YA LEUM.55 — Patagonia, We did Ruta 40
We arrived almost at the end of the world. It always brings a feeling of immensity.
We finished Ruta 3 and started the much more-known National Ruta 40 — Ruta 40.
Ruta 40 starts exactly in Rio Gallegos, where we were, and ends in the border with Bolivia, having a total of 5.100 km.
We had already made 2500 km from Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos when we finally started to go back South, to visit the attractions that are close to Ruta 40.
The first stop was in El Calafate, where the Perito Moreno Glacier is located. I had never seen a glacier in my entire life! In this region, in Santa Cruz, there are many glacier mountains and lakes, including the Argentinian lake with 160 km. In the middle of this lake, you can find Perito Moreno, which has 30 km in length, 5 km in width, and 60 m in height.
Observing an iceberg is an imponent visual experience. The cold blue tones that one can see for miles and miles make us feel like we have just arrived at a cold and isolated desert.
Every day, giant pieces of ice fall in the water, creating a massive roar, which somehow feels like a mysterious sound too. Despite the distance, it seems like it is possible to feel the glacier breathing its cold air against our faces.
The visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier only took part of the day. Once we finished the visit, we continued our trip towards south.
There were many people at the exit of El Calafate, most of them young people asking for a ride.
We had already left the El Calafate area, going through the open road. As usual, only very rarely did we saw another car and everything around us remained as arid as before. That day, the afternoon was particularly windy. In the path, we saw two boys asking for a ride, and, considering that the sunset was quite close, we had no choice but to stop.
They were trying to go to the same direction as us — El Chalten. We were just like them. Yet, in opposite with the past, this time we were the ones with the car. It felt good to give back what was given to us dozens of times.
They had met on the road and started traveling together. That is quite common. A German and an Italian. A little bit of Europe was always great to feel. When they entered the car, feeling incredibly happy, they told us they had been waiting for four hours. Since they were two boys, it was harder for them to get a ride, all other hitchhikers who had started with them in El Calafate found a car in about 20 minutes. That’s how it is… Sometimes you get a car in a couple of minutes… other times, you just get plenty of bad luck!
They were very friendly and well-traveled. Yet, the loveliest part happened when the German guy offered us mate.
Maté is a drink made Yerba Maté leaves discovered by the Guarani indigenous and was most used as a medicinal plant. Maté is most common in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia and Brasil. The drinks remind us a tea with caffeine. The Argentinians drink mate everywhere, at home, at work, on the street and even the journalist on TV. Maté is usually enjoyed together, that is why is so special. It is way to bring people together, anywhere, anytime. For me the really most special thing is that everybody shares from the same cup. Normally in other countries people would feel a bit resist to drink from the same cup, but in Argentina is the most common thing. So, that’s what I did too!
There we were, a Portuguese, a French, a German, and an Italian, on the other side of the world, nearly at the end of the world, sharing this so special Argentinian drink, the maté.
We arrived at El Chaltén in good shape! The boys went to look for accommodation and we stayed in the car. At night, we still got together to have a beer.
El Chaltén is a small village of mountains that are located in the valley where the rivers De Las Vueltas e Fitz Roy come together. Among the many iconic mountains of the region, Fitz Roy is the most emblematic one, due to how it stands off in the landscape, almost always surrounded by light clouds that remind you of smoke, as if it was being expelled by the top of the mountain.
All this region is known as the capital of trekking and we got well-prepared to walk for two days, to reach the lake between the mountains — Las Tres Lagunas.
On a beautiful sunny and pleasant day, we prepared our tent, food, and stove before we left to explore the Argentinian senderos, which means paths in Spanish. We saw forests and glaciers between mountains, and we emerged in the nature that was not yet touched by the Man. We traveled at the pace we wanted, we ate our sandwiches staring at the mountains, and our spirit revitalized.
We spent a night in a specific campsite for hikers and, on the second day, at dawn, we left to continue hiking. On that day, we visited the Capri lagoon, which had an amazing view over mount Fitz Roy. There were plenty of people around the lagoon, simply relaxing, but we still had to go up until the wonderful and unexpected Laguna de Los Tres.
The walk until the Laguna de Los Tres, which was probably the most desired of all hikers, had a few challenging moments. From the Capri Lagoon, we still walked for 3 more hours until we went up an abrupt hill with 400 meters that took us more than 1 hour to climb. At the top of the hill, we found the wonderful, turquoise, magical, astonishing, and imponent Laguna de Los Tres.
Once again, the immensity of nature took my breath away and I felt like a point lost in the map. At the same time, I felt a huge happiness as I was sure that I was having the best experience of my life, side by side with the most incredible person I ever met.
We spent as much time as we wanted there and for some long moments, we were alone. Strangely, there were not many tourists. In silence, we sat observing Mount Fitz Roy, the glacier that surrounds it, and the lightness of the lagoon. I had never seen something equal, and I just wanted to see something as beautiful as that entire picture again.
The day was still sunny, and we were happy as never before.
We had to speed up our pace to go back because we had planned to get back on the road to continue our trip. We went down the hill nearly running but the more we went down, the more the sun started to burn. We were already rationing the water and all we wanted was to rest! We were really, really close… but those that last bits are always the worst…
We returned to the car, rested for a few minutes, ate another sandwich, and went back on the road. I would have stayed for a night, resting in El Chaltén but Mathieu likes to test his limits. So, we went back to Ruta 40, driving another 1000 km until El Bolsón.
February 2018,
Patricia Assis
