a group of 7 eager trekkers and 3 guides met up at 6.45h…the hike wasn’t so bad until we got to a spot where you have to cross the water by hooking your harness to the cord and pulling yourself across upside down.  i got to the middle and realized i couldn’t pull anymore…probably due to years of not working out.  it looked so easy when everyone else went!  i grunted and put forth all my energy and finally at the shore one of the guides had to come down and pull me over. how embarrassing.  i blame the backpack that was weighing me down. haha.  from here we could see the glacier but our guide informed us it was still another 3 hours…

the view was incredible the whole way, but nothing compared to the view when we finally reached the edge of the glacier.  with the cerro torre in the backfround, we could see cracks and holes where rocks had been moved to reveal untouched glacier.  here where the water pooled, the color was so pretty.  clear turquoise.

we attached claw-like spikes to our shoes so we could walk on the ice and finally started our adventure on the glacier.  if there was a little hill, our guides carved out steps with their tools so we could follow. walking on the glacier was easy-at least with the help of the claws.  after a short walk we were at our spot where we would try glacier wall climbing.  it was also lunch time!  it was really cool to look around and be surrounded by glacier walls as we ate.

the guides set up our safety ropes and in no time were calling us down.  i’ve done wall climbing but this wall looked daunting because it was flat.  but it wasn’t too tall…about 25 feet.  you’re harnessed anyway and the guide gives you just enough tension so i wasn’t scared of falling.  i’m sure he could’ve pulled me up from where he was standing at he bottom.  the spikes we attached earlier also helps you climb, but this took a bit of getting used to. basically, you have an ice pick in each hand that you stab into the ice, and pull yourself up as you push down with your weight on your feet.   i was surprised at how much weight the claws could hold!   done correctly and the claws at your toes are strong enough to hold your weight.  the guides scaled the wall like there were footholes.  once you reach the top, coming down is like rock climbing where you just rappel down bouncing against the wall.  what an incredible experience…i would so recommend it to anyone that has a chance!

the loma del pliegue tumbado hike is easy and pretty short-12 km and a few hours one way.  the viewpoint was really windy but provided a great view of fitz roy and the laguna torre glaciers i was to climb the next day.

poincenot hike was only about two easy hours for a diferent angle of fitz roy.  i also found that the time the reference point gives you really overestimates your pace, so this was good news.  just make sure you bring lots of water…there aren’t any fresh water supplies on the way.

there are a few companies that take you here from the main bus terminal, unfortunately they leave you for a bit too long.  the options are 9h and 13.45h departures with 17h and 20.30 pickups.  we were pretty much done marveling by 18 and spent the rest of the time playing cards.   bring food, (the restaurant closes at 19h) drink and a book! the park entrance is also pretty steep-75pesos.

contrary to guide books, there are also heaps of cheap hostels!  lots of flyers can be found at the information desk along with adverts on poles for ones starting at 30pesos.  if you are only traveling by yourself or with another person, i wouldn’t book ahead.  the ones on the internet all pretty much start at 45…

the bus stopped off in rio gallegos for 5 hours.  depending on the border crossing, you might get there with +/-2 hours. so plan ahead.  also, buy your ticket in cash if you can.  credit card transactions do not have this option. if you find an earlier connection (18h instead of 20.30h) they will buy it back with about 80%.  then you can buy the new ticket at whatever the cost.  this gives you the option of hopping on the earlier bus to save you time.  unless you want to stick around rio gallegos, which i don’t think you do. it is so far the ugliest place i have been to.

i ended up doing the shorter hike along the beagle channel to lapataia bay at the end of route 3.  i think it took about 5 hours.  also towards the end of this trek there is a free campground.  the difficulty was listed at medium for some places but i would say it was all pretty much easy.  a beautiful and relaxing hike for the day.  there were no steep climbs, and the hike was done by sticking to the clearly defined path.  due to lack of preparation, i trekked fine in my mesh running shoes.  if you want to do a more strenuous trek my friends did another that took about 8-10 hours through terrain like waist-high water and mud faces where proper gear was needed.

things to note!  the park is free before 8am. get there early if you can.  at the start of your journey, there is a dock with a “end of the world” post system.  bring your passport. because like machu picchu, they stamp your passport.  i forgot.  route 3 goes from alaska to the end of this park (17,848 km), so take a photo with the road sign!

the town itself is of course touristy because this is where cruise ships leave for antarctica.  a lot of “end of the world” souvenir shops and tour agencies.  besides that, the setting is gorgeous.  a little town sandwiched between snow capped mountains and the water.  i’ve never been to alaska but the scenery is kinda what i imagine it to be. really picturesque and calm.

puerto madryn is not at all busy compared to mar del plata, but more of a laid-back community.  even if you are in the centre you can find enough space on the beach to get some sun.  it’s also a really cool place because from here you can visit a lot of other towns and attractions.

a tour i did was to punbta tombo, which has the biggest colony of magellanic penguins!  you get to walk alongside their nesting grounds and a lot of them walk right by you!  it was absolutely amazing.  some baby ones were shedding their fur, some were mating, and others were just sunbathing.  i really wanted to poke one but since the tour guide heard me say it he kept a close eye on me.  so a no-go on that one.

on the way back we visited gaiman, a welsh village founded in the 19oo’s.  it was kinda weird to see welsh writing in this setting having just come from there.  the main attraction here are tea houses that serve welsh tea n cake.  a lot of teahouses n bars were in both welsh n spanish but the ice cream lady didn’t speak a word of welsh.  so that was kinda a disappointment

the local transportation system here is pretty bad.  there’s a bus (the size of a regular 40 seater coach) that runs every half hour to the city centre.  along with the ones in the centre, these colectivos are privately owned.  so it’s a bit more expensive and get full during peak hours.  you have to flag it down and hope there is room, otherwise the driver will pick up a few people and leave the rest to wait another half hour.  geting off is also annoying, because there are people crammed in the aisles you have to push past to get off.  i can’t imagine having to to this everyday…