The bus with wings finally landed in El Calafate after just 3 hours, as oppose to 18 that it would have taken on the bus - also a fun (albeit scary) experience!

The main reason for venturing to El Calafate was to see the Perito Moreno glacier, 1 of only 2 advancing glaciers on the planet. Amazing to see huge chunks of ice falling from the glacier face and to hear the creaks and cracks as it moves. Yet again, we experienced crap weather - wind, rain and low grey clouds - so the views weren't perfect but strangely this enhanced the blue colour of the glacier (see pics).

El Calafate is a grubby little town built on tourism, the main street full of over-priced restaurants, bars and souvenir shops...the outskirts a messy sprawl of shanty houses. The glacier was amazing but we wanted out of the town ASAP, so we moved north to El Chalten, a smaller, less touristy town, to sample the mountains of Patagonia and experience some wild trekking.

Thankfully the weather changed in El Chalten and we experienced the first bit of sun we'd seen in 2 weeks, hurrah! We were keen to do some ice trekking and climbing, so we hired a private guide, spent a night camping high in the Patagonian forests and a full day climbing mountains, trekking on ice and scaling ice walls. With breathtaking scenery all around and fresh, crisp air, we had one of the best experiences of the trip so far. The scenery is out of this world, especially with a crystal blue sky as a backdrop. Our experience in El Chalten exceeded our expectations and lifted our spirits. We left on yet another night bus, with bellies full of steak and wine, sunburn and huge smiles!