around the world: Patagonia

This is where all our warm clothes came out of the backpack. We have worn every single one of them except the ski underwear. First stop: El Calafate. A village at first glance like in the series Northern exposure. And wind, lots of it. Our first idea: where can we rent windsurf equipment, the water is so nice, flat and light blue…but inside there are some small icebergs…so maybe not this time after the wonderful warm waters in Jeri. Believe it or not we saw 2 guys on the water, later that day.

Since we are four people, Nina, Lorenz and us decide to rent a car. Which is a great idea, except the prices aren’t exactly what was written on the internet pages or in Lonely Planet and since it’s high season, no more cars are available at the airport. We try our luck in town and after realizing that it is virtually impossible to get a car with full insurance here (apparently ‘flip overs’ are quite common), since all of the rentals were warning us not to flip it over, we rent a ‘dusty’ VW Gol. Dusty meaning you are barely able to open the doors and the brakes squeal a lot J Just don’t flip it over! After Lorenz and Luka asked why does everyone say that, the answer is simply ‘Where do you live?’ So it becomes our moto for the next three days and the road trip is on! Immediately after driving out of El Calafate towards Perito Moreno Glacier we realize that the winds are very fierce here, making opening the doors and going for a pee by the side of the road very difficult J and flipping over a car is very possible. We manage 100km per hour at max speed and it takes us about an hour to get to the glacier. It is absolutely amazing! The pictures below cannot do it justice. And the sound of the ice cracking and falling into the icy waters 60 m below is just breathtaking. We spend a few hours there and then drive for another 3,5 hours to El Chalten, where we planned to do some trekking to see Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy. It’s a scenic drive on the legendary Route 40 with lots of wind, spectacular views, occasional guanacos and vultures. Only a few cars pass us and on the way we stop at the Estancia La Estella for some tea and a promise to come back when we are rich J We make it to El Chalten just in time for nightfall at 11pm. The next day we take a hike to Laguna Torre under Cerro Torre and it’s a moderately strenuous 5 hour hike (both ways). The view is spectacular. Next day we take a shorter route to a lookout of Fitz Roy and when meeting Nina and Lorenz we find out someone had left the lights on in the car! No problem since everyone has old cars here and its cold even in summer (we wear fleece and jackets in the evenings) and we start the car with cables. After another long drive back to El Calafate, Nina and Lorenz take us out for another yummy steak :) This time we took a picture!