Alright, Who Broke the Fitz Roy?

The Adventurous Route 40

I suppose the route from Bariloche to El Chaltén is supposed to be adventurous because a young Che Gueverra travelled it a long time ago in hopes of curing leprosy, but today is a much different story. Its dry, desolate, and to be quite honest, boring as hell. Though I suppose it depends on your company (a best friend) and mode of transportation (a motorcycle)... I wasn't with either, have not (yet) developed a passion for curing leprosy (is it cured?), nor am I riding a sweet third-hand motorcycle. In fact, I took an overpriced bus instead of hitchhiking, got lumped in with a bunch of other tourists, and am struggling (the good kind of struggle) to find out what I have a passion for.

Other tourists are really starting to wear on my nerves. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I know that my tourist brethren are probably the people who refuse to speak Spanish and maybe make Argentinians so bitter. I, despite what I hope for, am still a tourist. The more that I think of it, the more that I realize that I too am really annoyed whenever a bunch of tourists come to my neck of the woods... Anyway, the point is that I need to change something for the next part of my trip, or I will go insane.

Anyway, the trip lasts forever--about 2 days total--and there is nothing to see until the final hour when you begin to approach the Fitz Roy Range--where the picture from my last entry was taken. I guess that I shouldn't sell it too short either, since you do get to see hurds of Vacuña, imagine a llama with the grace and size of a deer, as well as flocks of ostriches running alongside the road. Its quite amazing, especially since you only see it once withing about 30 hours of driving...

I finally arrived in El Chaltén, which is soret of like heaven on earth, but with more expensive meals and less to do--unless you really like to hike. It was late at night, and I was really tired from sitting so long, if you can empathize. After I got off of the bus I found out athat the stupid tourist agency booked me in a hostel different from the wone that they had promised (I'm not really so lame that i have to book through an agency... none of the hostels in Chaltén will take resrevations over the phone too far in advance, nor will they take them online--I suppose because it costs four dollars an hour for them too... HA!. This hostel was alright, but its the principal of the thing. The constant lying down down here in the tourism business is killing me, and has led me to the conclusion that tourism is a slimey, gross industry. This, as it probably should, has caused me to ponder why we don't have a Minister of Tourism in the good ol US of A. It was a place to sleep though, and I made it through the night, waking up ready to explore all 5 blocks of the town and do a little hiking amongst the breathtaking Fitz Roy Range.


El Chaltén from afar...

The beautiful thing about constant daylight is that you can waste almost a whole day, then realize you still have about 10 hours left. At somewhere around 2PM, I took off for the Laguna Torre and the spires--which I think are what make the range spectacular. When I got to the lagoon, I just sat there in awe. The sky was perfectly clear, the water crystal blue, and a glacier seemed to connect the two with the jagged spires. Life was pretty good then. I just sat there, contemplating things, until boredom and curiosity took hold.


Seriously though, who broke it?

I got up, and unbeknowngst to me, extended my hike... In other words, I zigged when I should have zagged, and headed towards Cerro Fitz Roy. About six hours after I departed, I arrived at Laguna de Los Tres. The skies were cloudy, the wind was chilling, and the sun falling. Still, it was incredible. Though, despite its unquestionable beauty, the Fitz Roy will never be able to compare to the solitary charm of Mount Rainier.



I returned to the other hostel I had found that morning--the cheapest and nicest place in El Chaltén, Hostel Glacier Marconi--at about 10:30PM. The sun had reappeared, and was shining as bright as ever. I passed out, only to wake up the next day, sore, and wondering if embarking on such an extensive hike on the day after my two day bus ride was the best idea. I don't really know, nor do I care.

I left the next morning for El Calafate, and the Perito Moreno Glacier, which I will set sights on this afternoon...