Autumn in Patagonia

We have had 10 incredibly beautiful days behind us. The last-minute decision to go to Patagonia was the best thing we could have done. After a 3.5-hour flight, we arrived in Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan in brilliant sunshine. Despite the sunshine, the thermometer never showed more than 8 degrees, and the next few days were not going to be any warmer, on the contrary: it even froze at night. After two days, we rented a four-wheel-drive car and drove north to Torres del Paine National Park. The accommodation, a nice hotel on a small island in the middle of the NP, was nice and warm and offered a spectacular view of the mountains the next morning. We did a great hike to the Torres del Paine, although Torsten had to do the last part alone (it was very steep and too strenuous for me). Unfortunately, the next day was completely rainy and we couldn't do much. We continued through the endless expanse to Argentina. The border crossing was in the middle of nowhere, before we passed through a small border town and felt like at the end of the world: simple wooden houses with smoking chimneys, unpaved roads, but a public toilet with a wood-burning stove! We wouldn't have thought it possible, but the landscape here in Argentina was even lonelier than in Chile. Occasionally, a rotting sheep hung over the fence, it took hours to drive from one place to the next, and there was nothing but lonely steppe between the towns. There were also living animals, many beautiful guanacos (similar to llamas), many birds of prey, some ostrich-like rheas, and we even saw a skunk. If we rarely saw trees, there was always a hacienda there. We were completely fascinated and deeply impressed by this vastness.

In Argentina, we visited the second largest glacier in South America - sensational - and then drove to Fitz Roy National Park the next day. When we arrived at dusk, we had a spectacular view of the almost cloudless mountain range (which is rare). The hike planned for the next day unfortunately had to be cancelled as it rained again and the low-hanging clouds prevented any view of the beautiful landscape.

We covered the over 700 km drive back to Punta Arenas in Chile in one day, which was somewhat adventurous. We still had about 400 km of gasoline in the tank, no Argentine pesos (both ATMs in Chalten at the Fitz Roy NP were empty and we couldn't get any money), but we were told that one of the three gas stations (after about 300 km) accepted credit card payment. However, this was not the case; they demanded cash. Fortunately, we still had some Chilean pesos and the drive to the next gas station with card payment was secured.

Although the weather was not always on our side and the temperatures were anything but cozy, the days in Patagonia were among the most beautiful of our trip so far. Unfortunately, 10 days were too short - but our flight to Lima was booked.