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.
Blog post for Monday, October 23, 2023
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.
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.
After almost 9 miles of hiking a nap was a necessity. For dinner we ate at a wonderful Italian Restaurant, La Mafiosa.
Blog post for Sunday, October 22 2023
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
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.
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.
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.
After checking into our hotel, El Chaltén Suites we hiked to Mirador de Los Condores overlooking the town and the mountains.
Blog post for Saturday, October 21 2023
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.
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.
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.
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.
Blog post for Friday, October 20 2023
We did a lot today. We had breakfast at the hotel in Punta Arenas. About 9:30 we walked to the bus station and caught a bus to Puerto Natales. it was about a three hour ride through relatively flat grasslands. We saw guanacos and Duke saw rheas.
In Puerto Natales we took a taxi to the rental car office. Our car wasn’t quite ready so we walked down the street and had lunch at a wonderful cozy restaurant called El Bote.
When we returned to the rental car office our rental truck was ready and we loaded up. We stopped at a grocery store and got picnic food, wine, and beer.
Then we drove about an hour north to Torres del Paine. We are staying at a ranch or Estancia that is set in the middle of a vast valley. We can’t see any other signs of habiatation in any direction.
We played cards and later ate dinner in a building separate from the cabin we are staying in. I loved the big fire pit in the room.
Blog post for Thursday October 19 2023
This morning we had to be ready to disembark for Madelena Island at 6:45. Magdalena Island has a big colony of Magdalena penguins. Once we were on shore we made a walking loop to the lighthouse and back. We had penguins all around us.
When we got back to the ship we had breakfast then went to our cabin to pack. The Ventus Australis arrived in Punta Arenas about 11 am. We disembarked, walked to our hotel and checked in.
Our room wasn’t going to be ready until 2:30 so we took a cab to the Nao Victoria museum. They had full size replicas of Magellans ship and of Charles Darwin’s ship. The information about the explorers was very well written and informative and it was fun to climb all over the ships. They seem so very small.
When we got back to Hotel Cabo de Hornos our rooms were ready. We played some cards and then had a nice dinner.
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