PATAGONIA

And to think we almost passed this area up! Realizing that we had just over 2 weeks to spend in Argentina, we were hesitant to head to the southern areas (as the bus journey alone would take 2 days each way). But, we were fortunate to find some affordable flights that would cut our travel time substantially....and man, did we make the right decision. The Patagonia region has been one of the major highlights of this entire trip!


Before I forget to mention, the weather throughout Costa Rica and Brazil was primarily high-90s/high humidity. Our first few stops in Argentina (when not rainy) were perfectly dry mid-70s. Now in southern Argentina we were met with gorgeously sunny days that ranged from 40-55 degrees! Brrrrr. We didn´t come quite prepared for these temperatures! As I write this, we have been in these cooler areas for a couple of weeks, needless to say our tans have faded.....


We flew from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, where we rented a car which allowed us our first taste of the "freedom of transport" in over 2 months! We drove to El Chaltén a small town roughly 200 km north of El Calafate. Both El Calafate and El Chaltén are small mountain towns filled with cozy restaurants/bars and climbing/trekking shops. We booked ourselves into a small hotel, and hit the sack. The following morning we loaded up on oatmeal and hit the trails. This hike was hands down the most amazing hike either one of us had ever done.....breathtaking, awe inspiring, pinch yourself beauty. We did a 26 km (roughly 16 mile) hike through the Fitz Roy range in the Andes, to Laguna de Los Tres. An amazing hike that took us through a huge array of terrains....mountains, deserts, rocky river beds, quirky twisted forests. The last hour was a tough steep climb, and what we found at the end was incredible...a deep teal green lake nestled between snowcapped mountains. We returned to town exhausted and content, had a delicious pint of beer and tasty meal, and then fell into bed.


The following morning we drove back to El Calafate and headed to the Perito Moreno Glacier. Wow...this thing is massive (3o km long, 5 km wide, and 60 m high). I had forgotten how incredible the almost indescribable blue-hue of a glacier is.



The following day we flew to Bariloche, rented car #2 (ok...now we´re just spoiling ourselves), and headed to El Bolsón. We had hopes of hiking one of the local mountains the following day. However, rain once again foiled our plans. We were advised by the "Mountain Club" in town, that not only the trails, but the dirt access roads would all be washed out due to the previous night´s rain...boo. So, we settled for a smaller (2 hour) hike. The hike itself was nothing special, but we ended at a beautiful waterfall, and due to the rainy conditions we had it all to ourselves!



The next day we headed back to Bariloche to explore the city. We found out that Bariloche is a big chocolate town. We hit up a few of the local chocolate hotspots (got a few free samples) to determine where we were going to make our big Easter purchase! Settled on a place called Mammushka...oh man, this stuff was good. Got ourselves a small varietal box and stashed it away for Easter (we would at least be celebrating the commercial aspect of the holiday)!






Next we bus to Mendoza....wine country.