Hi! Just got back from my last adventure here in Argentina. Patagonia was one of the most incredible places I've ever been to!
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn is a city on the mid-Atlantic coast of Argentina, and one of the northernmost points in Patagonia. It's right at the base of the Valdes Peninsula, which is one of the most important places for marine wildlife in South America.On Sunday the sixth, I left on a bus from Buenos Aires bound for Puerto Madryn. Traveling by bus is very typically Argentine, and I wanted one more long trip before leaving. After 20 hours of watching the Argentine landscape change, watching the sunrise and sunset, watching a few movies and sleeping, I arrived in Puerto Madryn. I spent the afternoon exploring the beach and visiting the ecological museum. Later that evening, my friend Carolyn (who had opted to fly instead of bus) arrived.
The next morning, we left for our full day tour of the Peninsula Valdes. First, we went on a whale watching boat trip to see the endangered southern right whale. We spotted a bunch of whales, most memorably a mother with her calf. Next, we drove around the island to see elephant seal conolonies, sea lions, a penguin colony, guanacos (a type of wild llama), armadillos and many other animals. The whole experience was absolutely incredible!
On Wednesday the ninth, I spent the morning swimming and napping on the beach, then in the afternoon hopped on another bus bound for Rio Gallegos. After another 20 hours of huge open spaces and mystical landscapes, I arrived in Rio Gallegos and 2 hours later got on another bus for 4 hours to Calafate.
El Calafate and El Chalten
El Calafate is a town in southern Patagonia right outside of the Glacier National Park. Upon arriving in Calafate, I tried to find a hostel. I had made reservations before because I wasn't sure what day I was going to be arriving. I couldn't find a single reservation for Thursday night, so for half price I reserved a bed in the common room of a hostel. I spent the afternoon hiking around the incredibly teal blue glacier lake (Lago Argentino), then went back to the hostel for an all-you-can eat barbeque. I hung out some other travelers from Germany and Holland and we watched the sunset from the hostel's enormous windows (at about 11:30, since its so far south in the summer there are only about 5 hours of dark per day).
Friday morning, I woke up early to go on my mini-trekking expedition on the Glacier Perito Moreno. Perito Moreno is a giant glacier fed from the Southern Patagonia Icefield. It grows and shrinks every year. It's an amazing blue color and the water it's in is teal. First, our bus stopped at the boardwalks so we could explore around on our own. I watched huge chunks fall of the glacier (as it's summer, the glacier is receding). It is a really incredible sight and sounds like really loud thunder or some type of explosion. After the boardwalks, we road a boat up close to the glacier to get an even better view. On the other side of the lake, we strapped crampons on to our boots and walked across the glacier for a couple hours. It was really incredible- everything was jagged and blue and it almost felt like being on another planet. At the end of the trek, we had whiskey on glacier ice then road the boat to the bus and the bus back to El Calafate.
Friday evening, I met up with my friend Elise who had just flown down from Buenos Aires. We rented a car and set off on the 3 hour drive to El Chalten. It was the most beautiful road trip I've ever been on. We left at about 9:00 pm so we got to see the sun set. We stopped a few times along the way to see the view, and also got to drive a few hours along the famous Argentine Route 40. At about 1:00 AM (we got a little lost), we arrived at our hostel in El Chalten to sleep for a few hours before hiking.
El Chalten is the trekking capital of Argentina, and is at the base of some of the most amazing hikes in South America. We decided to go up to where we could better see the mountain Fitz Roy. The whole hike ended up being about 7 hours, complete with snow-capped mountains, enormous valleys, a mountain stream, a bright blue glacier and a waterfall. The Patagonian Andes are absolutely incredible! After the hike, we had another beautiful and memorable drive back to El Calafate. We spent the evening hanging out at the hostel with another group of travelers. It was an incredible way to finish my backpacking experience here in South America.
Sunday morning, I flew back to Buenos Aires. Since then, I've been living the tourist life here, trying to cram in everything I didn't get the chance to go when I still had to go to school. We went for a stroll along Puerto Madero, the Botanical Gardens, the beautiful parks of Palermo, an old theatre converted into a bookstore, and an outdoor drumming show. On the 21st I leave Buenos Aires and will be back in Colorado the morning of the 22nd. Hope you're all well!
Love, Melanie
PATAGONIA PICTURES
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