'You never know about the weather in Patagonia'

Tag 119

Now we are in the south of Argentina, in El Calafate. We were here a few days ago, just for one night. But then we went directly to El Chaltén, which is two hours north of here, because there was no bus directly there. So we had to come here first to go back there. It sounds confusing, and it is, but now we are back here and staying until Sunday to see the gigantic Perito Moreno Glacier tomorrow.

The last two days were dedicated to the hiking paradise El Chaltén, where we did two longer hikes and got to experience the myth of the famous Fitz Roy mountain range up close. On a nine-hour hike through dense forests and the green, vast landscape, we realized that this hiking trail is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the world. At first, you hike uphill for a while, then you arrive exhausted at a viewpoint where you not only marvel at the beautiful nature in front of you, but also at how many meters of elevation gain you have made in such a short time. Then you continue along a river delta, through the wildly overgrown trees, over rocks and stones, until you see it for the first time. The Fitz Roy. The peaks of Cerro Fitz Roy, which rise like shark teeth into the sky and are surrounded by dense fog, inspire you to keep going and get closer to this impressive 3400-meter-high mountain. After about three hours, you reach a sign that marks the beginning of the last section to the "Laguna de los Tres". This is the lake that lies directly in front of the mountain and represents the highlight of this hike. In a brochure about El Chaltén, it said that this section belongs to the category "difficult" because it is supposed to be very steep and strenuous, and we didn't even know if we should do the final stretch until we reached the sign. The sign also said that you must be in very good physical condition to tackle the trail and must also be very careful. But since the sun was shining and we weren't completely out of breath yet, we decided to tackle the final stretch. And it was indeed the steepest and most exhausting path we had walked so far, but it was worth it. It was really worth it. Finally, I had the cover picture of my travel guidebook right in front of my eyes. The unreal Fitz Roy shimmering in the fog was within reach, and in front of it, the perfectly smooth mountain lake. Admittedly, we only really enjoyed the beauty of this natural phenomenon a little later because as soon as we reached the top, we had to stuff ourselves with the packed lunch. After four and a half hours of hard work, you're just hungry. And then we took one photo after another and quietly looked at this barren, angular mountain range, just like all the other enthusiasts around us. Up there by the lake, the whole world of backpackers was represented. "They come from all over the world," I said several times to Linus as we ate our sandwiches and looked around. From Sweden, from Canada, from France, from England, from the United States, from Japan... From everywhere. You can also notice it while hiking when people you pass by every few meters give you a forced "ola" greeting because both of you know that none of the participants speak Spanish. In El Chaltén, there are probably more hostels than normal houses, and in the supermarket, you hear all the languages that exist. Eccentric types walk around there. After about nine hours, 27 kilometers, and about 37,000 steps, we were back at the hostel, where we shared a room with two other Germans and two Englishmen. When we arrived, we were greeted directly by an energetic guy who often tries to look more casual than he actually is and sometimes lets wise sentences like "You never know about the weather in Patagonia" slip out, even though he's actually from Germany. We just called him the laundry guy because he wanted to wash our laundry for 200 pesos. But all in all, he was actually quite funny, even if quirky, but that's what makes the hiking-crazy tourists in this area.

On the next day, we went hiking again, but not as long. We went to Cerro Torre, which we could see very well due to the even better weather, and it was really impressive. On the way back, we often said "I can't anymore" as we took steps, and after eating pasta three times in a row (everything else is unbelievably expensive in El Chaltén), we just fell exhausted into bed.

And now we are sitting in a café in El Calafate. It's been ten days without a cellphone, and so far, it's going pretty well. We're still finishing our cocoa, then we'll cook something later. Tomorrow we're going to the glacier, and in two days, we'll continue by plane. To the end of the world.

It's 20 degrees. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 24 degrees, and next week it's ten degrees. But we know: You never know about the weather in Patagonia.