el calafate to mendoza, and back to BA

i hitch hiked from puerto natales, in chile, to el calafate, in argentina, and then again up to el chalten. my first ride was from a chilean family from santiago that was doing some road tripping together. four daughters and a son, all over 18, if i had to guess, all having a great time chatting and looking out the window. we sang country roads together when it came on their mixed tape. here's me and the son with my hitch hiking sign, right at the chilean border.  

the el calafate glacier, which is basically why the city (town) exists. the glacier moves an average of two meters a day, so there's a continuous stream of calving all day every day. i went in the afternoon and saw maybe four or five major falls, with lots of other little ones in between. the wind coming off the glacier was frigid. even with my antarctica jacket, i was still cold.

the wall of ice was about 50 meters/160 feet tall

once in el chalten, i caught a sunny day right away and decided a silly little cold wasn't reason enough to stay in. so i hit the trail and caught the good weather and some amazing views. that's fitz roy in the back right corner. 

the next day. this time i did take it easy, and only hiked up to eagles lookout. amazing views toward the finger lake that runs between the town and the main north-south highway through patagonia, ruta 40. the final legs of this highway are only now being paved. 

not sure who this was, just an unsuspecting hiker

sunsets in el chalten were particularly spectacular

more stunning views on my long day hike with mat, a brit i met in an earlier hostel. we kept meeting up and hanging out. on this hike, we did a big loop up to lago de los tres (the three i think being the first three up fitz roy), then circled north on a less-used trail, got coffee and hot chocolate at a darling little hostel, then were picked up immediately by a family in a truck for a ride back to town. 

then on to el bolson, hippy capital of argentina! stayed in the sweetest hostel ever, casone de odile, where breakfast included locally sourced bread, butter, rasberry and strawberry jam. free yoga twice daily; a restaurant/pub on site where you could waitress to eat for free, with only 15 diners any one night; two acres of grassy land to play around on, with hammocks scattered about; a river to swim in; bikes to rent; amazing friendly staff; oh, and a two hour massage for $220 pesos...which is like $25 dollars. it was outdoors, next to a stream and a lavender field. really hard to leave this place. 

lcoal grocerty store in el bolson

lovely rock formations seen from the bus as i rode from el bariloche toward mendoza.

back on the farm for a few days!

seen in buenso aires while on a walking tour by a local

plaque outside the tour guide's secondary school (ages 12-17), which used to be all girls. the plaques commemorate seven girls who were disappeared. 

the tour guide, ari, taking mate with us

walking through one of the wealthier neighborhoods of buenos aires, near belgrano. trees really elevate buenos aires from nice to lovely.

one last piece of street art from palermo neighborhood

my last view of buenos aires, from the air

torres del paine, chile

this is how much food i brought on my 8 day trip. i hurried through and got out in 7, so there was a little extra, but i never found myself too hungry. definitely a lesson in how to go ultra light.

day one. windy fields, old fire scarred trees, scattered rain, fields of daisies.

day two. doubled up, walked two days in one. rolling hills, lakes, old beech forest, and my first up close glacier. views of the the rock towers that the park is famous for through the clouds.

glaciar grey below me as i descend from the pass.

day three. over john gardner pass in the middle of a blizzard. had to stop at each trail marker in order to search for the next one. was worried about frost bite on my nose due to high winds and driving snow. made it over the pass, was feeling pretty bad ass for surviving, then heard "hola" behind me and a skinny guy in running shorts and a tank top goes jogging past me, doing the whole 9 day circuit in one day. damn it.

day four. a long slow descent from the glaciar and lago grey. my two long days finally caught up with me and my feet starting hurting bad. was finally on the W trail, which is much busier, but has better views of the rocks. 

my polish friend matt who hiked up to french valley with me for a wrap around view of the cuernos (horns) and other rock formations.

rocks are nutritious! the rocks here are famous for their black tops. magma that cooled inside the ground, then was revealed by erosion.

day 5. mostly a day hike up to frensh valley, then on to a campsite under lost cuernos. beautiful sunset over the lake 

day 6. last night. hiked up to the look out over los torres. long day. please notice tiny me in turquoise jumping from one rock to the other near the bottom of this photo. 

almost the same view, but with the rising sun on the towers. got up at 4 to hike up to the lookout and watch sunrise over a rocky ridge. just caught this before i headed down.

seven days is my longest hike yet, but it was much easier having set camps pretty close together and a group of people that i met on the train and shared meals with. i also bumped into two people i'd met in other places on the trail, which was fabulous. nothing like experiencing the calming solitude of solo hiking in the wilderness and the comforting embrace of community all in one day. 

i fly home on the 17th of feb, so at this point i've got about three weeks left, and have planned every day. more glaciers and hiking, a little hitchhiking, some more long bus rides, lots of mountains and lakes, and hopefully a few days at el bolson, hippy capital of patagonia, where i can rest, relax and do some yoga before my last week back on the farm, BA and heading home. 

i can't wait to see everyone again!

antarctica!

these are slightly out of order due to my using a friend's really good camera for some of the shots. thanks, sport!

my cabin. the window view was partially blocked, but pretty plush for a last minute deal! my cabin mate was an awesome woman from new york who was also traveling argentina solo. pretty cool. 

getting ready to camp out on the ice. it stayed light enough to read all night.

watching the scenery slip by on the bow of the ship. the yellow jackets came with the trip, so i still have mine. nice and warm!

cam from canada. one of our excursion leaders. definitely a rule breaker in the zodiac.

the icebergs came in some amazing shapes and sizes. we weren't allowed to go to close to the tall one (they're actaully all attached under water) for fear that it would tip and fall in, creating a big wave.

sport and i with our prize-winning hats at the crazy hat party. thanks for the mad hatter tea party inspiration, churchie!

port lockroy. grandmother, i wrote and sent you a postcard from here--and took a photo of me doing it in the small museum. you would have loved it!

we spoted orca three times, which is aparently a ton. lots of big pods. also so a humpback whale my last day there from about 20 feet away. was to busy staring to take photos. sorry.

see that little black blob on the right? that's a zodiac with 10 people in it.

penguins!

a chin strap feeding its chick. 

elephant seals on the beach. sometimes they lie on the ice cause they're too hot. 

a panorama from our last expidition on the ice. nice little hike to the top of a hill. once back on the boat, some of us jumped into the water, which was 0.5 degrees celcius. too much adrenaline to really feel the cold till after. they make you wear a belt so you don't drift away from the boat. i'd share the photos, but i did it naked. for some reason i was the only one. huh.