We met a guy in El Calafate who liked to rant.He spent hours convincing us that Darwinism's missing link was that humans from the future (i.e. us) went back into time and fed magic mushrooms to monkeys which sped up evolution.For nearly an hour he tried to make us promise that we would never again eat pre-made sandwiches unless it was 7-Eleven's tuna triangle sandwiches.He also told us that hiking around El Chalten was a life-altering experience.Considering he is certifiable, one out of three ain't bad.

Sometime in the mid 1980's someone thought that it would be great to have a town at the base of Mt Fitz Roy and could potentially draw hikers from all over the world - so they started to build.And they are still building.El Chalten is a dusty little town that is solely for tourists, more specifically hikers who want to experience some of the most beautiful Patagonian scenery.Since we didn't get to do any hiking in Torres del Paine, we thought that we would enjoy three days around Fitz Roy instead.

The day we arrived, we witnessed a magnificent view of the mountain range and were told by nearly everyone that the weather would never hold and we should enjoy the view while we could. When you are looking at Mt Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre it is impossible to imagine them covered with clouds because they dominate the sky above you. But we marched of for a short hours' walk to a lookout point and almost wore the camera out from taking so many pictures.

For the next two days we took two 12 mile hikes, one to the base of Cerro Torro that provided an excellent view of a mountain turning into a glacier and melting into a lake and the other to the base of Mt Fitz Roy which was covered by clouds.On both hikes the wind whipped around us and we tried to stay warm in our layered warm weather clothes but the weather couldn't take away from the beautiful scenery surrounding us.The valleys were filled with dead white trees and autumn colors, smaller shrubs that resembled bonsai tree and rushing rivers filled with drinkable water.For the most part we didn't have to share the paths with others, an off-season benefit, but we did make some new friends (Hallie and Rochelle) who joined us for the second day.

Our departure from El Chalten marked the 6 month anniversary of our travels and it seemed appropriate timing.Firstly, on our last night in the hostel we were playing cards and drinking wine with some other travelers when we ran into another couple we had met a month ago in the Pantanal in Brazil.This is when you know you have been on the circuit for a while, when faces become familiar.

Secondly, on the morning we left we pulled our backpacks on and walked down a long and (now soggy) street in the rain to for bus to Bariloche.Expecting a scenic and historical route 40, we instead endured two 12 hour journeys in an uncomfortable bus looking at monotonous flat lands.This boredom was only broken by the bus driver showing us his latest holiday photos and then playing '300' which seemed far too violent and erotic to be a standard on many buses outside Argentina.But after so many wild and wonderful adventures this doesn't phase us and we enjoy the ride anyway!

R & A