My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Category: South America 2023
Our trip to South America in September-November, 2023
Today we retraced our steps from El Chaltén back to El Calafate. The wind has been blowing incredibly hard the whole day and Mount Fitz Roy was hidden in the clouds.
Mount Fitz Roy is in the clouds somewhereWe put our suitcases in garbage bags to protect them from the dustThe wind was ferocious for the whole three hour drive
We played cards for a while when we got here and later went to dinner at the same place we ate last time we were in El Calafate, Parrilla Don Pichon. The power was out but they were running a generator for the essentials. This time each couple shared a lamb platter. It is what Bonnie and Brian had last time. Oh my was it devine! The best lamb I have ever eaten.
Because the power was out Don Pinchon didn’t look open. One of our lamb platters.
We are spending three nights in El Chaltén. It’s great to not have to move and it allowed us to do another hike today.
This morning we drove north from El Chaltén about 25 miles on a dirt road to the Glacier Huemul trail. Nearby you can also take a boat ride on Lago del Desierto. We decided to hike to the glacier lookout.
On the road to the trailheadLago del Desierto
They charge the equivalent of about three dollars to hike the glacier trail. there were quite a few people on the trail.
Entrance to the Huemul Glacier trail
The trail up to the glacier outlook started relatively flat but then it got quite steep. It was about a mile and a half to the top. The climb was absolutely worth it. When we got to what appeared to be the viewpoint we had a stunning view of the glacier.
The beginning of the trailThe Huemul Glacier
But just a little bit farther up the trail we’re surprised to find an ice covered lake below the glacier.
Huemul Glacier and the lake covered with ice below it.
Today Mount Fitz Roy has been mostly covered in clouds. In the picture below you can just see it sticking out of the clouds between the two branches.
Top of Fitz Roy through the clouds
For dinner we ate at a wonderful restaurant called La Cerveceria the service and all our food was absolutely wonderful!
Restaurant La CerveceriaDuke had a bean and lamb stewI had vegetable pasta with a mushroom cream sauce.
Today our plan was to hike the path up towards Mount Fitz Roy. We ate breakfast at 7:30 and were on the trail by 9:00.
Frost on our windshieldAt the Fitz Roy trailhead
It was a perfect day for hiking. We didn’t go to the end of the trail but we hiked up just over 4 miles to some wonderful viewpoints.
Fitz RoyEl Chaltén from the trailOur lunch spot 4 miles in, where we turned aroundOne of the glaciers we could see.Lago CapriAfterward we had ice cream
After almost 9 miles of hiking a nap was a necessity. For dinner we ate at a wonderful Italian Restaurant, La Mafiosa.
After breakfast this morning in El Calafate we walked down to the shore of Lago Argentina. It is the largest fresh water lake in Argentina with a maximum length of 75 miles and width of 25 miles. It is fed by the glaciers in the mountains to the west.
Along the shore of the lake we were surprised to se flamingos
FlamingosMore flamingos
When we got back to the hotel we checked out. Today we drove around Lago Argentina then north and around the next large lake, Lago Viedma. We went up into the mountains to the west to the small town of El Chaltén at the base of Mount Fitz Roy in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares.
Entering Argentina’s Glaciers National Park The big peak is Mount Fitz Roy
We are very lucky to have absolutely perfect weather. The ranger at the visitor center said it is not uncommon for the peaks to be hidden in clouds.
The Ranger in the visitor center
El Chaltén is at an elevation of 1,345 feet and Fitz Roy has an elevation of 11,171 feet. The ice mass in these mountains is the Patagonia Ice Field. It is the third largest in the world after the Arctic and Antarctic ice fields. As you can see in this satellite image that was in the visitor center the ice field stretches from Argentina, where we are, across Chile to the Pacific and down the spine of Patagonia for hundreds of miles. We are staying at the west end of the northern of the two big lakes in the picture below.
North and South Patagonia Ice Cap satellite image
After checking into our hotel, El Chaltén Suites we hiked to Mirador de Los Condores overlooking the town and the mountains.
On the trail to the Condor ViewpointThe view from the top
This morning after breakfast by the fire in the dining hall at Estancia dos Elianas we set out to explore a bit of Torres del Paine National Park. It was a very windy day but that meant we had a excellent visibility.
Torres del PaineWaterfall in Torres del Paine National Park
Next we headed over the border into Argentina. Unfortunately we were behind a tour bus so there was a long line at customs and immigration. It took us an hour to get our Chilean exit stamp. There was no line to get into Argentina.
Waiting for the exit stamp at the Chile Argentine border. Notice the Gaucho!
The drive to Calafate where we spent the night was through miles and miles of pampas. We saw sheep, rheas and guanacos and not much else.
GuanacoA Rhea
In Calafate we are staying at Design Suites Calafate overlooking Lago Argentina. We went to a steak house called Don Pichon for dinner. Nobody does meat like the Argentineians. Bonnie and Brian had a lamb platter for two and Duke and I had a barbecue platter.
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