Hikes

When we were planning our trip we were aware that a few days in 'the hiking capital of Argentina' may be marred by low cloud but we thought we would risk it. We are glad we did as the hiking has been so good and we have had 3 clear days with magnificent views.

El Chalten is a fairly new community and again this is a result of a territory dispute with Chile this time over the nearby lake. There is a lot of construction happening with people building rooms for travellers, more shops and restaurants.

On our first day we did a mega hike of 20km. The last kilometre was such a challenge as we gained 400m in height. Martin was probably up on the top a good 20 minutes before I finally made it. But what a view of Fitzroy.

I'm nearly there;

We were shattered when we got back and just hobbled 2 doors down to the nearest restaurant for a lovely, freshly made hot dinner.

The next day our walk was 18km through different terrain to see more of Cerro Torre.

Another visitor whilst eating our sandwiches.

In the evening it was still warm so we had a stroll and came across trees full of parakeets, mostly paired up and settling for the night.

On Sunday Martin got up at dawn and hoofed it up to the local viewpoint to catch the sunrise - the moon was setting at the same time. When he returned and got back into bed he was like a block of ice.

The walk we did later that day was shorter and easier than the previous two days and we spent a while chilling by the lake shore.

We have had a laugh about some of the ancient cars here. There is one driving around without a bonnet. Another seemed to not have 1st or 2nd gear. The best one was outside a shop with its engine running and we joked with each other that the owner probably couldn't restart it if he had switched it off - a minute later we saw it driving backwards - stuck in reverse?!