El Calafate to El Chaltén

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

Flamingos
More 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 Viewpoint
The view from the top

Torres del Paine, Chile to El Calafate, Argentina

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.

Torres del Paine
Waterfall 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.

Guanaco
A 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.

Our barbecue platter
Brian and Bonnie’s lamb

Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine

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.

Bus station in Punta Arenas

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.

Restaurants El Bote
Bonnie and I each had seafood stew

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.

Loading up our truck

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.

Our accommodations

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.

The dining room

Ventus Australis to Punta Arenas, Chile

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.

A penguin on Magdalena island
Penguins on Magdelana Island
The lighthouse on Magdalena Island

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.

Magellan’s ship the Victoria

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.

Darwin’s ship The Beagle
On the Beagle

When we got back to Hotel Cabo de Hornos our rooms were ready. We played some cards and then had a nice dinner.

Dinner in Punta Arenas

Ventus Australis day 2

Note: We just finished our wonderful 5 day Patagonia Cruise on Ventus Australis. We had no internet access during the cruise so I am posting my blog entries for the last 5 days now.

Blog post for Monday October 16 2023

Our first shore excursion of the trip was supposed to be to Cape Horn Island, the southern tip of South America. Our disembarkation at Cape Horn Island was scheduled for 6:45. But the wind was blowing more than forty miles per hour and the landing would have been too dangerous so we just took pictures from the ship.

Cape Horn Island. It was too rough to land.
The Cape Horn Monument

Next we anchored in Wulaia Bay. We took the zodiac ashore and hiked to a lookout point.

In the Zodiac on our way ashore
The view of Wulaia Bay

The food on the Ventus Australis as wonderful.

Ribs
Desert