World Argentina Santa Cruz El Chaltén

The Bohns are doing the holidays in Argentina!

There's Patagonian terra in our zapatos... Dec 23, 2008

Well, three-plus days into our trip, we're certainly due for a report. Sorry to those of you that have been expecting a check-in, but Patagonia leaves little choice as technology is DEFINITELY not prevalent. Let me first report that all is well here - we are safe and enjoying ourselves immensely. We arrived in Buenos Aires from Dallas on Saturday, December 20 after an overnight flight from D/FW. We really missed the days of business class on that flight as we were in the air for about twelve hours in non-exit row coach seats. 6'5" doesn't do well without leg room. Needless to say a couple of movies, ambien, and two glasses of wine were just the prescription we needed to get some sleep on our way to Argentina. Who says drinking and sleep meds don't do well together? We arrived in Buenos Aires (BA) around 10:00 am, claimed bags, cleared customs and took a cab into the city. We had one day in BA before heading out to Patagonia as there are just two flights per day to this part of the world from the Argentinean capital and both are very early. We were fortunate that our hotel, the Park Tower (Starwood property), allowed us an early check-in, so we took some much needed showers and hit the streets to explore for a few hours before dinner. The Park Tower was central to the city so walking didn't seem like it would be too much of a task. We will have two more stops in BA as we crisscross the country, the final one being an extended stay, so we weren't too concerned about what we saw/did. We strolled through Recoleta, an area known for it's elitist cemetery. It's safe to say that "people are dying to get in there" (terrible I know, but thank you for indulging me). We will stop into this cemetery when we return, but what we could see from it's peripheral walls was amazing. A city of mausoleums resides within them. We understand that Eva (Evita) Peron is buried there. Recoleta is part of Barrio Norte, an area of the city that is considered the most affluent in BA. It's wealthy, original citizens fled other areas of the city in 1871 to escape the yellow-fever that had plagued the port city. This part of the city is often referred to as the "Paris of the Americas". Kristen and I remarked how European the city seemed in it's architecture, wide avenues, and personality. We stopped for lunch along the way at a local cafe and were quickly back on the streets, finding ourselves in the middle of a craft market that takes over Recoleta on Saturdays. We went from artisan stall to stall, but found little worth purchasing for us. Soon we were upon the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar, a church built by the Jesuits in the early 18th century. The basilica's Baroque altar is built of silver completely and is ornately adorned. Kristen and I sat in the pews of the church taking in the blend of Latin and European influence throughout it. We felt fortunate to see it decorated for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas and the winter season... it was muggy, muggy, muggy in BA. Being summer in a port city, it was more tolerable than Houston, but still humid. It's strange to think of celebrating Christmas in the heat. We all too often think nostalgically of Christmas in the snow and cold - that doesn't happen here. It begs the question, when Argentines get nostalgic about Christmas, do they think of 80 degree days? I know... the holidays aren't about the weather. Still, Christmas trees were found in abundance along our walk. We continued on back towards the hotel, eager to get Kristen's new shoes off of her now blistered heels. We were to leave early the next morning (4:30 am departure from our hotel), so we showered, rested quickly, and headed out for an early dinner by Buenos Aires standards. It's not uncommon for those in BA to start dining at 11:00 pm, however we had an 8:30 reservation in the area known as Puerto Madero. This area of BA sits on the waterfront and serves as a port to incoming ships. It's a masterpiece of urban planning from the perspective of mixed-use (residential and commercial) real estate. Architecturally astounding high-rise buildings surround the "puerto". Tourists flock to the area to eat at the many tremendous restaurants. Security and police cover the grounds to thwart any would be pick-pockets that feast on unsuspecting "turistas". We ate this night at Cabana Las Lilas as it was recommended to us by several of our friends in Dallas. World renowned for their Argentine steaks, we were in for quite a treat. The chefs in the kitchen work at a feverish pace over a grill full of steaks - the most meat I have seen being prepared at any time. We ordered a fantastic malbec (Joffre, if you can find it in the States), picked on various breads, and feasted on the appetizers provided on the house. Argentinean beef was something we had been tremendously looking forward to. Kristen ordered the "lomo" (tenderloin) and I had the "picana" (rumpsteak). The meat had amazing flavor - undoubtedly the best steaks we have had (and we're from Texas). I do think Kristen ordered better though, her tenderloin was perfecto. After dessert, we walked through Puerto Madero, snapped a few photos, and retreated back to the hotel. We slept fast. 3:30 am wake up call. Car met us at 4:30 promptly and we headed off to the "Aeroparque" - their domestic airport. Kristen had keenly checked us into our LAN Airlines flight prior to leaving DFW, and it was good she did as lines were long. We were to connect to our next destination, El Calafate, after a stop in Ushaia. Ushaia is on the southernmost tip of the continent, where the Pacific and Atlantic meet. Many embark for adventures in Antarctica from here - and 80% of our plane disembarked upon arriving after three hours. We were soon on our way to El Calafate, a quick one hour flight from Ushaia. After arriving, we waited for our ride who was to take us to pick up our rental car. We waited and waited... until Kristen asked a local to call our agency. (NOTE: I am SO VERY proud of Kristen and her Espanol. She has been working very hard and picking the language back up through lessons after several years of speaking very little. She has saved us many times already with her ability to comprehend and speak the language. I understand it. I can't speak it. I'd be lost without her taking the lead communicating.) Finally, we were met in the airport parking lot by a representative of ON Rentals - he came driving our car. I have never signed rental documents in the car we would drive away in to escape the cold and wind, but we did in Patagonia. We took ownership of our 3-door Volkswagen Gol (Golf in the US) and headed out for our drive to El Chalten where we would spend two days trekking in the wilderness. This was the first time I had driven a manual transmission in 10+ years, so I was a bit anxious about how the driving would turn out. I was feeling adventurous based upon the manual transmission... this was put into perspective when we passed biker after biker along the way to our destination who would endure 200km, with a bike load of gear, in ridiculous conditions. It's hard to say what was in more abundance on our drive - the scenery or the wind. There's a saying in Patagonia, "Viento. Muy Viento" (Windy. Very windy). It's true, the wind is relentless. Still Son Volt says in one of their songs, "May the wind blow your troubles away....", this is the kind of place that the stresses of life just get let go. The drive took us through a topography similar to what we experienced in Queenstown, New Zealand with our friends this year. Massive glacial lakes sit between barren red hills. Little vegetation could be found along the route, as the wind will not allow for anything to grow too tall. Nearing the half-way point between El Calafate and El Chalten, our paved Highway 40 (called the "loneliest road" in Argentina because of its isolated stretches) turned to gravel. We thought the next 100 km would be on gravel and would slow our progress dramatically. As it turned out, the gravel stretch lasted just ~30km and we were back on paved roads after crossing river upon river along the way. Here the scenery turned even more majestic. Foothills started to give way to the mountains that we all come to associate the Andes with. In the distance we could see the peaks of El Chalten put into perspective by the massive Lago Viedma (a lake 80km long) and the 5km wide glacier feeding it that can be seen from 20+ km away. We stopped along the way frequently for photos of the increasingly awe-inspiring scenery. People come to El Chalten for the trekking. It's considered the National Trekking Capital of the country. Tops on the list of hikes is to view Mt. Fitz Roy from as close as possible on a clear day. Mt. Fitz Roy and its sister peaks are symbolic of El Chalten's terrain. The finger like peaks stretch 3,000+ meters into the air. We pulled close to El Chalten and coming around a bend, we were lucky enough to be met with the faint outline of Fitz Roy hovering above the town. The El Chalten area was often mistaken for volcanic due to the frequency for which clouds obstructed the views of the peaks. Hostels line the main drag of El Chalten. This town is considered the youngest in Argentina as it was established in 1985 during a border conflict with Chile (the town sits roughly 50km from the neighboring country). It has survived - and evolved - because of trekking. Out hotel was on the other side of the town, roughly 17km past it. Our drive from town on gravel roads was glorious. El Rio de los Vueltas, a swiftly moving wide river) was on our left and the El Chalten's peaks were on our right. At this point, we still didn't know the beauty of the peaks as they were very much concealed by the clouds. We arrived at our hotel, Hosteria El Pilar (http://www.hosteriaelpilar.com.ar/), dropped our bags, and consulted with Jorge (the hotel manager) on the best short trek for the evening. We only had a couple of hours to get a hike in before dinner was served at the hotel. Jorge sent us off to visit Glaciar Huemul, a glacier that can be viewed after a 45 minute hike. Kristen and I scaled a mountain and soon encountered the blue glacier and its beautiful "lago". From the top we got a better view of the valley of El Rio de lost Vueltas. We knew that we had made a great decision to visit El Chalten based upon this short hike alone. Trekking back down the mountain past streams from the glacier run-off, we ran into three college-aged kids: one Aussie and two Germans. They had spent the last three days backpacking from Chile and were desperate for a ride. Needless to say, Kristen and I were feeling charitable and the five of us packed into our "Gol" and we drove the 17km back to our hotel. They were great guys. I think if I had to do it all over again, I would have taken the time to do something that adventurous after college. We arrived back at the hotel, dropped our new mates (who called a cab from there), scouted our next day's hike, and finished off a great dinner and a bottle of malbec. It was in sitting around the dinner table that we realized it was the summer solstice on that very day. We hadn't realized it was already 10:15pm as there was still daylight outside. The sun rises at 5:00am... sets at roughly 11:00pm. We retired for the evening, hoping that our hike the next day would yield clear views of Fitz Roy and the sister peaks. After a quick breakfast at El Pilar, Kristen and I set off along the Rio Blanco, a trail that after 3-4 hours time would (hopefully) take us to Fitz Roy. As we set off from the hotel, a group of guided trekkers were setting off. We quickly became frustrated as we were stuck behind them. We soon passed them, but as we did we were faced with a decision - a fork in the trail. We chose the wrong path off of the fork and were fortunate that the guide beckoned us back onto their trail. We were sure to keep an eye on the guide for the rest of our hike. We passed through a serene forest along the Rio Blanco. Kristen mentioned that the forest reminded her of a fairy tale. The forest shielded us from the intense wind and filtered the sunlight to create a surreal glow on the forest floor. Along the way we started to climb and were soon greeted with a view of Glaciar Piedras Blancas and the lago that lies beneath it. These glaciers are massive and the blue ice yields the brightest blue water in the lakes that they feed. As we ventured further, Mt. Fitz Roy came into view. Finally, an almost clear view of the peak. Some clouds still hovered above it as if smoke emanating from a pipe. Words cannot describe how majestic this mountain is. This day, we had aspirations to ascend to the closest view of Mt. Fitz Roy's sheer granite faced wall, Laguna de los Tres (NOTE: fewer people scale Mt. Fitz Roy per annum than Mt. Everest). We reached the base of the mountain trail that would lead our ascent up to Laguna do los Tres. We spent the next 45+ minutes ascending the mountain up, what I would guess were, 30 degree inclines for 500 vertical meters. Needless to say, my heart was racing. I think I am in good shape. Kristen is in great shape having just run a marathon. She fared better than I did, but I know we both thought the stretch was tough. Luckily the water from the glacial run-off, and it's natural filtering system, provided plenty of water for us to refill our bottles along the way. As we ascended the views of Fitz Roy became closer and closer, until finally we the topography leveled off. There in front of us was a massive glacier and the lake it fed, Laguna de los Tres. Rising above the lake and glacier was Fitz Roy with an unobstructed view. Not a single cloud sat over it. We wandered about and were alerted that if we hiked another 500 meters, we could also view Laguna Sucia and it's glacier. Kristen and I spent an hour on the top of that mountain. We had lunch there, we took it all in, we engrained it in our memory. I am confident that I will never see another sight like this. Spectacles like the peaks of Mt. Fitz Roy & company are a testament of God's presence to me. I felt close to God there. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_Chaltén) Pictures of this hike will follow undoubtedly for you all to view. Words cannot describe. I don't know if pictures can either. It's something everyone should attempt to see. I am a firm believer that we are all called into the wild to replenish what society has stolen from our souls. You can get it all back here. Don't waste any time though. The hikes are tough. This is not something (if you want to do the big hikes) that you can do in retirement. Most bodies won't allow for it. Do it soon... Still, we did run into many retirees that were seeing the landscape from "ground floor" and seemed quite content in doing so. News flash. If you hike up a mountain, you have to hike back down it. We set back off down retracing our footsteps along the way. The views different, but still impressive. Our quads, shins and hips were getting a thorough workout headed downhill... we knew the next day would be painful. Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain, we took route for El Chalten, in the opposite direction we had come, to finish off the hike. Along the way, we ran into our Aussie and German friends from the previous day. They were staring their day as we were looking forward to ending ours (the benefits of having mucho sunlight in your day). They were taking the opposite route, headed from El Chalten, back in the vicinity of our hotel. We said a quick hello and headed on into El Chalten. 2.5 hours later we completed our journey. In total, we believe we trekked about 20km (12 miles) in roughly 8 hours - with an hour of rest viewing Fitz Roy. Kristen and I found a microbrewery in El Chalten run by a Czech family to indulge ourselves - they even gave us a tour of the brewing facility. It's a small place, but was filled with German retirees on a five month tour of South America. The beers were just what the doctor ordered after our day. We drank up and had a taxi take us back out to our hotel for dinner. Just as we sat down, after freshening up, for a glass of wine, our friends arrived at the hotel after their hike. We shared a drink and they set off on the rest of their adventures through South America. We awoke the next morning sore.... very sore. Well, I did. Kristen insists she didn't have a sore muscle in her body. I, on the other hand, did. We enjoyed our last breakfast at El Pilar, packed up our stuff, and headed out of El Chalten to enjoy the second leg of our Patagonian adventure in El Calafate. Along the way, we stopped at the only establishment between the two towns - La Leona. La Leona is a hotel along the La Leona River (leona means "lion" in Spanish, as a puma gravely injured an early settler in the area in the 1800s). We stopped in for a quick bite highlighted by the lemon pie. We read about the history and found it interesting that La Leona was a stop along the way in the escape of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid after robbing the London Bank. They were being ferried up the river on their way to Chile to escape the numerous bounty hunters on their trail. We arrived back in El Calafate, dropped off our rental car, and checked into our hotel, Esplendor (http://www.esplendorcalafate.com/), a stylish boutique hotel. We spent some time window shopping in town. The town is very different from El Chalten. El Chalten was very rustic; Calafate is growing mostly due to tourism. After returning to the hotel, we made plans for our dinner at Casimiro Bigua, which had come highly recommended. As we walked from the hotel to the restaurant, we realized that the town was overrun with dogs. Dogs are everywhere strolling the city streets. It's hard to say if they are strays, or if their owners just let them roam, but they give the town another dimension in their personality. Kristen and I have decided that a "Dogs of Calafate" photo book needs to be done in the vain of the Napa Wine Dogs books. As we discussed this, I heard a sound that sounded like a sheep and mentioned to Kristen that I thought I heard a lamb. She said, "No, that was a child." As we turned the corner, there stood a baby lamb (21 days old) hanging out with a friend - a big dog. The sheep had apparently been brought to the veterinarian's office and was waiting for its owner outside. Needless to say, I forgot to bring my camera to dinner to document this. Dinner was amazing... We're sad that we didn't save this restaurant for our Christmas Eve dinner, which is apparently the "big night" for dinners in the celebration of Christmas here (versus Christmas day). We both felt a little guilty though as we feasted on lamb after viewing "our" little baby sheep. As we ate, horns from passing cars filled the air. The Argentinean soccer finals were that evening and the victorious fans were out parading up and down the streets. Our waiter, however, must have been a fan of the losing team as he mockingly (in good jest I assure you) told them to "f*** off". Rivalry in sports knows no boundaries. Well, we are off tomorrow for a cruise on Lago Argentino, the largest lake in Argentina, and a day on a sheep farm. I wonder what's for lunch? We're having a great time here. Sorry for the long entry, but it wouldn't be my journal if I was less verbose. We won't be checking in until after Christmas more than likely, so to all of our friends and family, "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and we love you all very much. To our family, sorry we aren't there with you all, but we are in spirit. Feliz Navidad!

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