F: El Chaltén

In El Chaltén our hostel was a Cabana, formerly a

Simon found a great accommodation. A former park ranger and inventor built two tiny houses on his property - all made of recycled materials - which he rented out. There we could spread out and cook and eat together with Hanne and Emil, who were camping next door.

On the first day, the weather wasn't nice at all and it stormed miserably at night. So we only went for a short hike to get out of the house. But then luck struck! We had four days of beautiful weather. Including sunrises, sunsets, midday heat, and above all: breathtakingly fantastic views.

I have already described the landscapes and mountains in Patagonia so many times. But this time I won't describe every hike and every beautiful spot we discovered, even though I could go on with it just as enthusiastically as before. I just don't feel like it anymore. But I stick to it, I love this landscape, it was simply wonderful here again.

Ah, and Simon, who once complained about nature-mountain-glacier fatigue in Southern Patagonia and even considered skipping El Chaltén, was overjoyed not to have done that and to be here. We agree that this national park is at least in the same league as Torres del Paine.

By the way, for New Zealand I have come up with a different way to capture my impressions and experiences. The detailed written documentation - which in the end still doesn't cover everything - is time-consuming and has somewhat lost its appeal for me at the moment.