This is where the logo for Patagonia brand clothing comes from a mountain range including El Fitzroy and Cerro Torre. These magnificent peaks tower over a tiny little burg that is quickly becoming more and more popular and world renowned for its excellent rock climbing. Kelly and I went with the intention of making some monster hikes and we got our money's worth. Two full days of great hiking and unforgettable scenery. We were met with some wild weather that really tested our mettle but stood strong in the face of torrential downpours, voracious winds, and biting snows. Needless to say we were happy with our decision to supplant our backpacking urges with the wiser and quite economical decision to stay at a hostel.
We returned from El Chalten to visit Perito Moreno glacier in El Calafate, another Argentinian Patagonian city. Here we were able to visit on of the worlds few remaining growing glaciers. Because of its growth it is a great spot to hang out and see calving icebergs. We only caught a few small breaks which was a bit disappointing but it was still quite a sight to behold.
We also around this time decided to take up the hotel's offer to stay on for the final month of the season as full time guides. This allowed me to get some more much needed practice with my Spanish and the both of us some final moments in our favorite places in the park.
This also allowed us to stick around for the final asado (lamb BBQ Patagonian Style) with all of our new friends.
It was sad to leave such an amazing place where we both grew immensely (not just because of the poor dietary choices) and were able to take advantage of such a world class opportunity. We made some true friends and met some amazing people along the way. We send our deepest thanks to Sarah Thornton and Chris Purcell for making this happen, of course to all of our friends at the hotel who helped us along the way, all of the amazing guests we had the windfall of guiding for, and lastly the Chilean people.
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