This is the start of the last stage, and the defining factor for this stage is time. We seem to have run out of it. There is still a huge distance to cover (over 1100km) and if we hope to complete the Paine circuit on foot, we just don't have the days left to complete the whole stage by bike. This is a big disappointment for me (not for Catherine, she loves buses), but we both agree that we would rather sacrifice some of the cycling than miss out on the sights and activities of Patagonia. We looked at the map and listened to travellers heading north, and decided that we would travel by bus between El Chalten and Puerto Natales. This is a significant distance (420km) and means that we will unfortunately be unable to complete the 5000km target that we had set out to achieve. It is howvere, supposedly the 'least interesting' section remaining as the route leaves the mountains and glaciers, and instead passes through the flat and featureless pampa. We certainly don't want to miss any of the cycling in Tierra Del Fuego, especially crossing the 'finish line' into Ushuaia.
Leaving El Chalten, the bus took us very quickly to El Calafate, and we immediately appreciate that if we had to miss any section by bike, this was indeed the best bit to miss. There wouldn't have been a great deal to write about.
El Calafate itself is a tourist mecca purely because of it's access to the Perito Merino Glacier, the third largest in Argentina, and the only one with a road driving right past it's nose. Other travellers had been very unkind about Calafate because it seems to exist solely for tourists, and therefore carries all the associated baggage: high prices and no soul. Every cloud has a silver lining however, so with GoreTex shops also come well-stocked bike shops (I needed to replace the head set on my bike), and with the backpacker-budget pizzerias come the 50-flavour heladerias (ice cream parlours); we enjoyed a lovely ice cream from the interestingly named 'Tit Ice Cream' - not very appealing if you think about it.
We felt that we had 'looking at galciers' covered, so we decided to book a 'walking on glaciers' tour. Very expensive but very worth it. The glacier itself is best described in pictures but we spent an amazing day wearing what looked like home-made crampons, tramping about on the ice, past freezing waterfalls, rivers and lagoons, jumping over crevasses, and peering into ice blue holes up to 50m deep. The only downside to the day were the two useless guides that looked like they'd rather be anywhere than on a glacier!? (evidently there is a point where glaciers become tedious) The mood was lifted continually however by the sight of an short fat guy from the States who was even worse at walking in crampons than Catherine. Catherine spent most of the day bent double in fits of laughter as he waddled and slipped about, trying to support himself with a walking pole, looking oddly like Willy Wonka greeting the ticket holders at the gate.
We were actually incredibly lucky with the timing of our trip because, whilst the glacier is advancing continually at the rate of 1.5m per day, shedding a stream of icebergs into the lake, we were just starting our trek, right at the foot of the 80m face, when a chunk the size of a 4-storey building calved into the water next to us. The cracking of the ice followed by the crash into the water was unforgettable.
Another day, another bus, this time to Puerto Natales ... the launch pad for the Torres Del Paine trek. We can't comment on the landscape that we missed out on here because we slept for the entire trip, apart from the tedious border crossing into Chile - the land that fears fruit and veg. Catherine proudly (but illegally) smuggled a tomato and an onion this time.
Not wanting to kick a country whilst it's down, but our experience of Chilean hospitality had left a sour taste in our mouths after the Carretera Austral. Individual Chileans were often lovely but our overall experience definitely lacked the warmth of Argentina. The Chile of southern Patagonia however has proved to be completely different, and Puerto Natales is a perfect example. Whereas the food along the Carretera Austral was often awful, here the choice and quality is amazing. The owners of the residencials are warm and homely and the people you meet on your travels are welcoming of travellers and cyclists in a way that we rarely felt further north. It may have something to do with the blurred line between Argentina and Chile here; there is as distinct animosity between the two countries in the north but here they all live under the unified Patagonian flag, always flying next to their national flag. The only thing the people of Puerto Natales are more proud of than their flag is a 5 mere high prehistoric sloth discovered in a nearby cave. It's image appears everywhere, even replicated in fibre glass, life-size, as you enter town. These are great people.
One of the must-do elements of this trip was to trek the Paine circuit in southern Patagonia. With side trips and extensions, it makes a 145 kilometer trek through amazing mountain scenery, past huge glaciers (still not boring yet), along beautiful forested valleys and glacial lakes. We even trekked by moonlight up to the 'Torres' on the final morning to catch the sunrise from the top which was an amazing experience. During the long days of walking, we saw Vicuñas, Patagonian foxes, Flamingoes, huge woodpeckers (the size of cats), and more face-biting mosquitoes. You will have to either google these animals or visit Patagonia to see them because my skills at photographing wildlife haven't improved. Most of these animals didn't even run away and I still couldn't get a decent picture. Thankfully, glaciers move much slower, and mountains slower still so we have plenty of them. Reading about the walk in any more detail would be even more boring than reading about a bike ride, so I have just uploaded a couple of pictures here and have included a link to a few more on our Flickr page.
One thing we are proud to point out though is that, fitness-wise, the cycling is obviously paying off; we completed the 8 day trek in just five full days, carrying all of our own gear and food (Catherine's bag was so big (and multi-coloured) that it was like trekking with Bertie Bassett). Spot the difference.
There was even a brief moment of 'excitement' when the park ranger told us that a forest fire had been started, and had cut off our exit from the cul-de-sac valley that we were camping in! Thankfully they got it under control within a few hours, although we are beginning to worry that Chile is a bit doomed at the moment.
Returning from the walk we met up again with Joan in Puerto Natales; he had finally succeeded in convincing his boss to let him extend his trip until November(!) so he was leaving Patagonia for a world trip. Our farewell meal together was in the local, and presumably unique(?) Chilean/Zambian fusion restaurant. We finally tried ceviche; raw chunks of fish 'cooked' in lemon juice and red onion, and it was excellent, (the African twist was serving it with coconut milk, chilli and mango). We were invited to stay for a lock-in, so we had another large night on the addictive pisco sours and the restaurant even had their own take on these: mango sours and Chardonnay sours. They were all pretty tasty and, when the owners found out that we had to be up early the following morning to begin cycling to Ushuaia ... all free. Love the (southern Patagonian) Chileans. Cycling tomorrow ... oh dear.
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