Gone with the wind

Buenos dias! Another week in Patagonia has passed. Probably this week was meant to show what weather in Patagonia is capable of ... sun, rain, snow, wind and storm. But first I still have to show some pictures left from last week's visit to Perito Moreno. Some breaking off ice chunks :o)

My last day in Calafate I spent on a daytrip to Glacier Upsala. Nice boat trip through icebergs close to the front side of the glacier, 4WD ride up a mountain with a great view on the glacier and finally a hike through the so called fossil canyon back to the refugio. Truly amazing landscapes!

Well, the pictures might look kind of "peaceful" but just imagine taking the pictures with a wind of 7-8 Beaufort. I knew Patagonia was windy ... but that it is that stormy I didn't know.
Monday I moved on to El Chaltén, a little hiking village close to Mount Fitz Roy. Beautiful scenery though I only got to see Fitz Roy the first day. The remaining days this shy mountain preferred to hide behind clouds. Oh yeah, before I forget to mention: it was windy as well ... very windy ... and it rained and snowed ... we got to experience pretty much all of the flavors of Patagonian weather. Nevertheless, every now and then the sun came out and revealed the beauty of this part of the world. Though I am kind of glad that I still am a nice-weather-hiker and do not sleep in little tents on a mountain when there is snow and storm.

Now I am back in El Calafate and I am waiting for my flight back to hot Buenos Aires tomorrow evening. Summarizing my time in Patagonia I have to admit I expected it to be slightly different. I wasn't aware of the fact that Patagonia is close to being a desert, except for the beautiful national parks. Well, they call it "estepa", but it's not far from being a desert. In combination with the wind most parts are quite hostile to living. The biggest impression which is left is it's huge emptiness.

Besides nature Patagonia has to offer more. I was warned already before that it might be difficult to obtain cash ... and so it was. After having had a lucky punch upon arrival in Calafate my wallet dried out very quickly. In combination with a nation wide cash problem (in Argentina people apparently prefer to have their cash at home and not in the bank, because the dont trust their banks for good reason) all the places down here dried out completely. No more money in banks or ATMs. Strange feeling. Never had that problem before. So back to plastic money, but unfortunately not all places and hostels accept that. I hadn't known how restrictive it could be to be bound to plastic money. Too many places just dont like credit cards here. Going for dinner can become a long walk and buying a bottle of water is a true challenge! Well, after 9 days without cash-rich-ATMs I finally got lucky again ... it feels so good to have cash again :o) Makes life so much easier.
While Argentina is facing cash shortage, Chilean Patagonia decided to go on strike. Something about gas prices. Borders are closed by protesters and tourists are trapped ineither Chile or Argentina. Luckily I crossed the border already last week. I probaly would not have been able to catch my flight tomorrow. First I was a bit disappointed that I didnt get to go to Ushaia, but now this proves to be sheer luck ... I would not have made it back from Ushaia either. Chaos in Patagonia ... I just hope my flight tomorrow will be ok!
If things go well I will be in Buenos Aires again from Monday on and will be sweating in the heat for another week before I will leave to New Zealand :o) Hasta luego, Stefan