The natural wonders of South Patagonia

So we made it, the long and tough unpaved portion of the Ruta 40. It was quite an adventure but fortunately, there were no tears, only sweat despite the cold. We left early that morning and rode about 500 Kms (over 300 miles), 300 Kms (about 180 miles) of which were unpaved. We had some anxiety about the quality of the road but it ended up being better than we hoped, despite a rough road at the start. We even managed to ride some portions of the road at 90 Km/hour (55 mpH). The part the most challenging was when the wind picked up and we got another taste of that strong Patagonian wind. On a dirt road, it is quite dangerous since you get pushed out of the “tracks” with less gravel into the big piles on the side of them. We both almost fell a few times, pushed by the wind. It was without a doubt a very physical day, focused at all times on the road, our arms hurting from the bouncing and our bodies cold. At the end of the day, we were a little in pain but so proud of ourselves: we had made it and so much faster than we thought.

A paradise for hikers, breathtaking with the fall foliage
We arrived in El Chalten, our first touristy destination for a while. This town did not exist twenty five years ago but now it is the Argentinian mecca for hikers and climbers. It is at the feet of two spectacular mountains, the Cerro Fitz Roy and the Cerro Torre. We saw their jagged peaks from a distance as we were driving towards El Chalten, their summit lit by the late afternoon sun. We also saw something we had not seen since Alaska: a huge glacier. It was quite weird to think that we had crossed almost a whole continent and had been able to see its glaciers from both the northern and southern sides. The town we entered was like a little gem at the feet of the big mountains, small and intimate. Here too, the wind was blowing pretty hard, making it challenging for people to walk in the streets. Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, we would try to hike some of the trails.

Motivated to exercise our legs and rest our arms after three days of straight motorcycle riding, we were excited to see the sunny sky the next morning and very little wind. We put our hiking shoes on and wend towards the forest. Right away, we were enchanted by the fall colors: yellow, orange, red and some green left. It was also much warmer than the day before and so we started to shed some layers. The path was smooth and well marked, starting with a gradual ascent. After the forest, the path stayed on the edge of the hill, offering spectacular views of the nearby valley with the light blue river winding through it. After ninety minutes hiking, we got our first view of the famous Fitz Roy which unfortunately was covered with clouds. Hopefully we would have better views of it later in the hike. For lunch, we stopped at the Laguna Capri, sitting close to the shore of the lake. It was a little chilly since clouds had gathered and were hiding the sun. Pur lunch finished, we were happy to resume walking to warm up.

Initially, we had thought about only doing a short three hour hike and then go to the next town but the valley we entered was so charming that we decided to continue walking. It was now all flat around us and a river was running through the valley. We loved the soothing sound of it, even adding to the beauty of the hike. All around us, red bushes were contrasting sharply with the yellow grass and there we finally got it: our long awaited view of the Fitz Roy in the sun. What a mountain! We had seen it from a distance the day before but it was even more impressive now. There were still some clouds around it but we could guess the shape of the peak, especially with the clouds moving fast around it. After the valley, we crossed a river with a little artistic wooden bridge, where only one person at a time could cross. Not the most solid bridge but quite cute. We passed as well a few campsites where there were a couple of tents: some brave souls were fighting the cold of the Patagonian nights. For now, with the sun and lack of wind, our hike was very pleasant but unfortunately we had to turn back so that we would return to town before the sunset. On the way back, we met Pierre, a Swiss guy, with whom we walked all the way back. It was fun to meet another French speaking traveler and share our stories. We all agreed that we've had an exceptional time today hiking this exceptional place and in such a nice weather.

The most alive glacier we have encountered
After a great dinner of lamb raviolis, we went to bed tired from the hike. We finally were having some non-riding fun and having a chance to visit some of the most exceptional sites of Patagonia. The next day, we were on our way to another natural wonder: the Perito Moreno Glacier. As we arrived early afternoon in El Calafate, we found quickly a hotel and left Chad's bike there. We would only need one bike to drive the 80 Kms to the the glacier and come back. The Perito Moreno is one of the most active glacier and one of the rare ones still advancing, sometimes up to two meters a day. As we drove the last few kilometers into the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, we understood why this glacier is one of the most breathtaking. You could see the entire ice field from which it comes from and it was just huge: 5 Kms (3 miles) of a 60 meters (180 feet) high ice wall coming into the lake. And you could see all the way the 30 Kms (19 miles) back into the ice field. Its size was challenging to comprehend as even when you come closer, it is impossible to get a sense of scale.

We parked our bike and took the shuttle to the multiple observation decks built in front of the glacier. All the decks were linked together by walking paths and it was therefor easy to walk from one side of the glacier to the other, at various distances from its wall. As we were walking around, discovering the different sides of the wall, the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds and always, sun or not, the glacier had this deep blue color resulting from the compacted air bubbles trapped in the ice. The more compacted the ice is, the more blue it looks. We were observing the different sides of the glacier but what we were the most captivated by was its top that we could see so well as we were walking on the higher platforms. It really seemed endless and the result of five ice tracks coming from the mountain. The surface was so irregular, like millions of little peaks compacted together to form what looked like a very uncomfortable white spiky rug to walk on. You could also see the movement of the ice as it has been descending from the ice field, hugged closely by two big mountain ranges.

As we got closer to the glacier, we started realizing better why it was called one of the most active glacier in the world. It was constantly cracking both from the inside and when chunks of ice were falling off from the front. We saw quite a few of them falling into the lake and there were making thundering sounds, with a few seconds delay, when they fell into the water. The strength of the noise we were hearing helped us understand that the piece falling were surely much bigger than they seemed from a distance given how much noise they were making. We watched the glacier for a very long time as its activity was constant. We were also secretly hoping that a big piece would break and fall off. And there it happened, right in front of our eyes as we were on the lowest platform! The highest part of the glacier cracked and completely fell off, the bottom part first and then the top one followed. It made an incredibly loud sound as it fell into the water, as if the thunder was rolling next to our ears. Chad just had time to take a picture after the pieces touched the water, moving an insane amount of water. There was ice now all over the lake in front of us and big icebergs were floating back to the surface. How lucky we had been to witness it from so close!

During our drive back to El Calafate, we were still talking (into our communication system) about what we had witnessed. This show had outdone all the ones we had seen in Alaska and we could have stayed there for more hours observing the ever changing face of the glacier. Nature here was amazingly strong and beautiful. We also passed these unique glacier lakes that have a deep turquoise color, even in the shade, due to the silt they have in their water and how the light reflects on it. We were almost at the end of the world and once again, it seemed like we were in the last frontier. But the last frontier is also civilized and back in town, we went for one of the specialty of Patagonia: lamb. The whole animals wewre grilling in front of our eyes, just waiting to be eaten. We could not wait for our dinner tonight.