Stay on the road long enough, and one is bound to have a disappointing experience, particularly after arriving at a place with rather lofty expectations. Such, sadly, was our experience in El Chalten, home to the majestic Mount Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy is to Argentina what Torres Del Paine is to Chile – an unbelievably magnificent and truly iconic peak ( or set of peaks ); in fact the two are geographically not far apart, both set in beautiful national parks and both attract hikers and mountaineers from all over the world. Both can be a little shy, often hiding behind the ever present Patagonian clouds, but while the towers of TDP ultimately revealed themselves to us in their full glory, we were not so fortunate with Fitz Roy. The lesser peaks we did see and almost had the largest peak show itself, but just not quite. Bummer ! While still a mystical image even while partially shrouded this is one that people come from far and wide to see. Two and half days in El Chalten where we did manage a few nice hikes, and saw some amazing condors ……. but never saw the “full Fitz Roy”. Lying at the bottom of Patagonia and not far off Route 40 El Chalten was fun nonetheless – much smaller and its pleasures more “outdoorsy” than nearby El Calafate.
The attractions in El Calafate and El Chalten are well known and attract travellers in their thousands but the next areas of interest along Route 40 lie further north; in fact, much further north. If miles and miles of desert highway interspersed only with wandering guanaco are your bag, then you have about 3 days of unadulterated joy as this national highway winds it’s way north. While the remoteness was interesting at first, that soon wore off – the town of Esquel could not come soon enough ! There were, though, a few highlights and surprises along the way.
If there is a long and boring part of Route 40 then for the past 3 days we surely just drove it. There really is not much between El Chalten and Esquel although the monotony was broken by a short detour through Route 41 and, fortunately, by some impressive wildlife sightings along the way – foxes, condors, armadillos and several rheas no less ! We didn’t even count the ever-present guanacos that practically line the highways no matter where you are in Patagonia.
In 1979 American author Paul Theroux set out from his home in Massachusetts on a quest to travel as far south in the Americas as he could by train. His written account of the journey, ending in the quaint Argentinian town of Esquel on board a short narrow gauge railway that bore the name “Viejo Expreso Patagonico”, later became a travel epic, “The Old Patagonian Express”. The train still runs, though on a shortened length of the original track, but still gives riders a sense of what travel was like in those earlier days. Hugely popular with Argentines and foreigners alike (there are fewer and fewer of these narrow gauge lines left in the world ) we throughly enjoyed the journey on this railway icon – fun it is, “express” it is not though this one is all about the journey, not the destination.
Esquel, nestled in the foothills of the Andes, is surrounded by a beautiful national park (Los Alerces), a popular ski hill ( La Hoya )and a host of other attractions that kept us occupied for a few days as we enjoyed the city’s sights and the surrounding area. For now it was simply nice to be back in a small city that had all the trappings of civilization. A few things hit home as we were nearing Esquel – it was getting considerably hotter, it was getting considerably busier and we would be touched soon, and for the first time, by the petty crime that can be an issue in Latin America.
Happy to be away from the constant winds of southern Patagonia, seems we traded wind for heat. While 31 degrees is not hot on anyone’s scale it was a sudden shock after wearing long pants, long sleeves and usually a coat pretty much since we arrived. No complaints though, we’ll take the heat any day, and we knew it was coming. What we were unprepared for, though we should have been, was the full force of Argentine summer holidays – suddenly the roads were very busy, and the campgrounds ( at least those in Los Alerces National Park ) were all full. Until now we had been very spoilt ( and had been loving it ! ) having things pretty much our own way. Nice while it lasted.
Just got into El Bolson and I was finishing this blog. We then walked out to the truck only to find that a second hubcap trim piece was missing from the passenger side rear wheel ( the cap on other side had similarly “disappeared” at Torres Del Paine in Chile and we suspected young kids we saw loitering near the vehicle then ). Now we knew it was theft – they simply don’t fall off. Hugely valuable ? No, but they keep road grime from the bolts/nuts and do enhance the look of the wheel. What on earth anyone would want with them here ( they are not even sold in South America as far as we can tell ) is beyond me. And they are irreplaceable here. Alas, they won’t get the front two; decided to just remove them ourselves – now at least the wheels all look the same again.
Are you also entering the Paraguayen chaco , north of argentinian chaco ? I have 2 sisters and their families living there in Filadelfia Paraguay . They speak german as ell as spanish and englisch . Conect with them . One nephwey lives in Asuncion and speaks well englisch .
Henry
Hi Henry,
Thanks for that, and depending on border rules in a few months we may well pass through that way. If and when we get there I will reach out to you. Gracias !
Love your adventures Jeff, thanks for sharing!
Hi Bonnie,
Happy New Year ! Glad you are enjoying it !
Hopefully the ‘British’ on the plate doesn’t get you into trouble!
So far so good, Chris ! Perhaps I should put a sticker of the “Malvinas” on the world map on the side of the camper. One guy has already pointed out it was not there !!!!
Jeff I must say I am a bit surprised by something you stated in this last post. I thought you were prepared for everything and I mean everything, on this wonderful adventure you and Lois are on. No One Endless Road stickers, say it isn’t so !
With the exception of this disappointment I am really enjoying and look forward to reading your blog every Saturday morning. Keep them coming my friend!
Safe travels you two…
Scott
Too funny, Scott ! I read this, then read it to Lois and asked if she could pick the author – she got it in one !!!!! We will work on the stickers……lol !
Always enjoy catching up with you two!
Hi Norm,
Glad to hear from you…….whenever I see bikers down here I think of you and Scott.
Hi to Cathy as well.
It looks like, on Route 40, you finally found your “One Endless Road” 😀. It must be similar to driving through Saskatchewan which we have done many times on our trips to Flin Flon. That’s our ‘Endless Road’.
Sorry to hear about the stolen hubcap bits. I hope somebody doesn’t steal your licence plates!
Hey if you want to see eagles, just come over to our place.
Many great photos again. I especially like the armadillo and the waterfall!
Interesting information about BC and SK (Not to be confused with Canadian provinces 😜.).
And to update your news at home… amid a raging pandemic, we have been experiencing extreme cold and the most snow we have ever seen here. Wish we were there! (Although shovelling snow is quite good exercise. Always look for the Silver Lining.).
I noticed you didn’t mention covid, so I assume they are pretty well ignoring it down there. We now know many people who have, or have had, covid including family members in Calgary (We just got back from there after a week over New Years.). Hospitals are getting quite stressed. They’ve pretty well given up on accurate case counts. Penny has had a bad cold for several days, although a Rapid Antigen Test indicated she is negative.
Happy Trails to You and Lois for the rest of your travels in Argentina and for all of 2022.
Hi Charlie !
Yes we have had a few “endless roads” now Lol !
Glad Penny got a negative result. Bit nerve wracking waiting I am sure.
Interesting that you asked about Covid, and more specifically Omicron down here. There are quite high cases here too but people simply seem to be resigned to it and I think the sense is almost that we’re all going to get it sooner or later. That said we are doing everything possible to avoid getting it-we just bought KN 95 masks and we are going out of our way to avoid any situations where there are crowds in close proximity to us. In that sense travelling more or less alone in our truck is extremely beneficial and until the last few days we really have not seen crowds anywhere . We do all the sanitizing we can and wear masks diligently so I think we are doing all we can. And we have had our third shot. Now it’s just fingers crossed !!!!!
PS: I actually did think of writing about the Covid situation down here but I figured people don’t really want to hear anymore about Covid than they already do in the media at home ! Will try to remember to put something about it in the next blog….probably should.
I tried to send you a photo of our snow, but don’t seem to be able to do that.
Great story yet again. Some lovely scenery, shame about the mountain view – you should have stayed around for a few days. That boring section you referred to on Route 40 looks just like the Nullarbor. We will cross it again this year & we are now up to about 24 crossings, but we love it as it’s forever changing. This year the scrub & grasses were plentiful. Normally there’s lots of roadkill with many Wedge Tail Eagles, but none this year as there was no traffic because of Covid border closures.
Look forward to your next post – cheers.
Yes, I agree ! I have only done the Nullarbor once but definitely it had a similar feel. Twenty four crossings – got to be almost a record !!!
Really enjoying your weekly updates. Ruta Quarenta is a great drive! My (adult) son and I drove it in 2003-04. Actually back to California. Your posts are helping me relive it. We spent New Yrs Eve at a costume party in El Chalten. We took our grandson on a narrow gauge rr today and was telling him about “The Old Patagonia Express” over ice cream. Thanks for your wonderful reports from the road.
Hi Jack, and that is so nice to hear ! Made my day.
Hi Jeff So nice to read about your venture. I feel like I have been on holiday after my read.
We are finally coming out of the deep freeze and it is now pouring rain and melting all the snow.Go figure.
Well Doris has finally handed in the towel and retired on January 7th after some 40 odd years. I will certainly miss working with her. She gave up on the package lol.
Well keep your blog coming. Stay safe and healthy. Happy Trails.
Hi Joy and HNY to you ! Yes, Chris told me about Doris.I thought for sure you two would sign off together ! I can’t imagine MP without the two of you there lol ! But, all good. Things must come to an end and I am sure she has big plans.
Glad you are still enjoying the blog, and thanks for the comments – I really enjoy hearing from folks. One of the blessings of doing this is that, unexpectedly, it is easier to stay in touch with everyone which is nice.
Stay safe, we can catch up when we return in May. Ciao as they say here !