Sunday 25th November
Another bright, blue sky day - from our bedroom window we could see the peak of Mte Fitz Roy illuminated by the early morning sun and completely clear of cloud, with the moon alongside. We ate an early breakfast and made a start on the trail. We walked up the Main Street of El Chalten, stopping here and there to pick up some empanadas, a salad roll and snacks from the quaint little vegan take-away, en route to the trailhead. It was still quiet in town, but there were more people setting out today than yesterday, and we were all heading in the same direction, north, up through the town to the Fitz Roy trail head. It seemed busy at first as we all converged on the path but within a few minutes we soon spread out, and for most of the day, once again, we had the path to ourselves. Our fellow trekkers came in all shapes, sizes and nationalities - families, couples, singletons and groups - all united by a shared enthusiasm of exploring this beautiful place. There were trail runners travelling light in jewel coloured technical gear, there were serious looking campers and climbers with crazy knitted hats, huge boots and even larger rucksacks, there were couples and families in weekend sportswear. As we met and / passed each other there was almost always a cheery 'Hola!' or 'Gracias!'
We made steady progress through the beech forest listening to the birdsong and the buzz of insects, and enjoying the wild flowers, blue skies and spectacular views. We saw cream native anemones, scarlet Notro fire bush, Indian bread fungus and Argentinian sweet pea to name a few. A sudden movement on a tree trunk alerted us to a thorn-tailed Rayadito popping in and out of its nest hole in a tree.
The official route is 10km out and then 10km back. We stopped to take in a viewpoint or 'Mirador'on the outward leg and stepped up to an open rock ledge where we were
stunned by the views of majestic towers of granite, glaciers and blue skies.
We walked on, passing through more beech forest and crossing shallow gravel beds where numerous mountain streams of clear water flowed over pebbles in all colours of the rainbow.
The last 1km of the trail has 400 m of steep ascent, so was fairly slow going. We scrambled up the final 100 metres, slipping on the loose rocks and gravel, very glad to have our walking poles. On arriving at the top we reached the viewpoint to see a huge frozen blue lake - Laguna de Los Tres - backed by the stunning Fitz Roy range. It just filled the sky above and in front of us - truly amazing!
We lunched sheltering out of the wind behind some rocks, and then climbed up to a ridge on our left which revealed a second lake - Laguna Sucia - a bright,deep aquamarine blue as, being at lower altitude, it was not frozen solid. Whist we were watching, there was a sudden loud roaring sound, and a huge avalanche thundered down from the peaks into the far end of the lake, causing ripples to radiate out across the surface of the water.
We chatted happily on the return journey via Laguna Capri, where we sat in the sunshine on the beach looking back up at beautiful Fitz Roy across the water.
Continuing down through the dappled shade of the forest we had hopes of spotting a Magellanic woodpecker on the way home but came across a Fire-eyed Diucan having a dust bath on the trail.
We finally descended back into town at 7pm. The Main Street that leads from the trailhead to the town centre is lined on both sides by craft breweries, coffee shops and restaurants. It’s rather like returning back into a ski resort after a day in the mountains except that here the bars are an eclectic mix of single story cabins and huts, all brightly decorated and pumping out loud music, and full of cheerful hikers. We stopped at two on our way home for a couple of craft beers and some polenta fries, and sat outside on benches dazxled bh the evening sun (it’s light until nearly 10pm here) looking up at the mountains, before making our way back to the hotel to freshen up.
After a tepid bath (I guess the drain on the hot water system is massive when everyone returns from a days trekking!) we set out to find some supper.
This we found at the always busy 'Tapera' restaurant - small and homely, popular with tourists, mountaineers and local people too. We have walked past it several times over the past few days - a small wooden cabin with a smoking chimney and a permanent queue of people waiting outside. The argentinians eat late, even by Bellamy standards. The ‘restos’ don’t usually open until 8 and are usually packed with European tourists between 8 and 9.30. Arriving at just after 10 would be pointless in most British restaurants, but here in Argentina, it is the ideal time to arrive - people eat late and the place was welcoming and lively. For once there was no queue! As we sat down to tuck into a bowl of Locro - a traditional beef stew with beans, pearl barley, carrots and sausages - a large Argentinian family arrived for dinner and their evening was in full swing with huge plates of steak arriving at the table when we left at 11! Whilst we were almost asleep on our feet and virtually monosyllabic, their table was a noisy babble of excited clattering Spanish with associated expressions and gestures.
Our walk home woke us up a bit - it was very cold with clear skies and a firmament full of crisp bright stars. We identified a few constellations and just enjoyed the rest!