A fascinating place to be

Leaving El Calafate after two nights heading to El Chaltén again made us feel a bit uncomfortable. Mainly because our experiences on the way from Torres del Paine to El Calafate, which left us shaken because of the occasional gravel roads.
So believing in Google Maps and it's calculated time of 3 hours and 30 minutes we started the trip quite early and were surprised to arrive in El Chaltén saving 1 hour!

Normaly one can see the Fitz Roy "skyline" from far away. But even when it's cloudy the pleasant anticipation can not be kept back

Our cabaña (Anita's House) turned out to be very good. Also the reports about El Chaltén aren't up to date. Nowadays it's more than a village with dirt roads, only one supermercado and also one ATM. It's actually a really nice place with two (!) supermercados and yes, two ATM. In addition there are lots of young people like us and hence a few cafés, bars and restaurants one can easily get to by foot on paved roads. As I said .. a surprise.

Because we had the whole afternoon for ourself we decided to hike to a viewpoint called Mirador de la Loma. From there it's possible to see not only the Fitz Roy but also the Cerro Torre. The weather was nice but the top of the moutains were covered in clouds. We're hoping the best and started the 3 hour hike (one way) from 500m up to 1200m.

Getting to the viewpoint didn't offer the desired view but left us in good mood

On the way back the Fitz Roy allowed us a small insight of what we're hoping to see the next day .. also the view down the valley was worth to pause for a moment

Tired but happy we ended that day with a good pasta meal, some beer and big plans for the next day. Sleeping could have been better without the neighbours passionate screaming but that also carved a big grin in hour faces.

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Pictures copyright by Dennis Willam. All rights reserved.