Our Last Post About South America

I've been putting off writing about our final month in South America. There are a lot of reasons why. Probably the biggest reason is that so much happened in such a short time. Also, it's a bit sad to write the final South America post - if I don't write about it, we never left, right? In fact we did leave, and I am sitting in the comfort of my parent's dining room writing this post.

Our final destination was Buenos Aires, on the east side of the country, where we shipped the truck back to the USA. But first, we retraced or path through some of our favorite parts of Chile and Argentina. We also hit up a few national parks in northern Argentina that kept us outdoors, oohing and ahhing at mother nature. Here's some pictures of the mother-nature part of our month:

The Patagonian Mara, spotted in Las Quijadas National Park, kind of freaked us out. Our brains couldn't deal with the contrast in how they looked and behaved. They walk like a deer, hop like a rabbit, look like a guinea pig, and sit like a dog. Our picture's were fuzzy, so I grabbed a better one online.

In Las Quijadas National Park, we finally had some closer encounters with the ubiquitous but shy Guanaco

The tiny national park of  Las Quijadas got flooded in a major rain event, weeks before we visited. Luckily, we were there for the greenery popping up in the most unlikely of places.

We spent 4 days camped on private property exploring the interior of  Los Gigantes National Park, outside of Cordoba. If you're interested in more info about this great hiking and rock-climbing destination, email us!

The paper bark tree in Los Gigantes National Park. You can peel soft pieces of paper off the bark of this tree. It was addicting and probably not the nicest thing for the tree.

Enough of all that mother-nature stuff, we needed to buckle down and drive across the country to get to Buenos Aires so that El Tigre could board a ship for 5+ weeks. The drive was inconveniently interrupted by a failed alternator that we got rebuilt only days before we had to drop the truck off at the port.

Scott and the awesome mechanic we found on our drive across Argentina working on the failed alternator

We rented an apartment in Buenos Aires for 8 days after we dropped off El Tigre at the port. We spent those 8 days eating and drinking our way through the city. We barely managed to venture more than 10 blocks away from our apartment because there was so much to see/do in that small area. Two awesome overlanding couples were also in town shipping their vehicle back to the USA (SouthToNowhere from Colorado and SongOfTheRoad from California). They helped us celebrate our last week. Here's a few pictures of the big city:

There were a lot of breweries and craft beer establishments. We loved it. BUT, we also drank with critical taste buds, realizing that you don't go to Argentina for the beer.

We found a great authentic Mexican restaurant. Our only mistake was ordering margaritas in a country that doesn't really import tequila and likes to put SUGAR on the rim (!!!!)

We can now say that we we have been to a closed-door restaurant (that's really what they're called) and had a 5-course meal. Erica's parents were even visiting from California!

Pretending like we have fancy enough clothes for a 5-course meal

Sam and Erica (SongOfTheRoad.com) had us over for dinner and brunch (different days). Brunch fixins pictured here.

We didn't stop to listen to these guys for very long, but I love how this picture captures the colorful, musical street-scene in Buenos Aires

The view from the top floor of our apartment building - that's a really big city

And now for the sappy stuff:

I certainly don't have the words to describe how these travels and adventures have changed me. I feel like I have finally started to scratch the surface on what it's like outside of my American bubble. I have a new-found sensitivity into the lives of other people and now, more than ever, I realize what a tiny place I occupy in the world. In the past 4 years, we have found that Latin Americans are kind, generous, fun, and unbelievably family-oriented. They are rarely in a hurry and we constantly find ourselves overwhelmed with their generosity. In many ways, I wish I could be more like them.

At the Buenos Aires airport, as if to perfectly punctuate our departure from Latin America, our gentleman taxi driver warmly kissed me (and Scott!) on the cheek and bid us farewell with an enthusiastic "Ciao!".

This might be the last we see of the truck. We snuck a picture through the window of our cab as we drove away from the port.

Turning North!

It happened... we turned north. After 3.5 years, our southbound adventure ended at the small town of Puerto Natales, Chile. We turned around on March 1st to retrace our path through the Patagonian Andes. We had originally planned to drive 400 miles farther to "the tip", but a sure way to keep the focus on the journey, rather than the destination, is to avoid arriving.

We HAD to try a jumping picture with these sculptures in Puerto Natales

Our turnaround was cause for neither sadness nor celebration. Instead, I found myself reflecting on the past 6 years of travel and living in our home on wheels. My emotions really are nothing more than gratitude for being able to do what we do.

I selected some of the pictures we took as we headed back north through Chile and Argentina over the month that followed:

The real reason we turned around: a return trip to the excellent little D'Olbeck brewery in Coyhaique, Chile   

On our second visit, we still found new things to see and secluded, jungle-like camping spots along the Carretera Austral, Chile

You probably wouldn't be surprised to learn this river near El Bolson is called "Rio Azul" (Blue River)

High above Lago Faulkner, we caught this guy keeping tabs on us - he/she followed us around for a bit.

 

Sunset over Lago Villarino

The recently exploded Villarica volcano continued to smoke as we hiked nearby

Our last hike in the Andes - near Lircay National Reserve in Chile

Fear not, even though we are heading north, the adventures will continue. Stayed tuned.

Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina - The BIG One That You Can Drive To

At the south end of Los Glaciares National Park is the massive, stunning, and easily accessible glacier, Perito Moreno. We drove about 125 miles from the north section of this park (our fave place in South America - previous post), right to the 130-foot tall face of the glacier. The glacier is 18 miles long, 3 miles wide, and the best part is that it creeps forward nearly 6 feet per day. This guarantees you will see and hear the crash of giant, sky-scraper-sized slabs of ice tumble into the lake below. With a couple of snack breaks, we watched the Perito Moreno show for nearly 12 hours. It was hard to turn away, because you could always hear the echoing boom of something happening. You never wanted to miss out.

Our first view of the glacier with cold, misting clouds and just a peak of sun coming up over the ridge behind us

The illusive morning sun helped highlight the mesmerizing shapes on the face of the glacier.
It's too bad it will all eventually come crashing down.

In the late morning, the clouds dissipated and the reflection on the glacier was blindingly white - harsh.

The deep blue of some of the ice bergs is caused by years and years of crushing and compacting.

From this angle, you can start to appreciate how the glacier could possibly be 18 miles long.

Without any sort of a zoom lens, it was hard to capture some of the excitement.
This one was so big, and took so long to move, I was able to capture a sequence of it.

The sound of the ice slab falling into the lake was deep and booming - so awesome.

Third picture of the action series

As the day wore on, the lighting started to shade the face of the glacier.

The setting sun cast a long shadow of the glacier for our last picture.
We turned our backs for a second, and missed something - the waves in the water were the only evidence.

How Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre Ruined Us

The iconic Ruta 40 in Argentina runs mostly parallel to the Andes mountains. In the south, it takes you to the sparsely populated regions of Patagonia through flat, boring, and WINDY land for hundreds of miles. It has been recently paved, which saved us DAYS of driving. We picked up Ruta 40 after our brief but incredible exploration of the Chilean version of Ruta 40, the Carretera Austral (previous blog post).

When I say that this route is WINDY, I can't emphasize it enough. The ice caps in the west and the warm plains in the east create a thermal gradient that causes T H E  M O S T intense wind we have ever experienced. During some of our hikes over the following three weeks I would find myself hiking on all fours (on flat ground) so as not to get knocked to the ground by a gust of wind. Unfortunately, the wind also caused many sleepless nights while it tested the structural integrity of El Tigre.

It's so windy, they have a special sign for it

But, this blog post isn't really about Ruta 40 or the wind. It's about our favorite place in South America - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. This national park covers such a massive area that it has 2 sectors. The sectors are a 125-mile drive apart but as the crow flies, only 60 miles. Our favorite sector contains the iconic Mount Fitz Roy (of Patagonia logo fame) and Cerro Torre, among many other impressive spires. It all starts with a view of the mountain range that gets better and better as you drive straight at it for 50 miles (pictures below).

Our first sighting of the spires. Despite the piercing, cold wind, you can't help but get out to take a picture.

The view from far, far away on the road in, is still mind-blowing. The whole drive, you're thinking, "we're going there!?!"

Not to bore you with too much detail, I will briefly explain why we loved this area. The scenery is breathtaking. Views of these mountains never get old. We did the popular hike to the base of Mount Fitz Roy twice, and if the weather would've cooperated, we would've done it again. We did three less popular hikes that also offered world class views. Since we didn't have camping gear, we only did day trips, which limited what we could see, and also limited the lighting for pictures. The pictures definitely don't capture it all.

Here we come, Mount Fitz Roy!

The tallest peak is Mount Fitz Roy and is successfully climbed about once a year
(despite many attempts by EXPERT rock climbers)

This sector of the park is completely FREE. It blows our minds. The ranger suggested that it was because there was a town in the park (El Chalten) and the logistics of charging people was too hard. That seems like a weird explanation, given that Parque Nacional Los Alerces has no problem managing this issue. Listen to us, complaining about a FREE national park! That is how much we loved this area. It's the kind of place you want to support.

Lunch with a million dollar view

The best part is that this sector is not commercialized. There are no campgrounds selling beer and pizza along the trail, no fancy lodges, NO HORSE EXCREMENT ON THE TRAILS, and no roads - just mother nature and the people who love her. We overheard people in the visitor center asking if they could drive to some viewpoints, but to see the goods, you've gotta hike to them - no shortcuts. We were so impressed with some of the people hiking these trails - old, young, ill equipped, out-of-shape - they all wanted the goods and they worked their asses off for it. Despite the knee-busting climbs and knock-down wind, almost everyone hiking the trails seemed happy.

Lago Torre and Glacier Grande with the star of the show (Cerro Torre) hiding behind the clouds.
Check out that little blue lake in the bottom right of the picture

In-spiring (did you think we'd get through this post without saying it?)

We felt the pull of this place so strongly that we visited twice. As we drove away, it hurt a little knowing that we probably wouldn't be back anytime soon. We are ruined after visiting these mountains. Will anything ever be able to compare? We won't stop looking...

The Lakes District, Argentina - Paddleboarding Legally

The Lakes District of Argentina continued to entertain and wow us as we headed south. We hiked some big peaks, and again found they were covered in a layer of deep ash due to the 2011 eruption of Volcan Puyehue. While we were hiking to a peak known as Cerro Belvedere, the wind was so strong that clouds of ash filled the distant sky. We eventually had to turn around because of the ash in our eyes and mouths. On the plus side, our faces were baby-butt smooth from the exfoliation treatment.

The view from Cerro Belvedere of a small section of  Lago Nauhuel Huapi the largest lake in the region - 60 miles long!!!

Outside of the large town of Bariloche, we drove up a long, slow, painfully pot-holed road to visit Mt. Tronador and the large glacier creeping down its slopes. It was our first glacier in South America, so we were excited to see it in action. From our camp spot, we could hear the thundering echo of the ice breaking off the glacier. At the viewpoint, we spent the entire day viewing the icebergs in the lake change shape and hoping to see/hear pieces of the glacier crash into the lake. We got a thumbs up from one of the rangers when we set up our camp chairs on a little knoll overlooking the glacier. The only time the glacier made a move was when we were eating lunch INSIDE THE TRUCK!!  We heard it, and later saw the violent-looking aftermath in the lake. DAMMIT! Pictures below.

Our camping spot below Mt. Tronador. Cheers to the best television screen nature can offer.

Our viewpoint for the entire day overlooking the Tronador glacier - the glacier is brown because of all the rocks on it's surface

Spoiler alert: now that we are in the heart of Patagonia and all of it's huge glaciers, our day at Tronador seems kind of silly. Oh well, it was still fun.

Continuing south, the town of El Bolson had been on our list for a while after we learned that it is the microbrew capital of Argentina. They grow 3/4 of all the hops IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. To say the least, we had some beers! The region boasts a warm micro climate that not only grows hops, but also abundant produce including big juicy berries of all sorts. We spent a day outside the town cooling off in the sparkling, turquoise water of the Rio Azul pictured below.

Rio Azul: This swimming hole was called "El Paraiso" (The Paradise)

Rio Azul: A contrast in temperatures.
After getting up the nerve to jump into the icy waters, I had to bake myself a bit before heading back to shore

A little further south in Alerces National Park we put our paddleboards to work - and it was legal this time! With a little foot work, we found that we could paddleboard between the lakes on crystalline, trout-choked rivers. We were so stoked when our strategy worked out the first day: we locked up the paddleboards and gear at our camping spot, drove the truck about 6 miles to the next camping spot, ran back to our paddleboards, then paddleboarded back to the truck. We repeated this process on 2 more rivers without a hitch. Pictures below.

This river was teaming with giant rainbow and brown trout

The viewpoint during our hike back to the truck: the lake and river we were about to paddleboard (we were excited!)

Scott never passes up a "jumping rock"

Swimming with the trout

Next up, back into Chile for some very impressive glaciers among other things...