From the relative flat of Trelew and Peninsula Valdez we flew south and inland to what appeared to be a hilly and even more desolate version of what we had just left.
It took an hour and a half to pick up our pre-booked hire car at the tiny airport outside El Calafate. Even then we had to change it because it wasn’t washed, we couldn’t tell if it was scratched, it was that dirty. Unimpressed we set off north to El Chalten, two and a half hours away.
It was a grey day and our mood was subdued. This was probably due to car wrangling at Hertz Car Hire more than anything else. The landscape was bleak, empty and vast (think Grand Canyon but grey and then some). There was little to nothing on the roads. We were on the famous Ruta 40 that travels some 3,000 miles North to South along the Argentinian side of the Andes. We were heading North!
We passed the two vast glacial lakes of Lago Argentino and Lago Viedma but as the day was overcast so we’re they.
Jayne noticed a number of dead Guanacos on the low fence all along the route. The carcasses dry or just bones in a heap by the posts. What was going on? We had seen these animals leap these fences with ease. The wire fences are erected by the farmers to contain the sheep in this vast landscape. The Guanacos live in herds of 15 to 30 individuals. They roam the landscape in search of food and it’s the young that either get left behind at the fences or get tangled and die of starvation. Jayne was appalled, while I was thinking it’s an ‘easy lunch’ for the scavengers!
We stopped at the only place to stop, for a coffee Hotel La Leona. It’s at an old river crossing point in this inhospitable landscape and it must have been the only haven for miles at one time. Here we learned a bit about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In summary this pair have become legendary outlaws of the ‘Wild West’ (USA) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Lots has been written about them as Bank Robbers (and murderers) but I didn’t realise they fled into South America to avoid law enforcement. They lived in this region as legitimate ranchers (buying and building a farm with their ill gotten gains) but it seems they couldn’t give up the bank robberies. They robbed a bank on the coast of Patagonia about 700 hundred miles away and fled across the Patagonian Steppe, presumably on horseback. Being on the run meant Butch decided to sell up his farm and they fled to either Bolivia where they were killed in a shootout with Bolivian Soldiers or crossed the Andes into Chile and went on to live long lives, who knows? There are a lot of conspiracies. This whole vast bleak landscape adds to these stories of lawlessness and mystery.
We drove to the strange isolated town of El Chalten, it’s a Mecca for walkers and climbers. It sits at the eastern side of the Andes and has the feeling of a makeshift skiing village. It was cloudy when we arrived at the visitor center and we were still feeling a bit flat. Not for long though, the chap at the visitor centre recommended driving to a waterfall.
The road was horrible unmade and there were a lot of deep puddles. It was also busy with hikers, but as we came around a bend we could see Condors almost at eye level, wheeling and even landing. Jayne wanted to stop but I was really wary of the road as the bend was blind. We did stop and now I’m really glad we did because the views we had were extraordinary. I think males were pursuing a female but I’m not sure because I have read since they mate for life. I am convinced I saw a pair mating on the ground but again I have read this was the wrong time of year. We never saw them that close again.
Condors are huge with and average wingspan of over 9 feet. They look very like vultures and are related to them filling the same niche by feeding on carrion. Although we saw Condors again they were always a long way off or very high up.
We never did get to the waterfall despite trying three times over several days because the road conditions were terrible.
The day ended with Jayne fancying a steak for dinner. This was unusual as all we’d eaten was meat on this entire trip but hey ho we were in Argentina after all. I had read the restaurants here were not so good and rather expensive but we found a great place. We were both somewhat horrified by the size of the steaks, they were huge, one would have been more than enough for both of us. The waiter set the platter down beaming at us ‘I think you can do it’ He said. Unfortunately we couldn’t (even though it was delicious) and we ate the leftovers over the next couple of days! The best thing was they had plenty of cooked vegetables which has been distinctly lacking on this trip and Jayne loved her glass of red wine! Cheers!
Next….Nothofagus
The Travelling Bee 