With our excellent progress the previous two days we were only 300km off our next destination of El Calafate. El Calafate is a small town on the southern shore of Lago Argentino in Patagonia. Originally a sheep station and trading outpost, today the town has developed a bustling atmosphere and an ever-growing tourist trade. Interestingly the town takes its name from the Calafate berry, and locals claim that if you eat one of these and make a wish, you are guaranteed to return to Patagonia. We arrived here by lunchtime and after checking into our hostel we had a free afternoon to do what we wanted.
The town itself has grown rapidly in recent years and has become a key tourist outpost to see the Perito Moreno Glacier nearby. The facilities were therefore very modern and catered for tourists, and after lunch we explored the town which included small markets and shops. We then headed down to the nearby Laguna Nimez to see the wildlife reserve which was home to various birds including flamingoes. There was a nice little path to follow although it was very windy in places! We didn't get back to the hostel until later afternoon, where I just relaxed in the evening.
Saturday was an included trip to the nearby glacier. The Perito Moreno Glacier is approximately 30kms long from where it spills out of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, and 5kms wide at its terminus, where it has a ice face that is on average 170m high (with about 70m of which is above the surface of the lake). Leaving at 8 we drove along an alternative off road en route here to get some viewpoints of the landscapes of the area. We also stopped at a small estancia to see the goats which were very tame, and got to try some of the meat.
When arriving at the glacier we had the option to do a boat trip, although I decided to do the hikes instead. There were various viewpoints to the massive glacier from different angles and heights, and I was even lucky enough to see some large chunks fall of into the water. What makes that glacier special however is that it isn't receding unlike most others in the world, as the accumulation at the back balances the ice lost at the front. It moves about 2 to 3cm a day. It's hard to describe the scale however. To put into perspective the area of the glacier is bigger than Buenos Aires! And we're visiting a bigger one in a couple of weeks.
After exploring the various viewpoints and hikes in the area we met back at the restaurant where we waited for our bus back to El Calafate. En route we stopped at the lake where we saw loads of flamingoes, and arrived back at the hostel by 5 where I saw the disappointing result, not helped by the fact a previous truck member who was a Burnley fan had sent me abuse. The evening was then spent relaxing, although I somehow ended up watching American football before going to bed.
We left El Calafate at 8 on the Sunday to continue south towards Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia, with two bush camps en route. The road out of El Calafate was gravel however however we soon hit the tarmac and arrived into the town of Rio Gallegos for lunch. We literally pulled up into a supermarket car park and made lunch under a trolley bay! Some people did use the supermarket though, and we were joined by two dogs who were very interested in our food!
After lunch we continued down the road towards the Chilean border, where we were planning to camp just prior at a crater lake called Laguna Azul. When arriving however it was unsuitable for camping as the winds were very strong and the area was exposed, unless we trekked about 15 minutes with our tents and cooking equipment to the sheltered base of the lake which was unrealistic. We did however get some free time here and I walked round the rim of the crater and down to the lakeside where I went for a swim. It was absolutely freezing and people thought I was a nutter.
As we couldn't camp by the lake we decided to drive back to Rio Gallegos where we parked inside a children's playground and camped on the football pitch. This was in fact some random guys back garden who let us camp there. Dinner in the evening was a seafood soup kind of dish which was interesting, and after dinner I ended up in the playground before going to bed to avoid the bitter wind. It was a pretty fresh night and I didn't really want to get out of my sleeping bag in the morning! We left at half 7 in the morning for our drive to Tierra del Fuego.
Tierra del Fuego (meaning "Land of Fire") is a large island separated from mainland South America by the Magellan Strait. The island gets its name from the fires of the Selknam tribe that originally lived here, which Magellan and his sailors observed from their boats on their first travels through the area - unfortunately the Selknam and Yaghan tribes that originally inhabited the island are all but extinct after conflict with European settlers that arrived in the 19th Century. The island is split in half with a straight north-south line between Argentina and Chile, with the Argentinian half containing the island's
largest settlement, Ushuaia. The island of Tierra del Fuego is Patagonia at its most remote and desolate, with a landscape of windswept plains, forests and swamplands, home to rheas, condors, buzzard eagles, seals and sea lions, all of which thrive in these conditions.
Prior to the island however we had the small matter of a border crossing, which we surprisingly crossed in about an hour and a half. We ended up at the ferry crossing to the island by half 10. That's where the good news ended however as the winds were vicious meaning ferries were grounded. With respect I went for a walk along the seafront (which was nice to see for first time since November) and I could barely move forward against the wind. We were stuck here for over 7 hours but eventually got a ferry across some very choppy waters late afternoon. The water was splashing over the boat and I got soaked!
When arriving on the island we were meant to visit a penguin colony but we arrived a lot later than planned. We instead headed to the Argentinian border to camp for the night. There wasn't many options in terms of camping as the surrounded landscape was flat open grassland which was not suitable for camping in the strong winds. We eventually got to the border and managed to camp in some random guys back garden. Dinner in the evening was lamb stew, and we even were allowed to use the guys living area to eat! I then had an early night.
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