Nov 9, Estancia La Angostura to El Chalten
We were up, dressed and at breakfast by 8:30, a beautiful morning: cold but not terribly so, and very windy. After a quick meal, and after being greeted enthusiastically by the numerous dogs who call the estancia home, we decided to take a walk to stretch our legs along the marsh lining the road entering the property. In the distance were cattle and sheep accompanied by flocks and flocks of birds of all sorts, most of which we have never seen and are unique to South America. Closer to us on the road, flamingoes and a plethora of fowl were nesting, bathing and enjoying the bright morning.
We were on the road by 9:30, again a very long drive to go (5+ hours) on gravel roads (Knox said they were “good, wide, generous, gravel roads), with more occasional buttes and mesas, tons of sky, many ñandus and lots of guanacos, now in herds. The terrain continued to be incredibly vast and quite dry, with no vegetation except scrub, kilometer after kilometer. Eventually, we began descending the high Patagonian plains to the brilliantly green-turquoise glacier-fed lakes. Then, finally, we began seeing glimpses of the glaciers, Fitz Roy and El Chalten far off in the distance. Sadly, much of this land was taken over by ranchers in the 80s and is now fenced everywhere, and the guanacos cannot see the fences and so get caught and tragically die…many of them, dozens and dozens can be seen dead, dying or many years passed.
We were glad to reach the national park, Parque National de Glaciares, and then couldn’t help but focus on the looming Fitz Roy, first in the distance and then moving closer and closer as we approached El Chalten, a small town sitting literally under the shadow of the monument. We came into the center looking for the gas station, eventually realizing we had missed it back on route 23 as we came into town; it’s a YPF gas station but with no frills, just one attendant and one pump, and barely a sign. But, they had diesel!
We started for the lodge, called Laguna del Condor de la Montana, another hour’s drive; we continued on route 23 around Mount FitzRoy to the east into a wooded area with lovely glacier-fed streams, shallow, with rapid currents, and the north face of Fitz Roy towering above us. Finally, we entered the property of 8 cabins with a central lodge, and, once again found we were the only guests for the night. We were met by the manager, unloaded, and headed off for an hour-long hike, with no one in sight except for a large bull, and several calves and cows, whom we startled into a stampede (no, a trot) away from us. We were pleasantly surprised by the woody terrain, again not unlike the US American West, with lots of trees and streams and mountains (including FitzRoy) above. Clearly, near the glaciers, there is water enough to feed these green ecosystems in the middle of the barren, windswept landscape of most of Patagonia. We retired for a nap and then went back to the main lodge for a wood-fired hot tub with wine with perfect views of the changing light on Fitz Roy. Later, we had the main lodge to ourselves for dinner and went to sleep in complete silence, except for the wind, in our cabin in the middle of the woods.
CHECK OUT THE GOOGLE DUMP OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS of the ESTANCIA LA ANGOSTURA to EL CHALTEN HERE:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8ifRgc7r6VLFA5oM6
Laguna del Condor de la Montana: the staff is just incredible as they literally meet your every request, including explanations of the flora and fauna in detail. The cabins themselves are very small, but no matter; the bed was beyond comfortable (I think I slept better there than I have in years)! Yes, expensive for a cabin in the woods, but if you throw in sleeping under Mount Fitz Roy in the middle of nowhere, excellent food, a wood-fired hot tub and excellent service, worth it!
