0202 El Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier

10^th Feb 2015

Well, I was sitting there doing my blog outside the “Recepcion”, sitting wrapped in all manner of furry things to keep me warm on a freezing night as I tried to get my blog uploaded, and in drive two Troopies !!  Couldn’t believe my eyes – Going to have to sell mine soon if they keep getting this common !!  Anyway, it was two German guys, Bruno and Roman, who shipped over to Montevideo on Grimaldi and are just starting on their trip north to Alaska.  After they had checked in and got set up, they came over for a chat about what lay ahead for them as they headed north.  As for me, I eventually got all my blog and photos uploaded  by 1 am, (sorry, did not annotate the photos or do the maps – Too tired), and went off to bed.

0201 El Chalten to El Calafate

9^th Feb 2015

I went to sleep last night before 10 pm – And woke up this morning at 9.30 am !!   To a clear blue sky !!  Oh no – Fitzroy will be clear – I must go back !!  Then I tried to stand up, and quickly realized there would be no walking anywhere today !!  Never mind – I was still more than happy I got up there yesterday.   So it was a quick breakfast and pack up, and I wandered slowly back up the dirt road into Chalten to get some fresh bread and some empanadas from my favourite bakery, a new gas cylinder for my camping stove – And then on the way out of town I saw a caravan with a couple of girls in selling cherries - $2 for half a kilo !  So I got some.  A German called Tomas came over for a chat at the road side, and the girl in the camping shop is about to set off to Australia for a `12 month working holiday, so she was keen to know more about the place !    Eventually I set off out of town, leaving behind  a clear Fitz Roy !!

0200 Around El Chilten - Hike up Mt Fitz Roy !

7-8^th Feb 2015

Today, Saturday the 7^th, was a very lazy day.  I have walked nowhere, I have only driven about 20 kms, and I have taken very few photos.  Excellent day !!  But it is all part of a Grand Plan, weather permitting !

I slept like a log last night – obviously my body recovering (or trying to) from all this sudden strenuous activity !  Woke up to a typical Patagonian day – blue skies with a few fluffy whites, but also some black clouds over some of the peaks.  You never know whether it will rain or blow here, so, a bit like in Scotland, you just get on with what you were planning to do anyway, and let the weather take care of itself.  The plan is to just wander back down the road to the other camp site I had noted yesterday, over night there, and then do the Lago de los Tres hike the next day, thus allowing my legs a full 24 hours recovery. 

0199 Around El Chalten - Hike to Glacier Huemul

6^th Feb 2015 

Woke up early and the wind had died down a little, but still not enough for me to put the pop top up while I got dressed and packed away my sleeping bag etc.  Surprisingly all the Dragoman tents were still standing, and I had not burned Troopie down last night in my efforts to cook my supper (yummy local chorizo sausage, spuds and boiled veggies – I eat quite well on the road !).  And I wasn’t feeling too stiff either, although I ended up with a big blister on the bottom of my heel (odd place for a blister !) and it is quite sore today, so I might postpone the walk to Mt Fitz Roy for a day, explore El Chalten a little, and then drive the 30 or so kms up to the end of the road and find out what is up there.  It was also bitterly cold this morning – I had jackets and my furry Alaskan hat on right from the start !

0198 El Chalten - Hike to Laguna Torre

5^th Feb 2015

Had to sleep with the top down last night due to the wind, but it wasn’t a problem. Slept pretty well, and woke up early this morning with the plan being to hike up to Laguna Torres. They had told me at the info centre that this was the best hike to do if the weather was overcast or rainy.  And as they had said the weather forecast was for rain and even higher winds, I planned accordingly.  It was cloudy and very grey as I had my breakfast and made sandwiches for my trek – and I packed my rain jacket and trousers as well as a fleece in case it got cold as well, and at 9 am I set off on my ‘splore.

0197 Casa Riera to El Chalten

4^th Feb 2015

Really nice little camp site beside the river last night.  Couldn’t believe there was no one else there.  Got up and had my breakfast in the morning sunshine, and then headed towards Gobernador Gregores.  There was a shorter road, but it was dirt again, and I have really had enough of bad dirt roads for a while !  The scenery was the same plano / desert / steppe that we have had for the last day or so – Just wide open plains – A bit like crossing the Nullarbor, or the Atacama desert – Not really very exciting, but interesting in its vastness.  When you drive through these countries like we have, you certainly get a feel for their vastness, as well as the large stretches of desert that no one ever talks about, so you don’t really expect. 

0196 Near Paso Roballos, Chile nearly to Casa Riera, Argentina

3^rd Feb 2015 

What a perfect campsite last night. Sheltered from the wind and the sun, not a soul around – A perfect wild camp.  Woke up with the sun and by 9.30 am was back on the narrow track full of corrugations -  Its amazing how quickly you forget how bad they were – Until you start back on them the next morning !  But as with yesterday, the amazing scenery more than made up for the bad road.  Unfortunately the sun was behind the mountains that I was trying to photograph, but even so, they outlines against the blue sky were just so good I had to try and take a few snaps.

Not 20 minutes into the morning, and I find a “railway” going up a mountain side – It seems they are mining slate or similar right at the top of the mountain and have built a little rail track to bring all the cut rock down.   You ware in the middle of nowhere, but keep seeing signs of every day activity ! Just round the corner, a couple of guanaco dashed across the road in front of me and shot up the cliff face to my right – Then stood at the top watching me !