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.
Note: we just finished our wonderful 5 day Patagonian 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 Sunday October 15, 2023
When we went to breakfast this morning we could see our ship the Ventus Australis from the window of the breakfast room.
Later we checked out of the hotel and walked to the Australis office where we checked in for the cruise and left our bags. We had about six hours to kill before we could board the ship at 6 pm
We visited the Maritime Museum of Ushuaia. Ushuaia was originally a prison colony. The museum is in the old prison.
We had a long lunch. Then we were going to go out on the dock to visit the Argentine navy training tall ship that happened to be I n town, but there was a long line and it was just too cold and windy.
At 6pm we got on board, listened to the welcome talk and had dinner. The ship left Ushuaia at about 7:30.
This morning we caught a 7:45 flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America. Leaving at 7:45 meant we had to set the alarm for 5:15. It was a three and a half hour flight so by the time we got to Ushuaia we were pretty worn out.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Bodegon Fueguino.
We pretty much took it easy for the rest of the day. We did laundry and Duke got a haircut. With tip it cost him $4.52.
We played Rummikub in the lounge at the top of our hotel.
For dinner we had an excellent meal at Maria Lola Restó.
Tomorrow we start our cruise around the southern tip of South America.
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