Travelling to Ushuaia

There was a fantastic sunset but there have been been so many that you might be fed up with them by now!

We left the last point on the mainland and took the ferry from the mainland to the island of Tierra del Fuego.

We stopped at a King Penguin colony but if you have seen the photos from the Falklands of penguins, these were a very poor substitute.

We stopped at a public camp site and had the place to ourselves.

Then we climbed into the mountains and passed several lakes, valleys and ultimately mountain passes.

And of course another one of me with a lake in the background as we crossed Garibaldi Pass.

And at last the town or city at the end of the world, Ushuaia and the welcoming towers. 

Torres del Paine 20th -23rd January

About 80kms from Puerto Natales is the Perito Moreno glacier. It is a huge glacier that flows out from the Southern Patagonian Icefield. It is relatively stable in that it advances about 2m a day but also drops icebergs into the lake at the same rate. A view of the glacier from the viewing platform.

 A close up showing the blue of the ice.

 Some of the icebergs at the from of the glacier. Sometimes it advances and connects with the land seen in the foreground. Then it cuts the lake in half and create an ice dam and water builds up until it bursts through the glacier in a massive flood.

 The upper lake with a boat that takes tourists on a sight seeing tour up close to the glacier. The leading edge is about 70m high and dwarfs the boats.

The next day was the start of a four day trek to follow a trail known as the W Trail within the Torres del Paine National Park. There was a clue to the weather conditions across the lake with several rainbows.

 There were just five of us, L to R Deb, Kim, me and Shane with Reona kneeling on the ground. We started together but we soon split up and walked at our own pace. We had also booked different campsites so we would only be together for the first day.

We had planned to take the ferry to get to the start but it wasn't running so we had an extra unplanned  five hour hike to get to the start of the trail. The first half hour was bright, but the clouds closed in, the wind was strong and in our faces and there was driving rain for the rest of the day. 

The track changed depending on the landscape that we were going through...sometimes through old forest...

 ...around headlands...

 past big rivers...

 but occasionally I saw other travellers even if they were going the other way and having an easy tie drifting down the river.

At last after hours of walking, from my map I could tell that I was at last nearing the start of my planned trek and was approaching Paine Grande.

 After Paine Paine Grande, there was a two and a half hour climbing path to reach my first campsite and at last a few glimpses of the massif that I had opted to see.

 A walk across a flimsy bridge to reach my first campsite on the other side.

A view upriver from the flimsy bridge that I was crossing.

 The the campsite on the second day, I walked up Frances Valley and got this view of glaciers and snow on the other side of the valley.

 And a view back down the valley from the Britannico lookout back towards the campsite hidden in the trees to the right and the lake in the distance over three hours away.

 A mountain view from the track.

 The weather improved in the afternoon and there were clear skies although it was still windy .

 The wind whipped up waves on the lake and blew great clouds of spray in land across the trail where it followed the beach.

 The cleft in the rocks funnelled the wind and it was so strong that from my vantage point I could see the waterfall being pushed back up the gorge in a cloud of spray.

The third day started out bright and warm and I made good progress along the lake shore crossing the occasional side stream.

 I climbed into the mountains and the gradients became steeper as the path wound its way into the mountains.

 One of the rangers at the Torres campsite.

 I left my pack in my tent at the Torres campsite and went up the track to the Torres. It was steep and many of the less fit and inexperienced walkers  crowded the track making their way up it slowly.

 The view that was the crescendo of the walk, a view of the towers across the lake below the Torres glacier which is off to the left behind the ridge of rock.

 A Silver fox who had learnt that many of the walkers drop some of their lunch for it to scavenge.

 And of course a selfie of me, the lake and the towers behind.

It started raining at 6pm that evening and the next day I walked down the valley wading through streams and rivers flooded but he rain. The route up was closed by the rangers but I made my way down, fording streams with water up to my knees. I showered at Central but all my clothes were wet but they had dried out by the time that I was collected at 6pm.

El Chalten near Lago Viedma, in Parque Nationale Los Glaciares, 14th - 17th  January

We drove for two days across part of Patagonia and it is flat, arid and windy all the time. And the scenery is interesting but rather repetitive.

 Sometimes times the roads were tarmac...

 but there were miles and miles of gravel road.

 The area is arid but there are rivers that flow out from the mountains which form lakes in the lower lying areas.

 We saw lots of vicunas...something like a llama but I never got a good photo of one as they are well camouflaged and I only saw them some distance from the road. They are timid and tend to move away before you can get close.

But we did see other wildlife such as this mother rhea leading her chicks across the road. There is little traffic on the road but this particular bird must have waited for some traffic before deciding to cross.

 As we approached the mountains, the weather turned bad. It was hot and dry on the plain but cold and wet in the mountains.

 The weather changed constantly and in El Chalten it might be a nice day...

 with hills rising around the outskirts of the small town...

 but it was still cloudy and raining further into he mountains.

 The trek into the mountains was easy but the rain and wind was coming straight into your face and every one coming from that direction were wearing their raingear.

 But this is what the glacier should look like on a clear day.