El Fin Del Mundo

Ay yo Ay yo Carnavale!
I went with my amigos to the national carnavale in Gualeyguachu which is about 3 hours from Buenos Aires. We spent the day relaxing on in a park and of course playing on the playground. The actual carnavale is held in a stadium like structure. There are grandstands lining the street area and the carnavale floats go through the middle. It was pretty awesome to see all the bright beautiful colors of the costumes and floats. The people go down the road and dance as they go and then there are huge floats that come down. Each float has a theme and dancers on it and they are all absolutely gorgeous. The whole carnavale experience was a lot better than I expected, there was a lot of energy and excitement. My favorite parts were drum. A couple times there were large groups of drummers that went through banging on big drums that they carried. Another part of the parade showed some political involvement because people were carrying signs that mentioned political issues of the past and present in Argentina. I thought it was pretty interesting, they don’t want people to forget what has happened and to achnowledge it. After a night of singing and dancing at carnavale we headed back to Buenos Aires on an early morning bus and spent the day exploring a little of the city.
El fin Del Mundo
Monday morning we got up early and headed to the airport to begin spring break! We went to El Calafate which is down in Patagonia but on the way we had a few pit stops in other cities. We took tiny planes that were flown by the Fuerza Aero Argentina(air force). Our first flight went to some unknown city down south but the second went all the way to the tip of Argentina to Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego. As we were flying over the mountains I could tell it was a stunningly geogeous place. It is the most southern city in the World, and we got to walk outside and into the airport! Just seeing the incredible mountains around the airport made me want to return there someday..its amazing.

We continued our journey to El Calafate which is the city we stayed in and is near the Glacier National Park. Again, landing we could tell it was going to be a beautiful place. The color of the rivers and lakes here is stunning. Its like a bright blue, almost brighter than carribean water! The drive to our hostel showed mountains and plains and mesas that made it look almost like Utah..the city is adorable and reminded me of Estes Park, CO or some other cute tourist town in Estados Unidos. Our hostel was adorable! It was like a huge log cabin. I love hostels! They have a great feel to them and its so fun to be in one with my whole group , my family!

Glacier Perito Moreno
Tuesday morning we got up early and headed on our excursion to the Glacier National Park. Once again as we were driving I was busy snapping pictures and staring out the window at the beauty of the area. First we drove through the park and had a guide that talked and explained the area to us. There were a lot of tourists in the area so most things are done in English and Spanish too. I like it better when they do the Spanish first so that I can try to understand it that way before I hear the English. Anyways we stopped at the lake and got to take a boat up to the Glacier!!

A summary of the glacier by wikipedia
The Perito Moreno Glacier ( 50°29′S 73°03′W / 50.483°S 73.05°W / -50.483; -73.05Coordinates: 50°29′S 73°03′W / 50.483°S 73.05°W / -50.483; -73.05) is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentine Patagonia.
The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.


Large piece of ice collapses as the glacier advances
The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide, with an average height of 60 m (200 ft) above the surface of the water, with a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft). It advances at a speed of up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) per day (around 700 metres (2,300 ft) per year), although it loses mass at approximately the same rate, meaning that aside from small variations, its terminus has not advanced or receded in the past 90 years. At its deepest part, the glacier has a depth of approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft).


The boat ride was pretty awesome, we were able to see the scope of the glacier. I could not bealieve the vibrant blue color that was in the glacier! In all the spots in between ice was like bright blue! The glacier is huge!! Its bigger in size than the whole city of Buenos Aires and that’s huge! The mountains behind it were stunning as well. We didn’t see any ice fall of as we were boating around the glacier but no worries because after we were dropped off at a viewing area to watch the glacier. We could see both sides from there and it was massive. As we were walking down I heard the crash of ice and started running to where we could see, my first glimpse was of ice falling into the water and the splash that came after. I was stoked! We kept walking around and watching and the sounds were so loud from the ice falling! Incredible! We saw even little chunks fall in and it would make a great huge sound. I saw two huge pieces fall in and that was amazing. It was almost like they were falling in slow motion and then there would be a huge splash! I could have sat and watched the glacier for hours it was so interesting, peaceful, calming, and refreshing all at once.

We got back to the hostel afterwards and were thinkging about what we would do for the next couple days. we were told of all the excursions offered in the area. I hadn’t been planning on doing anything too big really because they all cost a bit of money. For example there is trekking on the glacier where you can walk out on it which im sure would be awesome but I just cant afford that. so we were sitting there thinking about what to do and all I really wanted out of this trip was to go hiking. Well..there was a bus ticket and a hostel night for 150 pesos to go to El Chalten which is about three hours away from El Calafate and is at the base of hiking(trekking) trails. In a spur of the moment decision me and six of my friends decided to take the bus that left in an hour and head out there for the night and then hike in the morning and return. It was one of the best decisions ive made in a long time!

El Chalten was a tiny town in a valley of mountains. Absolutely beautiful. There are several hostels and little restaurants and that’s about all there is in the town. It was just founded in 1985 to beat Chile to a land claim and only has like 600 residents! It was tiny, just one short road pretty much. It was very calm and peaceful..such a huge difference from Buenos Aires! I appreciated it a lot. We got up the next morning early and left by 8 for what I think was the best hike of my life.

Words nor pictures can describe what I was feeling or seeing as we hiked up to Cerro Fitz Roy. I can try to describe it but it will never do it justice. I thought I was viewing heaven on earth it was that stunning. Every time we thought we saw the best of it, it just kept getting better too!. The trail started going up a fairly steep climb up the side of a mini mountain. The vegetation there was almost like desert with little shrubs and short trees. We could see giant rock walls and mesas that reminded me of Utah and at the same time there were huge snow topped mountains around. Our first view looking down at the city was awesome, we could see the bright blue river flowing and a distant blue lake. The weather was allright it got windy at times, sometimes extremely windy and I was chilly when we started but as we climbed it got pretty warm at times and it was a good thing we were all in layers.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Cerro Chaltén, also known as Cerro Fitz Roy or Monte Fitz Roy, is a mountain ('cerro') located near the El Chaltén village, in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. It has been agreed by the two countries that the international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit[1], but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón remains undefined [2].
The name Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain," due to a cloud that usually forms in the top of the mountain, and it was considered sacred by them. The mountain is the symbol of the Argentinian Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its coat of arms.
Perito Francisco Moreno named it Fitzroy in 1877, after the Beagle's captain Robert FitzRoy, who explored some of the area in 1834. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone.
The mountain has a reputation of being "ultimate," despite its average height (although being the highest peak in the Los Glaciares park, it is less than half the Himalayan giants), because the sheer granite faces present long stretches of arduous technical climbing. In addition, the weather in the area is exceptionally inclement and treacherous. It also attracts many photographers thanks to its otherworldly shape.
The area, while still fairly inaccessible, was even more isolated until the recent development of El Chalten village and El Calafate international airport. The mountain climb, however, remains extremely difficult and is the preserve of very experienced climbers. Today, when a hundred people may summit Mount Everest in a single day, Cerro Chaltén may only be successfully ascended once a year
So we clearly didn’t go the top of Fitz Roy because you have to use climbing materials since it’s a rock face but we did climb all the way up to the base of it. As we were walking we went through so many different terrains it was amazing! We felt at times like we were in the serengetti plains and at other times it was like a forest, then a beach with washed up logs, then beatiful mountains. It was crazy! We didn’t see too many people on our way up and it was just sooo peaceful. Not a building for miles, it was amazing I felt so close to nature, even closer to God the creator. We walked to a lake at one point and saw a beautiful rainbow! There was even a double rainbow at one point. It was the best rainbow ive ever seen..we could see both the ends!! It was pretty exciting. We walked through a forest for a while that was fairly flat but very pretty and came out in a valley with mountains around it. we were flat for a while but it went through a sort of wetland for a while. There was simple logs placed for bridges in several areas over streams with signs saying (solo uno por un vez) one at a time.. I walked across a real swinging bridge I think. We got to an area that was reminded me of like a french beach or something with rocks and short trees that had been wind blown, the wind was really strong at that point and had a little bit of rain or sleet in it. but we just kept walking and it cleared up again. The clouds were looming in the distance but where we were was allright. We kept walking in the valley and could see a blue glacier in the distance on one of the mountains and started to be able to see our goal, Cerro Fitz Roy. We couldn’t see the top because it was covered with clouds but we could see the surrounding peaks. It was quite a sight..I kept looking around in pure awe by what I was seeing..it was incredible. We came to a spot that had a sign saying the ultimate part of the climb was pretty strenuous and to be careful. We kept going and it was really steep. We hiked up for a long time..about an hour with a few short rests to recourperate. It was a narrow trail that was made of rockes and stones. Most of the rocks acted like stepping stones so it helped a lot but it had rained some so it was kind of wet. we kept walking and all I could do was look up and see it never ending and not even really being able to see the cerros ahead because the hill we were climbing was so steep. As we were climbing htough we could look around and see the beauty of the world. I have never appreciated nature as much as that day and can’t describe the beauty that I saw but I hope I never forget it! We could turn around and see how far we had come and it felt pretty invigorating to see. We could see the river and lake in the distance the valley that we had crossed. We continued climbing upward and when we reached the final ascent where we crested the mountain the view was stunning. On the side we could see waterfals on a near by mountain, behind we could see the valley and distant moutnains and ahead..we saw a beautiful blue lake with a glacier and peak behind it. on the other side was another one and behind was Cerro Fitz Roy. I couldn’t even belive it..it didn’t look real..we had to climb down to the lake and touch it. The feeling of succes and that I conquered this climb felt pretty good. It was nice to be at the tope and relish in it for a little while. We explored a little bit there were five or six other people at the top too at that time. I have pictures that show were we were but they don’t do any justice for it. Post cards that ive seen did a better job but nothing beats seeing it in person. We kept walking because there was like a separation between the two mountains and when I walked over I was shocked to see a waterfall flowing down into a large glacier lake and cerro fitz roy was looming over the top. I could almost see the top of Cerro Fitz Roy but it was kind of cloudy and a storm was coming so it wasn’t super clear, but the other cerros around it wwere just as impressive. I couldn’t believe it was right there, so close, everything seemed like it was straight out of a movie and so perfectly beautiful I just couldn’t even believe it. we stayed up for a few more minutes but the wind really picked up and it started hailing small hail that stung the face, the wind was actually so strong at one point I couldn’t stand up. It was allright htough we started walking back to begin the climb down and the wind calmed a little and it was certainly bearable. As we went to go down a lot of people were coming up and I was so thankful we had come earlier because the weather did continue to get worse as we went down.. nothing dangerous but I wouldn’t have wanted to be climbing up at that time for sure. As we started going down I was constantly turning around tring to embed the scene in my mind so that I never forget it. it was an amazing feeling though..pure success. We headed down and eventually at lunch in a little shelter that was created. The trail was actually really nice and well done. The entire thing was marked well and any areas that were up and down were helped out by having rockes as steps or logs that lined the sides. It was a nice trail and very accessible. It was also very natural, the only parts with buildings was this shelter and a cabin for climbers. It was all taken care of really well too and I only saw like one piece of trash. The goal is to not leave any trash or anything unnatural when you climb and I think that for the most part the people who are climbing a mountain like this respect that and respect the fact that we need to take care of nature and appreciate it. we continued climbing down as it sprinkled outside and we made good time. I got to drink glacier water! The rivers are good to drink out of there and it was awesome! The coldest freshed water ever, better than any bottled water for sure!
We got down intime to warm up and relax before our bus back to El Calafate. I passed out on the bust exhausted, my body was pretty sore by the end. The whole night my legs were like lead and my knees slightly sore but nothing bad , just reminders of what a great trek it had been!

The next day we got to hang out around the town and I walked out by the near by lake. It was a beatiful marshy area with sand dunes that made it look like beach in california almost but colder. The water was a beatiful blue and the mountains were the perfect back drop. We spent the day hanging out..exploring aorund and going in to shops. There is a berry called the calafate berry that is really popular there, so I got to try some calafate jam which was really good. The legend is that if you try the berry while your there you are guranteed to return. Well I certainly hope I return because it was a wonderful expereicne and such a great way to get away from the hustle of everything. It was so calming and peaceful I loved it!

We flew out on Friday morning and I got to see some new airports of Argentina! We flew to ushuia again and had a lay over then to Comodoro Rivadavia which looked like a nice beach town. We went in the airport and found out our next flight ot mar del plata was canceled and we waited around till they told us we were getting routed through Bariloche.Bariloche is another beautiful area that is popular for skiing and trekking. We got in at night so I couldn’t see the area but the post cards showed it was beautiful. We left there for Buenos Aires and finally landed at 3:30 in the morning. It had been a long day, but the trip was pretty great. Everything about Patagonia, the glacier, trekking, exceeded my expectations beyond my wildest belief. I could not have imagined the beauty that I saw and experienced if I had tried. It was truly amazing.

Here are some links to other pictures of cerro fitz roy that may capture it better. http://www.interpatagonia.com/paseos/cerrofitzroy/index_i.html