El Chalten (also known as "El Shutdown")

Which day to go? We opt to take the Monday morning bus (three hours - "mas o menos") to El Chalten. At the northern top of the Los Glaciares National Park, it is known as the hiking (and climbing) mecca of the area and we are not sure what to expect at this time of year. One thing we CAN count on is that the weather forecast is calling for rain on Monday and Tuesday. We stuff our packs full of warm clothes and rain gear and decide to give it a go regardless.

The ride over begins in the dark as we are on the road by 8 am. Our first stop is the police check point just outside of El Calafate where an imposing Argentinian police officer boards the bus and begins checking for identification.

Except we don't have any identification on us... Oops..

When the officer arrives at our seats, Keir shows his Ontario driver's license, which seems to appease him. Jenn has nothing to show but her bus ticket, which thankfully, also has her passport number on it. After much shrugging, smiling and "lo siento," from us, he hands the ticket back and moves on. We're not being kicked off the bus after all. We can only deduce they are not interested in tourists. But it is a reminder to us to always carry our passports from here on in.

By 9 am we are back on the road and it is getting light... "ish". Along this stretch of the famed Routa 40, we pass by more of the desert terrain, roaring rivers and phenomenal rock formations. By 9:30 am it is looking as though the day's rainy weather forecast is inaccurate.









Then we make the turn towards the mountains and El Chalten. The grey overcast skies reign here....and it rains. By 11 am, when we pull into the town, it is clear that the day will be overcast so views of the inspired jagged peaks will not abound. However, the rain has stopped.





We opt for the trail that will take us past Lago Capri to several other view points of the valley where the Rio del Bosque and the Rio de las Vueltas snake. We are surprised that we can actually get a peek at some of the nearby peaks (not the Fitz Roy unfortunately). We are completely digging the fall colours and stay on the alert for pumas along the trail (sadly no viewings!). We do see the Magellanic woodpecker though and a tree full of Austral Parakeets. The Magellanic woodpecker looks just like "Woody" to us and is wonderfully oblivious to our snooping stares.













Can you see the woodpeckers below?!?




Lago Capri









What we should see:




What we actually see:





Around 2 pm the rain begins again as does the wind. We draw our hoods tight around us and start hoofing it! Got to keep moving to stay warm! Despite the wet, the hike is really enjoyable (perhaps made more so by the fabulous warm tea and first-rate "submarinos" that we have at the delightful Lucinda's Cafe).





At this time of year, El Chalten is a virtual ghost town. There are very, very few accommodation options and even less options for eating! Luckily, a kind woman at a small Kiosko points out the few still-open options on small map we have, and down we head to the only cafe open. The kind woman at the cafe (Lucinda we presume!) shows us many fabulous photos of El Chalten in the winter time and it makes us want to return (even in the winter no less!!!).





Our friends Lum and Fo Cee walk by and join us inside. We pass two hours laughing and sharing adventures before hopping back on the 6 pm bus to return to El Calafate.





Back just after 9 pm, the four of us meet up and go to a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat and some sampling of the local beers. We enjoy Lum (English name: April) and Fo Cee's (English name: Cecila) sense of humor and they keep us laughing for the rest of the evening.