El Calafate, El Chaltén

The week that’s passed since I last wrote here started off with a loooong bus ride, and ended with a relatively short but agonizingly slow one (6 hours, 5 1/2 on washboard gravel roads, and 2 flat tires…). I’m currently in El Calafate, on a bus “layover” between El Chaltén and Puerto Natales, Chile.

Not counting today, I only spent one full day here in El Calafate, just long enough to see “the” glacier–by which, of course, I’m referring to the Perito Moreno glacier, which was (until recently) one of the only advancing glaciers left in the world. It’s not technically advancing anymore, but so far that fact hasn’t seemed to have hurt its popularity–El Calafate is overpriced, overbooked, and overflowing with tourists.

Not that the glacier isn’t worth seeing. I originally thought it was overhyped, but I have to admit I was awed. Partly it’s the size–the sheer wall of ice towers over the observation platforms. Partly it’s the sound–every so often a huge chunk of the wall breaks off and crashes into the water with a sound like a muffled explosion, leaving a shiny greenish scar on the face of the ice. And party it’s just the thought of how ancient the glacier is, and how long it’s been following exactly the same routine. Any way you look at it, it’s pretty impressive.

But for sheer beauty, I’m going with El Chaltén. The day I arrived there, it was sparklingly clear, and my jaw dropped open the first time I caught a glimpse of the Fitz Roy range from the road. I was later to learn that those days are fairly uncommon. El Chaltén has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve been in awhile, but, I should add, it has some of the worst weather I’ve seen in awhile. The day that I was going to go glacier trekking, for example. It started out okay, but by the time the group had hiked 3 hours up the mountain on the way to the glacier, the clouds had come in and the wind had picked up. I feel, actually, that the word “wind” doesn’t really do justice to the force of this one–true Patagonian wind has to be experienced to be believed. It was blowing straight off the glacier, and I wasn’t sure whether I should be trying to stay standing, or just be trying not to fly away.

Anyway, that was the end of glacier trekking for that day, but when I got back to El Chaltén, I realized that the town is really just a wind-tunnel in disguise. It didn’t help that none of the roads are paved, which means that anyone stupid or desperate enough to walk straight into the wind is bombarded with sand and small flying rocks, not to mention clouds of dust. And then it poured. Keep in mind that this is summer–and according to the locals, a remarkably mild summer for the town. No wonder only 300 people live there year-round.

Fortunately, the worst of the wind only lasted a day and a half, and the last day was absolutely gorgeous. I did a shortish (5 1/2 hour) hike to Mt. Fitz Roy, where I took loads of pictures, which you will all see if I ever get them developed. Until then, you’ll just have to imagine a view that fits with the word “incredible”.

So now I’m off to Puerto Natales, although (as some of you already know) I’ve been hearing disturbing reports of large, out-of-control forest fires n Torres del Paine from hostellers coming in the other direction. But it’s too late now to change my plans, even if I did want to stay in Calafate, which I don’t. So I guess I’ll just go anyway and see what happens…