and only one portoloo which doesn't even bear thinking about. The thought of hiking with no shower at the end and then having to sleep in a tent is just unbearable although Steve doesn't seem to grasp what my fuss is about.
Before we leave El Chalten we have a big dump. We are carrying too much weight so some things must go. The sparkly handbag, a pair of heels, some toiletries and clothes. Gutted!
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Chris mcdaid Sorry you had to get rid of the sparkly handbag Steve! Trip sounds amazing!