Tuesday 4th December

Finally we were onto the last leg of this three week trip. It might be expected that the venture would fizzle out, given that we had already seen an incredible number of wonderful sights, borne out by the last four blogs and sets of photos. However Patagonia had one more wonder for us in store: Los Glaciares National Park.

We had a beautiful drive from El Calafate to El Chalten around Lago Argentina. Travelling on a double decker bus we had great views of the lake and the Andes Mountains looming ahead as we made for the park.

En route we stopped for a break at La Leona Roadhouse and Country Lodge. This building was constructed back in the 1890s to lodge settlers. In 1905 Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and his wife Ethel Place lodged there after robbing the Bank of London and Tarapaca in Rio Gallegos and were on their runaway to Chile. According to information received at the Lodge it was also used as a detention field for labourers on the ranches who went on strike in 1921, and many of them were executed without trial at the riverside by the Lodge. It was also used as a base camp for many famous climbers who went on to tackle the nearby peaks. A place with a varied history indeed, now declared a cultural/historical centre. They also serve a great cup of coffee.

Our destination El Chalten was actually in the national park, so when we arrived we got a talk from the park rangers about various safety aspects and information on walking routes. The ranger's love and passion for their park and their determination to keep it in the best condition possible for visitors was impressive.

As you will see from the photo our hostel was a building site in progress but 'small is beautiful,' and we were well catered for.

Wednesday 5th December

Another beautiful day! We have really been blessed with good weather on this trip. We decided to try to do the two main walks in the one day. First we headed up to the Fitz Roy Massiv viewpoint which was a 12k trek. There were no clouds around the Massiv (3405m). It was a very steep climb towards the end but the views were worth it. Totally stunning!

Next up was the walk to view Cerro Torre (3102m) and then back down the trail. A total of 38k, or 24 miles. A record daily distance for us on this trip. I thought Torres was spectacular but the views in Los Glaciares match up very well.

Thursday 6th December

Our last full day was a lazy one with some shopping followed by a great steak meal in the evening.

Reflections:

Memorable. The trip of a lifetime. I think I will leave this just now and add to it later.

I suppose I should also try to calculate the travel distances:

Air travel: 14788 miles international + 3550 miles internally = 18,338 miles

Bus Travel: 635 miles (not including local transfers)

Hiking: 83 miles

Boat distances: not known

Whew!

In the meantime, enjoy the last of the photos and thanks for all the positive feedback on those issued already.

Take care

Murdo