Hiking around el Chalten, thanks to cypro

All digestive systems were in good order for the flight from Barriloche and bus ride to El Chalten, The 3 hour bus ride was through pampas. In the front window were the approaching peaks of Fitz Roy which were topped with fluffy white clouds against a bright blue sky. The clouds would occasionally lift to reveal the sharp peaks crowned with snow. El Chalten feels like a town out of the old west, populated almost entirely by all variety of trekkers. Trekking is easy here; the trails start from town and there are no park fees.

Walking intgo el Chalten

El Chalten is perhaps what Banff was 70 years ago-- three paved streets, maybe 10 in total, with a permanent population of 300 hardy souls who live here year-round, many of them climbers who own small outfitting or guiding operations, and whose wives run 3-6 room hostels, or coffee shops like the extraordinarily good Chocolateria whose melted dark chocolate milk with Tia Maria almost cured David of his cold and stomach cramps all at once.

Like the earlier Banff, El Chalten is almost a ghost town in winter--a time when locals make artesanal jams, crafts and chocolates or decamp to larger cities like Buenos Aires. The architecture is nothing to speak of -- ramshackle slap-togethers and add-ons and yet....it's welcoming and warm with homespun wood furniture everywhere, often with the rough bark still on.

But it's the wind that defines El Chalten, and much of Patagonia. The most surprising feature of all buildings? Windows that look out onto the Andes but don't open! The first night we were incensed to realize our large window was just a framed glass the only ventilation a cracked bottom corner. Taking a walk around town, we realized every single building is the same, and it's because of the wind. Most buildings use their doors for ventilation and all houses and hotels have large rocks available to keep the door from blowing open and smacking the person on the other side.

Lying in bed at night listening to the wind you'd think there was a full-scale winter storm on, complete with howling, shaking and rattling -- But thats just a regular summer day in Patagonia, rain or shine. Climbing up beyond street level for hikes therefore, quickly becomes challenging, with photos blurred by the wind gusts and sandwiches virtually snatched out of your hand or off your lap.

The first day here we took a long but flatter hike to the most accessible glacier lake, maybe 18 km through the wind-stunted forests to the most perfectly turquoise glacier lake, fed by a waterfall and ice that breaks off the surrounding mountains.

It was good practice for the next day's extravaganza hike almost 25 km of continual but manageable climb up a neighbouring mountain to get as close as possible to see up close la grande dame of south america, Mount Fitzroy. Fitzroy is the 2nd-most technically difficult peak to climb after Everest. While our hike was nowhere near the top, (which can only be climbed by professionals, a few of which lose their life each year trying), it was very tough. The last hour or two was very steep and on very stony rough terrain above the tree line, in very cold windy conditions. The Geezers were amazing!! We saw two young ladies from our bus ride sitting discouraged an hour from the top; i'd say were were definitely among the oldest of the bunch we saw that day, but we were also impressed to see a family with young teenaged girls and boys slugging it out to get to the beautiful views where hikers reached their limits.

We reluctantly left el Chalten on a rainy afternoon, after a day admiring the Viedma glacier. To reach it we crosses the blue lake on a catamaran that veered between the broken off pieces of the glacier. All of us felt we could happily return for a longer stay. ....next up...our glacier adventures.

Regarding my riddle about the dinosaur tree - a couple of people identified it in their comments! it is called the monkey puzzle tree. Congratulations Lysanne, Lisa and anonymous.
Another question: what are the three most spoken languages in Patagonia? The picture below contains the answer: