South America Trip D41~49

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Date 41 9 Dec 2008 El Chalten

Patagonia Adventura picked me up at 8:10a.m. The bus went to pier and took picture en route. The sky had nothing but blue colour. The Torre & Fitz Roy were clearly seen. I arrived at the pier at 9:45a.m. The boat was modern, comfortable and deluxe.

The cruise was about 40 minutes. I appreciated the wonderful view of Glacier Viedma. My boat was the only one there and was tranquil in such a beautiful Viedma Lake. Although Glacier Viedma was less famous than Perito Moreno Glacier, I could see the whole glacier now. It seemed that it belonged to me only.

I landed at 11:00 a.m. and walked on rocky surface for 30 minutes. I changed the crampon and walked on the glacier. It was not difficult for me as it was not the first time. The ice-trek used crampon without ice axe and helmet.

We walked along a gentle slope without difficulty. When I came close to crevasse, I was advised to stop. I had reached the highest point after 30 minutes and advised to turn back. It was too short and I felt being cheated as I had walked 7 days on the glacier in Pakistan.

The guide got some fresh ice and champagne for us to taste. They felt excited. I thought they were native. I went back to shore at 2:00 p.m. and waited until 3:00p.m to return.

Date 42 10 Dec 2008 El Chalten

I ate simple bread as breakfast and left 7:45a.m. The walking distance was 25km and I estimated that I needed to walk for 10 hours.

I arrived at the trailhead at 8:00a.m. The first part was gentle uphill and went under forest. The trail was well-maintained and the view was clear after 30 minutes. I could see panoramic view of El Chalten town. I arrived at the first look-out point at 9:30 a.m. I could see the first view of Ritz Roy, Poincenot & Co-Torre that were higher than 3000m. Two trekkers overtook me at this point. I walked downhill to grassland and along the riverbank.

The sky had nothing but emerald blue. Ritz Roy was in the front ahead. I walked toward the destination step by step. I met some campers who returned and I arrived at Poincenot Campsite at 11:00 a.m. My target was to Laguna De Los Tres by 12:30 a.m.

I passed over the Rio Blanco and saw Camp Rio Blanco. The trail was along scree slope. There was signage on the way and it was easy to follow. I was so tired as I had already walked for 5 hours. The tip of Ritz Roy was appeared at 12:00a.m. and it rose above slowly in my eye.

After climbing scree slope, it was terminal moraine that was not new for me. When I climbed over the moraine, the Laguna De Los Tres came into my eye. The lake was frozen with emerald blue water. It was like a sapphire! The tarn & and moraine were usually gray colour with scatter icebergs. Now it was frozen completely and was the most beautiful one ever seen. Although the lake was small, it was right in front of the Ritz Roy whose image was reflected in the surface. The scenery was stunning.

I took lunch (Tomato & bread) at the lakeshore and climbed up to terminal moraine later. The view was much better on the top and returned at 1:45 p.m. It was rest day tomorrow and I walked slowing. I arrived at 6:00p.m. after 10 hours' walk. I took dinner($35) menu lamb. It was delicious. The tour of El Chalten was finished.

Date 43 11 Dec 2008 El Chalten ~ Bariloche

I would take the bus "Marga" to Bariloche (36hr). The trip to Patagonia was end. The first time I saw it was the brand "Patagonia" which was an expansive sports wear brand in Hong Kong. Moreover, I had also seen the scenery of Patagonia from the documentary in National Geography Channel. My brain was embedded in enormous picture of it. Now, I came to there to see. The dream came true!

Patagonia was the southern part of South America(Argentina and Chile). I had visited the eastern part, Peninsula Valdes. I was amazed to see unexpected 10 giant Southern Right whale in a single cruise. Elephant seals and Orca were also seen there. The temperate grassland was great from Puerto Madryn to Ushuaia. The same grassland feature could last for 1000km. Ushuaia was the most southern city of Argentina and it was also the end of road from Alaska. The bus ferry crossing Strait of Magellan was leant in school time and it was very meaningful to see it 30 years later.

5 days-trek-Torres del Paine was the highlight of Patagonia. I thought only a few Hong Kong people could manage it. It was not the reason of strength, but the time constraint and the information required. The most memorable day was that I walked for 14 hours with my 18kg load. I needed to use your own strength to climb in order to see the Torres!

El Calafate was just a traditional tourist city. Moreno Glacier was famous and it might be more tourists visiting it. I thought Viedma Glacier was more beautiful.

The 4-days trip in El Chalten was the last stop in Patagonia. The Ritz Roy was equally attractive as the Torres Del Paine & the Yosemite Half-dome. I needed to walk 10 hours to see it.

The bus left El Chalten at 23:00p.m. and it was a classical one. I prepared some food to eat it the bus and it was full.

Date 44 12 Dec 2008 On the bus to Bariloche

All day was in the bus. It was uncomfortable as it was hot and stuffy. It was boring and tiring. The bus passed through Rio Mayo, Esquel and El Bolson. I took tea stop on the way.

Date 45 13 Dec 2008 Bariloche

I arrived at Bariloche at 8:40 a.m. after 32 hours bus-ride. The bus station was not in downtown. I went to Tourist Information to get some maps. However, there was no one on duty. I went to the local bus station to take route no. 20 ($1.7). I walked 10 minutes to Perikos Hostel after taking off in town centre. The bed cost $40 including breakfast. The room was spacious and the bathroom was very modern.

I decided to join rafting by "Patagonia Rafting" ($280) after consulting hostel manager. Moreover, the Club Andino advised me to a 3-days trek to Cerro Catedral & Tres Reyes. They said that there was no need to make reservation.

As the hostel was vacant in the afternoon, I uploaded some photos into my facebook. The speed was extremely slow. It took 2 hours to upload 7 photos!

Date 46 14 Dec 2008 Bariloche

The hostel room was mixed sex in Argentina and I was the king and slept with three queens. One girl was dream lady. Foreign girl was normally young and more than 40% was beautiful. Hong Kong travellers were more mature and they had intrinsic beauty only. If they were beautiful, they would not go there. I slept very well and waked-up at 7:00a.m. Although the breakfast was simple bread only, the drink was unlimited. I was required to clean the dish myself after use.

Patagonia Rafting picked up at 9:30a.m. with three more ladies from the same hostel. One was very beautiful. The van speed was 80~90 km/hr in the highway and 50km/hr in gravel road. The scenery was fascinating on the way. However, the van did not have photo stop.

We arrived at the base camp at 12:00a.m. It was an open grassland near the river bank and was surrounded by mountains. We changed the rafting equipment after brunch. 15-minutes drive was needed to the starting point.

I was taught some rafting safety and technique on land. In fact, I learnt it before. This river was class III. We had 11 people and were divided into two boats. I was in the advanced one.

The flow of the first 15 minutes was slow and the water temperature was about 15oC. It was very comfortable under warm some sunlight. The rapid was not great and I had no difficulty in it. 4 people were dropped off in a great rapid. Two (including me) were safely stayed in the boat. We swam into the water in the middle section. It was the first time and very funny. The rafting ended after 2 hours when we arrived at the Chile border.

The van drove us back to camp site at 3:00p.m. We took a BBQ lunch and I ate a lot of meat. I left campsite at 5:00 p.m. and back to hostel at 6:50p.m. $280 was value for money.

The rafting river name : Manso River (Class III)
Length : 12km, 2hr
Distance from Bariloche : 118km, 2 hr

Date 47 15 Dec 2008 Refugio Frey

I stored up some luggage in Hostel in the morning and left at 8:40a.m. I arrived at the bus station at 9:00a.m in order to catch the bus at 9:15a.m. However, the schedule had changed into 10:10a.m. Anyway, I got on bus at 10:10 and arrived at the Catedral bus terminal at 10:40a.m. Catedral was a sky resort in winter but it was cool now.

The first part of the trail was gentle slope and passed through forest. When I went to the back side of the mountain, I walked along river Van Titter. This part was not difficult to walk. I came to Piedritas Camp after crossing a river junction. The path was rocky and steeper in the following. I could see some snow in opposite mountain slope. I arrived at the Refugio Frey at 4:10 p.m. It was only 5 hours and not too bad. The refugio was primitive and dirty. One bed cost $30, $25 for a dinner & $18 for a breakfast.

There was some snow outside the refugio and snow line was about 1700m. The map showed that I needed to climb two steep passes tomorrow. I was surprised that it was so demanding.

The refugio was very small and only a few people stayed tonight. Local people were mainly camped outside. Dinner was spaghetti only while others prepared their food themselves. Pizza was only $35. It was free in entering this park as well as camping. However, the living condition was primitive and no shower facility. I strolled along the lakeside after dinner. It was covered by deep snow.

Date 48 16 Dec 2008 Refugio San Martin

I waked up at 6:20 a.m. and took breakfast at 7:15a.m. The breakfast ($18) was chocolate+3 breads. The weather was excellent. The sky was emerald blue and I could see the mirror image of snow-capped mountain in the water surface of lake.

I left at 8:00a.m. and walked along the Laguna Tonchek. It seemed that it was very small but it took half an hour. Catedral mountain was closer and closer. It was similar to cathedral and the sharp hill attracted many climbers from the world. The blue sky was scattered with cirrus cloud.

I hiked uphill after passing the lake. More snow was formed on this slope. I could see Laguna Schmool at 9:10 a.m. It was a very small lake and part of the surface was frozen. Moreover, it was surrounded by snowy slope. I was surprised to see this amazing scenery. I was the only person there and it was completely silent. All I could hear was my breathing. I hopped over boulders and went to various positions to take photos. I could also look back to the Refugio Frey.

Although it was a heaven, I had to carry on along the snowy slope. The slope was steep and slippery. I was required to put extra attention to every step. If I slide down to the lake, no one would help me. More rocky and steep were near the top. I needed to climb in last part in order to reach the top at 10:00a.m.

I took a rest on the top to appreciate the surrounding area. There was various shapes of rocks. I could see a small glacier when I crossed the pass. There was a path junction that one was back to Catedral and the other was San Martin Refugio.

The downhill road was a very steep scree slope. Some part was about 80 degree. I could not walk and just slide down. It was very difficult to slide down the plain (1 hours) at 11:00 a.m. I took the early lunch on a boulder. The following part was easy route under the forest. I washed my leg and took a shower in the stream. The water temperature was so cool that I sank into water for 20 second only each time. It was because there was no shower facility in the refugio.

I hiked uphill again after an hour in the plain. The slope changed from gentle, steep to snowy & rocky. The last part was almost vertical and I needed to use every once of energy to overcome it. It took me 2 hours from the plain (1430m) to the pass (1870m). The pass had some snow only. I was the solo person there. I would see the 360 degree mountains neighbors. It seemed that they were belonged to me only! I could see the San Martin Refugio at the lakeside.

The downhill was the same in the morning. It was steep scree slope and took me an hour. Another 15 minutes was required to arrive San Martin. I arrived at 4:15p.m., 8 hours after the start. I was the first one to stay there. The refugio was better than Refugio Frey. One bed cost $30 and $45 for set dinner. More trekkers were coming in the evening.

Date 49 17 Dec 2008 Refugio San Martin

I left the refugio at 6:00 a.m. and wanted to finish by 11:00 a.m. The first part was steep rocky path. The pace was slow. I wore all the clothes as it was about 0oC in the early morning. I wore only one after half hour. I took a rest after an hour. I increased my pace when the path became gentle. My watch showed the temperature was only 8oC and snow was formed in the plant. However, I did not feel cold.

I crossed the mid-way bridge 3 hour after start at 9:00 a.m. The latter part was along the riverside and there was no good view. The trail was boring up and down. Finally, I finished the track at 11:30 a.m.

I realized that the road was gravel when I came to the trailhead. There was no public transport and the closest one was 6km away. I needed to walk as I did not see any people and car. The sun appeared in an unsuitable time. The road was hard and dusty. The weather was hot in such a road without shadow. I did not see any car within next half hour. I was so tired to take a rest near a bridge.

All of a sudden, a truck stopped beside me and they generously offer a lift. They could speak simple English and dropped me in the bus station. I took bus no.20 to the Bariloche bus terminal.

I brought the ticket ($37) to Sam Martin de los Andes at the bus station. I went back to Perikos' Hostel at 2:00p.m. I took a good sleep after shower. Dinner ($40) was taken at a Chinese restaurant and it was not good.