Patagonia, Argentina: Perito Moreno & Fitz Roy

It was mid afternoon and we were making good time. We had been hiking just over two hours and were blessed with another day of unusually clear skies and sunshine. As we looked ahead on the path we could see our final destination, Laguna Torre in the Fitz Roy Mountains. We rounded a sharp corner and looked up to find two people walking past us, one of them wearing a familiar San Francisco Giants beanie. It was our friends Bryce and Gina. What a small world! We first saw them on our flight from New Zealand to Santiago, and noticed Bryce’s Giants hat. Later on, we ran into them at a Refugio on the W-Circuit trek, and started talking. We immediately bonded and found that we shared lot of similarities…it was actually quite eerie! They were our age, living in the San Francisco Bay area, had quit their corporate jobs and were traveling the world for a year. We had been to many of the same places on our trip, and it was insane how much we had in common! We knew they’d be hiking the Fitz Roy Mountains too, but couldn’t believe we saw them again on the same trail at the same time.

This was a theme for our time in Patagonia. We met many people hiking on the Chilean side of Patagonia. As we went from Chile to Argentina, we kept running into the same people. Some on buses, some in restaurants, some in guesthouses or hostels and others on the trails. It felt like all of the travelers were doing the same hikes and visiting the same sights. It definitely made Patagonia feel like a small world. Everyone was unique and interesting and had fun travel stories to tell.

Dolar Blue

After our trek in Torres del Paine we had one night in Puerto Natales, Chile before crossing the border into Argentina. We heard from multiple travelers that we should bring US dollars to Argentina. Strangely, you can achieve a much better exchange rate in US dollars versus the ATM.

In the last few years Argentina has seen extremely high inflation rates (around 25-30% annually). This has caused the people to keep their savings in US dollars for stability. Because of this, in 2012 the Argentine government passed several financial reforms trying to hold the Peso steady and stop people from buying US dollars. It became illegal to exchange Argentinean Pesos to other currencies within Argentina. People still didn’t have full trust in the Peso, so they began buying US dollars from tourists and others with access to foreign currencies. The exchange created a black market known as the ‘Dolar Blue.’ As a tourist it’s great because you can get a much better rate than the official exchange rate, making your money go further. For instance, we could exchange money on the street for $12.50 Argentine Pesos to 1 US dollar whereas the ATM would give us $8.80 Argentine Peso to 1 US dollar. This makes a HUGE difference and essentially makes the country 25% off for us. It was quite a game and all sounds shady but is actually very common in Argentina. I love negotiating and it was fun trying to get the best deal.

Because of Dolar Blue, I spent my last Saturday night in Chile frantically running between ATM’s taking out Chilean Pesos. ATM’s only allowed small withdrawals and the exchange center closed at 7 pm so I was racing against the clock. I used my running skills and even though I seemed like a crazy person, I ran between the ATM and exchange center four times. When the clock struck seven, our debit cards were shut down due to suspect activity and we cleaned the poor lady at the exchange center out of all her US dollars. It was a pretty comical scene but I did manage to get a fair amount of US dollars before our bus departed the next morning.

Los Glaciares National Park

Our first stop in Argentina was the town of El Calfate. It was our base to explore Los Glaciares National Park. The park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and is world famous for the Perito Moreno Glacier, its star attraction. We took a day trip into the park with a small group, which ironically included some hikers we met on the W.

On the way to the park we stopped at a local estancia (or ranch). We were able to try the most famous beverage of the Argentine people: Mate. Mate is a caffeine rich tea that is drank from a traditional calabash gourd. It is LOVED by all of the people. I tried it at the estancia found it to be really bitter. It must be an acquired taste – I think I’ll stick to coffee! Marissa tried to like her Mate (but secretly I think she felt the same way I did). The estancia also had several pets including sheep, pigs and another one, which is unique to the area: a Camelid Guanaco. The Guanaco is similar to a Llama and commonly roams in the wild throughout Patagonia but is not typically a pet. In fact, driving on the highways in Patagonia, you have to be careful not to hit them as the frequently run in front of you. The estancia had raised one as its own since he was a baby. He was so tame you could even pet him! He was so friendly; we wish that we could have taken him with us.

After leaving the estancia, we continued until we reached the Los Glaciares National Park. We were dropped off approximately 2 km from where you could view the Moreno Glacier and walked on a boardwalk until we could see it. When we got our first glimpse of Moreno our jaws hit the ground. It is one of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever seen. What makes Moreno so epic is that the front face of the glacier raises 180 feet straight up from the lake surrounding it. In addition, the glacier is advancing forward so rapidly that there are consistently massive ice chucks breaking off from the wall and falling into the lake below.    We had nearly two hours to explore the various different boardwalks and took a short boat ride around the glacier. It allowed us to take in every angle of the glacier and had the pleasure of seeing multiple huge pieces of ice crash into the water. It was one of the most unique things to see and hear!

El Chaltén and Hiking in Fitz Roy

 After visiting the Moreno Glacier, we made the four hour trip north to the small remote town of El Chaltén. El Chaltén is a colorful village overlooking another section of Los Glaciares National Park. It’s known as the ‘Hiking Capitol of Argentina’ and is the base for exploring some amazing hikes in the Fitz Roy Mountains. The town was only founded in 1985, and maintains a frontier town feel with no wifi and limited services. Going to a grocery store there is extremely frustrating as there are very little fruits or vegetables and sky-high prices on everything packaged. We were glad that we planned ahead and brought some groceries with us.

The Fitz Roy Mountain Range is famous for its rugged wilderness and razor sharp peaks. The afternoon that we arrived in El Chaltén, we still had a lot of daylight so we decided to do the famous Laguna Torre hike. It was on this hike that we ran into our friends from San Francisco. We were hit with views almost instantly of the toothy Cerro Torre Mountain. The peak is considered to be one of the most difficult to see, as weather is often turbulent in the valley. We were extremely blessed to have a crystal clear day and view of the 10,282 ft peak. Our views were enhanced by the amazing fall colors. The foliage was in peak form with vibrant hues of orange, yellow and reds. It was one of the best day hikes that we have done as it was only about six hours round trip and maintained amazing views nearly the entire way!

The next day we awoke to a crisp morning and clear skies (again)! It was the perfect day to tackle the Laguna de los Tres day hike. This is the most famous hike in the area. Similar to the Laguna Torre hike, it was filled with amazing views right away and maintained great views along the whole hike. The trail zigzagged its way through a valley for the first few hours, then you reach a point where it is literally straight up for almost a mile! It was a VERY difficult climb and one of the toughest stretches that we’ve done. Marissa and I pushed hard through it and passed a lot of people gasping for breathe along the way. Luckily we had been doing a lot of hiking and were prepared for such a challenge.

When we reached the summit we were rewarded with a stunning view of the 11,171 ft Cerro Fitz Roy peak. We had a 360 degree view of the mountain range, colorful valleys and electric blue lakes. We sat on top of the world and enjoyed our lunch in one of the best picnic spots imaginable.

Our day hikes in the Fitz Roy Mountains were a highlight of the trip and were some of the best day hikes we have ever done. We were really fortunate to have had such clear weather, being able to see all the peaks and glaciers throughout each hike. Once again, Patagonia wins. It lived up to its reputation as the hiking capital of the world. Between the Torres del Paine in Chile and the Fitz Roy Range in Argentine, hiking doesn’t get any better.