Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego

National Park Los Alerces

On the hike to the summit of Lanín, a guy gave us the advice to climb the mountain Dedal near his hometown Trevelin. By the way, he was the same mountaineer who carried his four liters of homemade ale up the mountain and offered us a taste. We followed his advice and asked at the park center for hiking opportunities. Unfortunately, the mentioned mountain was closed, but we had many other opportunities to enjoy, walk and marvel. We probably wouldn't have discovered this park without the encounter on Lanín. It was an insider tip - few tourists and no park entrance fee yet, as it was just before the peak season. The retreating glaciers of the Andean peaks in the national park, which reach only 2300 meters in height, have left behind primal lakes and streams. We took various walks and were fascinated by the untouched nature. On the last hike before moving on, our nerves were strained. Dési's nerves were almost at their limits. An insect, a kind of horsefly, followed us on the way to a viewpoint and then to a hidden lake. We tried to wave it away. It didn't help. We ran through the forest. That didn't impress these little annoying insects either. They continued to buzz and swarm around us. We both cursed. It sounded as if we were in a fight with our worst enemy. Five other hikers passed us. We hoped that these bugs would change their targets. False alarm. They were still sticking to us. These things drove us so fast that we were back in the car halfway through the indicated time and could continue our journey without buzzing noise.

Fitz Roy and his companions

After a monotonous drive through the desert, we arrived in El Chaltén. This village had more mountain climbing tourists than locals. It seems to be a hippie place with a climbing and trekking character. The mountaineering feeling didn't only come up because the village is surrounded by mountains, but also because people walk around the display with the best functional underwear and the latest models of backpacks. Everyone comes to this place to hike, boulder, climb, camp and party. We did the same. We spent two days in the mountains and were among others at the foot of the popular climbing mountain Fitz Roy. It was two impressive days. Unfortunately, the sun rarely appeared. The weather was as changeable as the mood of a pubescent teenager. Snow flurries, sun, rain and cold wind were felt within ten minutes. It was like cold April weather in mid-December. Patagonia is not always a piece of cake. Often, we hid in the car in the evenings and at night. Sleeping in the Hilux wasn't a four-star hotel, but our car provided ideal insulation and gave us a comfortable temperature. As soon as morning approached, we didn't care about the comfort of the accommodation anymore. In Chaltén, we treated ourselves to a night in a hostel. We were in an art café with a lounge and booked our accommodation for one night through "Booking". When we arrived at the reserved hostel, they said that someone had booked the desired room at the same time. We were lucky, got an "upgrade" and ended up in the fancy hotel next door. We took advantage of the laundry service and enjoyed the comfort. After so many days in the wilderness, we appreciated every little thing. The velvety soft blanket was indescribably beautiful.

As soon as we move outside our comfort zone for a while, we appreciate comfort in a completely different and even more intense way.

Ice as far as the eye can see

In Calafate, we first rushed into a travel agency. We wanted to book a glacier tour and a boat tour on the impressive Perito Moreno. The price of these tours shocked us, so we abandoned the idea. We explored the national park of the massive ice mass ourselves and were very glad that we didn't spend these pesos unnecessarily on a tourist tour. Even though the park is almost overrun by tourists, it was a great day that we won't forget so quickly. We walked on the metal walkways, observed Perito's splendor from different perspectives, and heard the loud cracking of ice blocks over and over again. They can be as big as a car. Sometimes we only saw small icebergs, but they made a dreadful noise. The ice peaks rise up to 70 meters from Lake Argentino. However, these are only 10 percent of the total ice depth. Because the thickness at the bottom is 700 meters. It's hard to believe.

The topic of glaciers is highly topical and reminds us of climate change. Forecasts in Switzerland suggest that the ongoing glacier melt is so significant that in 50 years there will be nothing left of them. Perito Moreno, on the other hand, remains stable. Many thanks to dear Perito and to the almost windless sleeping place nearby.

Christmas on the southern hemisphere

We were very much looking forward to Christmas. On the one hand, we were excited about our booked hostel, and on the other hand, the reserved Christmas dinner.

Our festive meal on a "campo," a farm, began at 9:00 pm. When we arrived at the party barn, we were welcomed with a sweet white wine. We filled our bellies with empanadas as an appetizer, a salad buffet, lots of meat from the wood fire, and an extensive dessert buffet. In the end, we seemed almost bursting with fullness. Wow, it was delicious. After the actual dessert, a rich buffet with even more sweet treats was opened. Since we didn't expect any sweet surprises after the served dessert, we were unfortunately only able to sparingly indulge in them. We warmly welcomed the offered Prosecco and cheers with it directly. At midnight, everyone else did the same. Oop that's how it works here. On Christmas Eve, as well as on New Year's Eve, toasts are held until midnight. The feast was accompanied by a suitable Argentine folklore show. The tap dancers impressed us especially. During Christmas, we often thought of our families. We are already looking forward to next year. Feliz Navidad.

Gone with the wind

On the onward journey, we crossed the Chilean border one last time. Oh, how we hated it on our journey. The strict control of all the fresh produce was a horror. But this time it was quick. First, on December 25th, there were no other people crossing the border, and second, the officials were quite pleasant. The customs officer could hardly believe that we could be on the road for six months without working.

Our goal before returning the car was the famous Torres del Paine National Park. The landmark of this national park is the three needle-like granite peaks - a real eye-catcher. They are so famous that they appear second in the search engine when entering the term "Patagonia" after Perito Moreno.

Large parts of the park are glaciated. The most famous glacier is the "Grey Glacier," which calves into Lake Grey.

The national park is adorned with many dead trees. Reckless tourists are blamed for this condition. In 2005, a devastating forest fire broke out. More than 15,000 hectares of forest were destroyed. Another fire at the end of December 2011, beginning of 2012, destroyed 14,000 hectares of forest.

During our day trips, the wind whipped around our ears intensely. Sometimes we almost tripped over our own feet because of the strong wind gusts.

In the park, we met a group of four funny athletes from Réunion. In the end, we shared an "AirBnB" in Puerto Natales with them.

Farewell beloved "Hilüxli"

On December 29th, we finally arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile. There, we returned our car, which gave us many beautiful hours. It was not quite a painless moment - a large piece of freedom came to an end, and a new adventure began. When unloading the beloved "Hilüxli," we realized how much stuff was actually hidden in our pick-up. Oh, it was wonderful to travel in and with this 4x4 car. We covered a total of 9600 kilometers in six weeks.

A toast to the year 2017

The year 2017 was eventful. So many adventures and beautiful moments that we were able to experience together this year - it was fantastic! That was reason enough for us to cook delicious food together with other travelers in our accommodation, drink good wine, toast with a bottle of champagne purchased during the trip, and host a fun New Year's Eve party.

We wish you all good health and much joy. Feliz nuevo año and Happy New Year.

At the end of the world

We started the new year with a hangover and an eleven-hour bus ride. The journey took us to Ushuaia. It is the southernmost city in the world. It is a constant struggle for the Argentines and Chileans to decide who has the southernmost city. Because further south of Ushuaia is the Chilean Puerto Williams - but according to the Argentines, this settlement is considered a village and not a city. So, for the time being, Ushuaia remains the southernmost city in the world. We were in the middle of Tierra del Fuego. This is the island group at the southern tip of South America. Tierra del Fuego is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan. During the exploration of the Strait of Magellan in 1520, Captain Magellan and his sailors did not find any settlements, but in the south of the strait, they saw many fires at night from the ship. The Captain General Magellan called the land "Tierra del Fuego" accordingly. The indigenous people of the islands used both the campfire and the application of seal fat to keep warm.