This week has been all about hiking and so will be this blog entry but because we stayed in the very interesting accommodation in both Puerto Natales and El Calafate I will first say a few worlds about them in case somebody would like to use it as recommendation for future trips.
Puerto Natales is a little sleepy town on the shores of the Sound of Last Hope (in Spanish it sounds even better Seno Última Esperanza) that serves as base for people heading to Torres Del Paine, famous Chilean National Park and as a transport hub between Punta Arenas and El Calafate. Therefore it has lots of tourist facilities; it seemed like every other house in the centre was a hotel or hostel, restaurant or tourist agency among shops with the travel gear. We read somewhere that no booking was necessary in Puerto Natales because the people with free rooms are meeting tourists at the bus terminal. We thought we try our luck like we did in the Western Balkans. To our disappointment there was only one older lady at the bus stop so we did not have much choice or bargaining power. She turned out to be a mad woman owner and the heart of the hostel El Mirador, cheap and dated but clean establishment outside of the town centre close, where on the first night we were the only guests. It took the mad woman no more than 5 minutes to arrange for our bus to Torres del Paine, outward bus to El Calafate and recommend the best place to eat in town. Later as we were walking through town we often saw her cruising in her SUV way above the town’s speed limit. Her madness proved to be very handy for us because she seemed to have been always around to give us a lift to or from town. I thought that the hostel should be maybe renamed to Mad Woman but then we saw the binoculars at the window. She has probably been using them to spot the buses arriving to town to come down to town and get more guests hence the name El Mirador is probably appropriate.
El Calafate is a modern very commercialised town on lake Argentina with very good tourist infrastructure around its bustling main street San Martin that serves as base for day trips to the Parque National del Los Glacieros. This time we booked our accommodation because we heard that it gets very full in high season. We found Hospedaje Lautaro on hostelworld.com (I guess it did not make it yet to latest edition of Lonely Planet but I am sure it soon will) and chose it both for price and ratings. It turned out to be a lovely small hostel on a quiet street, yet very close to the centre, run by Belen, former tourist guide who was the friendliest source of all information and Dario, a former chef who cooks a few dishes in the evenings just for the guests from the best of what Patagonia has to offer. We had very tasty homemade fettuccini with wild mushroom sauce, so good that we had again the second night and wonderful pastel de papa, a dish very similar to shepard’s pie. It was a very nice change from not very creative Chilean fast food dishes and steaks and pizzas that dominate menus in the restaurants.
So now back to hiking, in chronological order:
Torres Del Paine – When we arrived in Puerto Natales we already knew about the fire that was burning significant portion of the park (allegedly started by one of many Israeli campers in the region). We knew hiking routes were limited but in any event we only had an appetite for not more than 2 or 3 days trek in the wilderness. Luckily, the trek to the view point of the Torres themselves was open and we saw them on the first day. On the second day after overnighting in the shelter El Chileno, we did Los Cuernos leg of the trek, scenic and relaxing but long walk along the lakes. We ended our last day in the park with a couple of hours wait for the bus back to Puerto Natales. Waiting would have been really boring if it wouldn’t be for a parade of beautiful horses walking past to another gazing field finished with a spectacular sight of the gaucho herding them.
Reserva Nimez – After we arrived in El Calafate we had a spare day of wondering around and doing nothing before we could go on a day trip to Perito Moreno. We spent most of it on a very slow 3 hours walk in the bird’s reserve along the lake. It was a real treat for a newly discovered and emerging birdwatcher in me. I am not very educated, yet, so I cannot really name the species but we saw flamingos, lots of different ducks, geese and some small flying birds (apologies to all the real birdwatchers that might ever read this blog). Thanks to a stray dog that decided to walk with us (until he started to follow some other tourist) we got an up close encounter with some sort of birds of prey (again apologies to real birdwatchers) that followed him until they decided he was too big for them to attack.
Perito Moreno – Perito Moreno glacier is part of the Parque National De Los Glaciares and part of the third largest ice field (after Antarctic and Greenland). We did a day trip that included 1.5 hours walking in crampons on ice. It actually was much easier than I thought. Or maybe it was easy because we were told exactly where to step to avoid any ‘wholes’ or other dangers. It was a very good day and I do not think I have to say how spectacular it was. Just see the photos. We could also visit the glacier just by walking on the viewing balconies and taking a regular boat trip and skip the trek which was much cheaper option but I thought the mini trek was worth the price for somebody who may never have an opportunity to step on a glacier.
Lago Roca – We had one extra day to spare in El Calafate because we could not get our onward tickets. We read about Lago Roca, the southern corner of the Parque National de Los Glaciares, in Frommers that we randomly picked in our hostel. Frommer’s said that Lago Roca was an undiscovered secret of the region offering spectacular views of both Perito Moreno and, on a clear day, Torres Del Paine. So it was an easy choice for our spare day. What Frommers said was absolutely true. The views were spectacular and it was rather empty over there, no words necessary if you look at the pictures. What Frommer’s (or Lonely Planet or the locals) did not say was how strenuous the hike to get those lovely views is. It also did not warn us about jinxing German! When we started hiking, the 1000m ascent, described on the local map as 4h medium trek we were alone on the path. We were doing really well and well ahead of the scheduled time until some 200 meters before the top when German caught up with us with his super hiking boots and pols. After a very friendly chat he set off to the peak while we took a water break and watched him struggling up the last 100 meters. Then we followed just to discover that some 50-60 meters before the top that I was paralyzed by fear on a very steep, dusty path. I couldn’t do a step forward or backwards. I barely kept my balance on what then seem to me a vertical slope with the sliding gravel surface. And so we turned back sliding our asses down on the gravel… Very unfulfilling to miss the peak by some 50 meters but I guess one has to know the limits. At that time we did not know that it was the German jinx, until he caught up with us again on our way down after our picnic lunch. We started to walk down together chatting our way but three people walking together create too much dust so he decided to go ahead alone. Then I realized I left my camera on our lunch spot. It was there but recovering it cost us climbing up another 150m and worse coming it down again! Anyway, absent German jinx, it was a really good day trip. Highly recommended if you every make it to El Calafate, I just maybe have to tell the national park guards to design the last part of the path in some smoother zigzagging manner rather than straight up!
That’s it for hiking stories. The treks we done this week were just about enough to get us back in shape. We are now heading north and not planning any more substantial trekking, unless absolutely necessary!
Ps: As I discovered in the bus back from Lago Roca to El Calafate, the jinxing German studied BWL in Tuebingen, about the same time where I was there as an exchange student. He now lives in Augsburg and follows the opinions of prof. Starbatty who now is a well-known Eurosceptic.
Puerto Natales is a little sleepy town on the shores of the Sound of Last Hope (in Spanish it sounds even better Seno Última Esperanza) that serves as base for people heading to Torres Del Paine, famous Chilean National Park and as a transport hub between Punta Arenas and El Calafate. Therefore it has lots of tourist facilities; it seemed like every other house in the centre was a hotel or hostel, restaurant or tourist agency among shops with the travel gear. We read somewhere that no booking was necessary in Puerto Natales because the people with free rooms are meeting tourists at the bus terminal. We thought we try our luck like we did in the Western Balkans. To our disappointment there was only one older lady at the bus stop so we did not have much choice or bargaining power. She turned out to be a mad woman owner and the heart of the hostel El Mirador, cheap and dated but clean establishment outside of the town centre close, where on the first night we were the only guests. It took the mad woman no more than 5 minutes to arrange for our bus to Torres del Paine, outward bus to El Calafate and recommend the best place to eat in town. Later as we were walking through town we often saw her cruising in her SUV way above the town’s speed limit. Her madness proved to be very handy for us because she seemed to have been always around to give us a lift to or from town. I thought that the hostel should be maybe renamed to Mad Woman but then we saw the binoculars at the window. She has probably been using them to spot the buses arriving to town to come down to town and get more guests hence the name El Mirador is probably appropriate. 
El Calafate is a modern very commercialised town on lake Argentina with very good tourist infrastructure around its bustling main street San Martin that serves as base for day trips to the Parque National del Los Glacieros. This time we booked our accommodation because we heard that it gets very full in high season. We found Hospedaje Lautaro on hostelworld.com (I guess it did not make it yet to latest edition of Lonely Planet but I am sure it soon will) and chose it both for price and ratings. It turned out to be a lovely small hostel on a quiet street, yet very close to the centre, run by Belen, former tourist guide who was the friendliest source of all information and Dario, a former chef who cooks a few dishes in the evenings just for the guests from the best of what Patagonia has to offer. We had very tasty homemade fettuccini with wild mushroom sauce, so good that we had again the second night and wonderful pastel de papa, a dish very similar to shepard’s pie. It was a very nice change from not very creative Chilean fast food dishes and steaks and pizzas that dominate menus in the restaurants. So now back to hiking, in chronological order:
Torres Del Paine – When we arrived in Puerto Natales we already knew about the fire that was burning significant portion of the park (allegedly started by one of many Israeli campers in the region). We knew hiking routes were limited but in any event we only had an appetite for not more than 2 or 3 days trek in the wilderness. Luckily, the trek to the view point of the Torres themselves was open and we saw them on the first day. On the second day after overnighting in the shelter El Chileno, we did Los Cuernos leg of the trek, scenic and relaxing but long walk along the lakes. We ended our last day in the park with a couple of hours wait for the bus back to Puerto Natales. Waiting would have been really boring if it wouldn’t be for a parade of beautiful horses walking past to another gazing field finished with a spectacular sight of the gaucho herding them.
Reserva Nimez – After we arrived in El Calafate we had a spare day of wondering around and doing nothing before we could go on a day trip to Perito Moreno. We spent most of it on a very slow 3 hours walk in the bird’s reserve along the lake. It was a real treat for a newly discovered and emerging birdwatcher in me. I am not very educated, yet, so I cannot really name the species but we saw flamingos, lots of different ducks, geese and some small flying birds (apologies to all the real birdwatchers that might ever read this blog). Thanks to a stray dog that decided to walk with us (until he started to follow some other tourist) we got an up close encounter with some sort of birds of prey (again apologies to real birdwatchers) that followed him until they decided he was too big for them to attack. 
Perito Moreno – Perito Moreno glacier is part of the Parque National De Los Glaciares and part of the third largest ice field (after Antarctic and Greenland). We did a day trip that included 1.5 hours walking in crampons on ice. It actually was much easier than I thought. Or maybe it was easy because we were told exactly where to step to avoid any ‘wholes’ or other dangers. It was a very good day and I do not think I have to say how spectacular it was. Just see the photos. We could also visit the glacier just by walking on the viewing balconies and taking a regular boat trip and skip the trek which was much cheaper option but I thought the mini trek was worth the price for somebody who may never have an opportunity to step on a glacier. 
Lago Roca – We had one extra day to spare in El Calafate because we could not get our onward tickets. We read about Lago Roca, the southern corner of the Parque National de Los Glaciares, in Frommers that we randomly picked in our hostel. Frommer’s said that Lago Roca was an undiscovered secret of the region offering spectacular views of both Perito Moreno and, on a clear day, Torres Del Paine. So it was an easy choice for our spare day. What Frommers said was absolutely true. The views were spectacular and it was rather empty over there, no words necessary if you look at the pictures. What Frommer’s (or Lonely Planet or the locals) did not say was how strenuous the hike to get those lovely views is. It also did not warn us about jinxing German! When we started hiking, the 1000m ascent, described on the local map as 4h medium trek we were alone on the path. We were doing really well and well ahead of the scheduled time until some 200 meters before the top when German caught up with us with his super hiking boots and pols. After a very friendly chat he set off to the peak while we took a water break and watched him struggling up the last 100 meters. Then we followed just to discover that some 50-60 meters before the top that I was paralyzed by fear on a very steep, dusty path. I couldn’t do a step forward or backwards. I barely kept my balance on what then seem to me a vertical slope with the sliding gravel surface. And so we turned back sliding our asses down on the gravel… Very unfulfilling to miss the peak by some 50 meters but I guess one has to know the limits. At that time we did not know that it was the German jinx, until he caught up with us again on our way down after our picnic lunch. We started to walk down together chatting our way but three people walking together create too much dust so he decided to go ahead alone. Then I realized I left my camera on our lunch spot. It was there but recovering it cost us climbing up another 150m and worse coming it down again! Anyway, absent German jinx, it was a really good day trip. Highly recommended if you every make it to El Calafate, I just maybe have to tell the national park guards to design the last part of the path in some smoother zigzagging manner rather than straight up! That’s it for hiking stories. The treks we done this week were just about enough to get us back in shape. We are now heading north and not planning any more substantial trekking, unless absolutely necessary!
Ps: As I discovered in the bus back from Lago Roca to El Calafate, the jinxing German studied BWL in Tuebingen, about the same time where I was there as an exchange student. He now lives in Augsburg and follows the opinions of prof. Starbatty who now is a well-known Eurosceptic.
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