Penguinos!!

In Bariloche I ran into some great people that I had met in Buenos Aires. I was easily convinced to head over to the east coast again to see some penguins!! We took a night bus across the endless tundra that divides the 2 coasts and arrived pretty early in Puerto Madryn. I went up to a Taxi driver to ask where to get a Taxi into town. He just said there are no Taxi´s..... Ummm...well dunno what you call what he was driving but it said Taxi on the side...dunno. We eventually called a cab and got through the rest of the day without too many issues.

Since there were 4 of us, we rented a car and drove about 180km south to the penguin reserve of Punto Tombo. It was the funniest and strangest place Ive ever seen. These penguins live in a frickin desert. They dig holes in the sand, hide under bushes and basically make weird sneezy noises. They were hilarious to watch but not so cuddly up close. There were no barriers that the penguins couldnt cross which meant you and the penguins were often face to face.

After a few hours of imitating penguins and laughing hysterically at ourselves, we ran out of bottled water and headed back to our car. I drove most of the way back which was awesome and scary. We stopped at this Welsh town for thats famous for tea time. Yes, tea time. So we had a spot of tea, biscuits, cakes and it was delicious! The next day we said our goodbyes and all headed in separate directions. Next stop, wine country!!

Headlamps just bring trouble...

Let me set the scene for you. Im snug and cozy in my hostel on a top back fast asleep. Its about 5am and nothing but quiet, not even a snoring drunk guy in the corner bed. Then I hear BANG BANG BANG and immediatly wake to think someone is breaking into the hostel to rob us all (that doesnt happen, just where my brain went). About 2 minutes later my room is full of giggling Irishmen bumping into things and very very drunk. These guys have been doing this every night I was in bariloche so it wasnt that much of a shock. It was shocking when one Irish guy found his headlamp, turned it on and created strobe light effects with his head moving from laughter. What was sooooo funny? I cracked open my eyes to discover a dog. Most towns in Patagonia have lots of stay dogs all over the place. These guys had actually brought one into the hostel! In the morning I found the guys in their beds, both fully dressed and one still in the sitting position with hiking boots on. The dog was gone but thats just a little randomness I thought Id share :)

While in Bariloche I was taking it easy after all my hiking till Nicola, a awesome German girl, approached me to see if Id do rafting at 2 for the price of 1 (they had extra seats to fill). Seeing as my brother would be very jealous and mad at me if I didnt go, I signed up and was on my way to the river the next morning. I had a great boat and a good guide who loved to make fun of germans, so all was well with me. We did class 3 and 4 rapids which started in a forest and got bigger as we entered a canyon that would take us into Chile. The guides were having all sorts of fun contests like who could get all of the rafters flipped out of the boat, and who could pass by giant rocks the closest. Crazy raft guides, but it was very fun. It was cold and rainy for most of the trip, but we were working pretty hard so I didnt freeze to death. At the end of the rapids we walked out into Chile, hiking up a super steep hill followed by horses who were carrying the deflated rafts up the rocky path. We had our pictures taken, cold tired and happy. After the rafting we were taken back to an Estancia (a farm) for a big traditional BBQ and wine. Once again I slept like a baby (the Irish didnt get in til I was up for breakfast).

El Chalten & Bariloche

I thought that the glacier was amazing, but the Fitz Roy mountains blow that glacier out of the water! I took a bus up to El Chalten which sits at the base of some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. The first day I did a small 3km trek up to a viewpoint where you can spot Eagles and Condors. My hostel was a funky wood cabin with only few rooms (but those rooms ere filled with awesome trekkers and rock climbers with great stories). The first trek I did was "the easy one" called Cerro Torre. I thought I was going to have a heart attack because the first 45 min just keeps going up...and up....and up. It took about 3 hrs to climb to the base of Cerro Torre, very exhausting but well worth it. Most of the hike I was really hot, but the base of the mountain is covered in a glacier and the Patagonia winds made sure you were bundled up with the freezing wind whipping off the mountain. I stayed and admired the mountain til i couldn't take the wind anymore an started back. I ended up trekking 20 km (13 miles) through the mountains the first day. I've never slept so hard.

The second day I headed out to see Fitz Roy. I normally am a slow hiker, stopping a lot on hills to "take pictures" but for some reason I was in the zone the second day. I rented hiking poles and trekked without stopping for about an hour til I reached a beautiful lake. From there I continued down into a valley which is totally unprotected from the sun and wind. After 2 hrs through the valley I reached the campground and the base of Fitz Roy. I ate lunch, turned my ipod on the most pump up songs I could find and started my climb up to Laguna de los Tres. Now this trek is average in difficulty until the last 500 meters. Then you are basically climbing over rocks vertically til you reach the top. This is the sort of climb that I would normally not be up for, but when everyone coming down the mountain says "its the most amazing view they've ever seen in South America"....well then you get our butt in gear and see what they're talkin about. I was wondering why I was the only person going up and everyone was coming down til I looked at my watch and realised "good job Alexis, you've picked the hottest time of the day to climb the hardest trail. Oh well, it happens ;o). At the top I turned a corner and was face to face with Fitz Roy. It was massive. MASSIVE. Again there was a glacier wrapping around the bottom of the peak, a turquoise lake and crazy Patagonia wind. Heading back down the mountain was almost as difficult as getting to the top. I was almost in a run by the time i reached the bottom of the trail cause my legs just couldnt step carefully anymore. The trek back was a killer. By the time I was 30 minutes outside of town I thought my knees where just going to give out mid step. I had trekked 30 km (almost 20 miles) that day. No idea how I did that the day after trekking for 20 km. Every inch of my body hurt but I loved it. Its prolly one of the most amazing experiences of my life.