From Ushuaia via El Calafate to El Chalten

Yesterday we spent half the day in Ushuaia. We walked to the post office to make sure our postcards were delivered. When I gave them to the postal clerk, he said there was not enough postage on them. The postage on the cards was from yesterday, today there would be an additional 2,000. I shouted 'WHAT' so loudly that he looked around and said, 'Okay ladies, I'm going to do something illegal - I'll stamp the cards with yesterday's date.' We thought that was really cool and incredibly nice.

We then bought some souvenirs and boarded a flight to El Calafate. When we arrived in El Calafate, I had to hold back my laughter: it took forever for the luggage to come out at the baggage claim (the airport could even compete with Düsseldorf ;-). And you could really observe how the different nationalities, of course also nicely differentiated between tour groups and individual travelers, behaved... some yelled at the ground staff, others rushed through the waiting people, some waited calmly.

Once we finally got our luggage, we continued by bus to El Chalten. Four people stood at the bus terminal and the bus driver took out a sheet of paper with the names. He called out 2 x Daniela, 1 x Carlos, and then looked at my name and furrowed his brow...! Oh well, by now I take it with humor.

The journey took 2 1/2 hours and the landscape was initially rather barren. But on the last 90 km, we sat attentively in our seats and took numerous photos of the breathtaking scenery. The snow-covered glaciers of the national park flashed by again and again. A small highlight was the sunset, which bathed the famous 'Fitz Roy' in a wonderful light.

We arrived in El Chalten, the 'trekking capital of Argentina', on time. The village is located in the Los Glaciares National Park and is beautifully surrounded by mountains. It is really cute, with all the small houses in different colors. There are many cafes, restaurants, and hostels. We took a taxi to our hotel.

I'm so glad Daniela brought a hot water bottle. It's freezing cold here in the evening/night. At around four in the morning, we were both so cold that we had to heat up the hot water bottle again because the heating unfortunately didn't work :-(. At around 6:00 a.m., there was possibly a 'gym class' in the room above us - such hopping and stomping, horrible!!!! I was furious and cold again. Shortly after, I got up and got into the bathtub. Oh, that felt good. I then went to the reception and asked for a different room because the heating wasn't working and the person above us was incredibly loud. My request was immediately granted. We were allowed to move :-).

After a small breakfast, we set off on a 7 km trek. The goal was the waterfall 'Senda Chorillo del Salto'. The path there was incredibly beautiful. The Andes mountains are so close to us and some glaciers are covered with masses of snow. The river shines incredibly bright turquoise and looks magical. Especially when the sun sparkles in it. We had great weather, we had to take off our jackets every now and then, then put them back on, as the wind occasionally picked up. Since El Chalten is also known for condors, I kept looking up at the mountains. We were able to observe numerous condors, letting themselves be carried by the wind. What can I say, it looks amazing, how the huge birds glide in the wind.

When we reached the waterfall, we sat in the sun and listened to the sound of the waterfall. It was a great atmosphere there.

Afterwards, we went to a restaurant and ordered steak. While I'm typing this, I'm getting hungry again. Goodness, they were huge, who could eat all that. Of course, they were super delicious, but way too much.

With full stomachs, we went on to the next trekking. It was supposed to be to a condor viewpoint with a view of El Chalten. When we saw the people up on the mountain, I thought, wow, that's high and it will probably take a long time to get up there. But the ascent was quite manageable. We quickly reached the top and once again enjoyed a wonderful view - of El Chalten, the river mouth, and the snow-covered mountain ranges with the highest peak Fitz Roy. We were able to observe two condors, letting themselves be carried by the mountain winds. Gigantic. After the descent, we went back to the hotel and now hope that the heating will turn on. We were told that it would come on as the cold set in (hopefully not only at sub-zero temperatures). Keep your fingers crossed ;-)

Greetings from Los Glaciares, Anke and Daniela

P.S. Vacantio is currently not working and the internet is weak as well, so there may be issues with pictures