Gringos and Gauchos
Southern Patagonia
21-29th Oct 2011

As with all South American travel blogs this one starts on a bus, or to be more precise stood next to a bus, the wind whipping at our faces and stinging our eyes at 6am on a cold Patagonian morning in Puerto Madryn. The aforementioned bus was already half an hour late so not a good start, but that was only a minor annoyance compared to the hoard of French couples on a saga style holiday and under the impression that this was their private tour bus. Desperate to get on the bus the frenchies crowded the door and charged up the stairs to claim the best seats. unfortunately for them we had reserved the best seats (this time top deck right at the front as it's a day bus) but rude as this particular group of tourists were, the couple occupying said seats refused to move. After a lot of arm waving, raised voices and a strong word from the driver, eventually we had them moving to the back of the bus. But it didn't end there. Arguments about whether the films should be in english or french had the bus driver so fed up he turned the tvs off altogether. Their ridiculous desire to photograph everything and anything from the steamed up window of a moving bus had Rob and I chuckling. The smell of stale smoke lingered in the air as they chained smoked at any opportunity and agitatedly drummed their fingers in between fag stops had us coughing. And the 18 hour journey turned into 20 as the unprepared, starving frenchies pressurised the bus driver to stop at a restaurant so they could eat.

Glad to get off the bus, the driver kindly escorted us to our hostel in El Calafate at 2.30am and we guiltily rang the bell to wake the owner.

El Calafate is a small town nestled on the Argentinan-Chilean border in southern Patagonia. It's main attraction is it's proximity to Perito Moreno the constantly advancing glacier which creeps forwards by 2m per day, making it exceptional in the world of ice. It's a hub for hikers, climbers and it seems European tourists who prefer to get a glimpse of Patagonia from the safety of the heated bus. If you took the pictures you were there, right?
They couldn't be more wrong.

I'll try my best to recreate our view of the glacier, but in reality no words can really do it justice. Imagine a field of ice as far as the eye can see planted between two Andean peaks set against a backdrop of moody sky. Tall pillars of glassy blue ice brightly tower above a milky green lake creating beautiful crevasses and caves. Irregular shards of ice jut out at angles and appear unsupported like they could crash down at any moment. And the sight is nothing compared to the sound. Starting with a rumble in the distance, millions of tonnes of ice are invisibly pushed forwards, the noise builds until there is a thunderous clap that roars and echoes as a fissure forms and lorry sized fragments of ice separate and crash to the water below. We watched as four or five pieces broke away from the glacier and seemed to be in the right place at the right time to watch this amazing natural display.

The following two days we had booked a horse riding trip on the recommendation of a friend. This was our chance to really see Patagonia in all of it's remote, wild, beauty and to feel (almost) alone in the world.

We got a fast track course on western style riding as we mounted our trusty steads Obliko and Trecco and off we rode with our two gaucho guides. The riding was pretty intense with steep, loose rocky ledges, dense woodland, water and snow to contend with over the course of the trek. We arrived at our lodge for the night- a small tin roofed shack 500m from the boarder with Chile, a winding stream passing in front of the cabin with a bleached wood bridge, snow covering the fields and condors flying overhead. Rob was in caveman heaven as he chopped wood for the fire, collected water from the stream and helped Luciano prepare our amazing stew. Glugging down a decent amount of vino tinto and stoking the wood burning stove was my job! We ate by candlelight, the delicious feast and slept with the fire smouldering all night.

The next morning we walked through the woods and illegally crossed over into Chile- just for the novelty, no passport stamp today!

The ride back was just as challenging as we ascended through 4foot deep fresh snow to the top of a lookout point with clear views of the Torre del Paine on one side and the Argentinian Lago Roca on the other. We stopped for a mouthwatering lunch of ham, cheese, bread and of course wine. Rob admired the gaucho knives and we laughed and chatted, mainly in Spanish now, about all manner of things. Merry from the wine and happy from the experience we cantered back to the ranch, my horse excitedly jumping the logs in the woods and streams in the valley, and were greeted by the sight of the Moreno glacier glistening in the distance and then the farm dogs and unbroken horses on the land surrounding the farm.

A trek with Cabalgatas del Glacier is a definite recommendation for anyone visiting this area of Patagonia. The back to basics style of living was very appealing, as was the idea of staying longer in this isolated paradise. But there was much more to see and so on to the next town.

El Chalten is a hikers dream with interesting mountain tops visible from town. The town itself is nothing special but the wine is cheap and accommodation of a good standard. We spent 3 days here and did two hikes. The Laguna Torre and Laguna Los Tres. Both gave incredible views but the 10 hour walk to the base of Mount Fitz Roy and the view of the mini avalanches cascading snow into the ice covered Laguna Los Tres was the picture postcard setting we'd been after.

The final 3km part of the trail was hard work. The elevation increases by 700m over loose rocks, slippy gravel and then snow but it's definitely worth it! We were lucky and had glorious weather so we sat, staring in awe, eating our egg mayo sandwiches and watched as the pointed tops of Fitz Roy were highlighted with the change in light, against the sky's blue background.
Dreams of climbing the jagged rocks flashed through our minds but apparently less people make it to the summit than Everest so definitely out of the question!

Patagonia has been a tranquil, beautiful place and has forced a feeling of personal inward reflection. It somehow makes you realise that it's so easy to get swept up with the small stuff, when really you should focus on the bigger picture. The remoteness of some of the locations, with limited access to the digital world slides you into a more neanderthal way of life. Where weather forecasts are based on smell and sight; nightly entertainment consists of stories, jokes and cards, rather than whatever's on the box; and food has been grown and reared locally, not flown thousands of miles to be stacked at a mega supermarket. It tempts you to exercise without consciously training and instills a sense of achievement. This place feels like it's good for you. Everyone should come here.