Population Argentina: 44.7 million. Average number of people per square km – 16 (India – 380, China – 150, New Zealand – 15).
Population Chile: 18 million. Average number of people per square km – 24 (India – 380, China – 150, New Zealand – 15).
Our journey northwards through Patagonia took us zig zag across parts of Argentina and Chile in order to view the best that both sides of the southern Andes mountains can offer.
We have often experienced good fortune on our travels, and this particular occasion gave us a look into a working sheep ranch. These properties in the arid environs are huge and are typically 30,000ha or more. An Argentinian/ Kiwi noticed our New Zealand registered vehicle and came over for a chat. It was Barbara’s birthday, and what a wonderful birthday gift. We were invited to the family sheep ranch and the family went to a lot of trouble to make her birthday special, which included organic home cooking and a birthday cake. The Argentina – Kiwi couple have through hard work built up an Eden in the harsh Patagonian steppes. The seasonal shearing of thousands of sheep was in full swing and it was most interesting to be in the midst of all the action. These experiences have added greatly to the pleasure of our travels.
El Calafate is small tidy touristy village and gateway to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina’s Glacier National Park. It is not called glacial park for nothing. It is said that there are more than 400 glaciers in this national park. A large layer of ice covers the Andes mountains in this region and the ice steadily moves down the many valleys to spill into large lakes at the base of the mountain range. In essence however, there are three major and spectacular glaciers, namely Perito Moreno, Spegazzini and Upsala in the park that can relatively easily be visited. There are essentially no roads in the national park, and a convenient way to get up close to the spectacular glaciers is by boat. The three major glaciers slowly inch their way down river valleys and calve in Lugano (lake) Argentina. This lake is the biggest freshwater lake in Argentina and measures more than 1,400 square km. There are parts of the lake that are a staggering 500m deep. The lake has an amazing blue-green colour, caused by fine powder scoured from the rock by the passing glacier.
The Upsala glacier is apparently the largest glacier in South America having a length of 60km and is 70m high where it spills into the lake. This glacier is known to calve huge icebergs and tour companies unfortunately keep well clear of the glacier. At best one only catches a glimpse of the face of the glacier in the distance. One does however get up close to the huge icebergs. These have been carved into fantastic shapes by wind and waves. The icebergs have a beautiful blue colour, said to be oxygen trapped in the ice.
Spegazzini glacier is known as being one of the highest glaciers and the front measures 135m high. This is an incredible sight when one passes up close with the boat. At times one can hear the ice crack as it slowly moves down the valley into the lake. This glacier is very active with calvings happening frequently. Several chunks of glacial ice crashed down into the water during our visit.
Perito Moreno glacier is the most well known and is visited by many thousands of tourists. One can view the glacier from a land based viewpoint, or by boat. The glacier is 60m high and chunks of ice constantly break from the glacier and crash into the lake with a splash. This glacier is bucking the trend by growing bigger every year, unlike most other glaciers that are shrinking, the latter all blamed on global warming effects.
El Chalten is located some 200km north of El Calafate and is the hiking capital of Argentina. The big draw-card is the impressive and dramatic range of exceptionally high columnar mountain peaks. The height and silhouette of the range of peaks make them stand out and are visible across the Patagonian plains from more than 100km. Mount Fitz Roy is more than 3,400m high and was first scaled in the 1950s. These high mountain ranges are of course home to the condor vulture, and every new sighting of this huge bird is a treat. We had much of that seeing two groups adding to 15 birds.
Cuevas de las Manos in Argentina (Spanish for Cave of the Hands), has an incredible and very well-preserved panel of hand paintings. These were made by the indigenous inhabitants as far back as 9,000 years ago. There are literally dozens of hand prints and the hands have mainly been stenciled. It is believed that the hand would be placed on the rock face and a pigmented liquid would be sprayed over the hand. There are also depictions of human beings, animals and representations of hunting scenes painted on the rock face. Most of the painted hands are left hands, and there is one hand stenciled having six fingers.
Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a small village located on the Chilean shore of Lago (lake) Gral Carrera. Its claim to fame are the beautiful limestone caves and rock formations along the lake shore that have been carved into beautiful shapes by wind and water. Colour variations of the rock add to the beauty. We opted for one of the boat rides that take visitors up close to the caves and rock formations. Being out on the water adds to the pleasure of the visit.
The roads on the Chilean side of the Andes in Patagonia are fairly narrow and unpaved. The gravel is loose and slippery. The mountain passes are steep and requires careful driving. The dust is exceptionally fine and hangs in the air on days when the wind dies down. There is a fair amount of traffic, but what amazed us was the relatively large number of cyclists and motorcyclists that tackle this stretch of road. The reward is spectacular mountain scenery and the tranquil rural lifestyle.
Close to the small village of Puyuhuapi is the noteworthy Ventisquiero Colgante, or hanging glacier located in Queulat National Park. The toe of the glacier sits on the edge of a shear cliff. Melt water gushing from beneath the glacier tumbles down the rock face in a spectacular waterfall. A short hike along a forest trail leads to a viewpoint where one gets a panoramic view of this amazing glacier.
The area around Temaco in Chile has experienced a lot of volcanic activity over the past centuries. There are numerous volcanic cones along the route. In one area we came across the remnants of lava flow that crossed the national road during an eruption in the 1990s. The interesting rock formations and strange Jurassic Park-like vegetation was intriguing.
Cobquecura is a small village on the Chilean Pacific coast. This region still has a very rural and relatively undeveloped character. We prefer the backwaters with its slow pace of life. A short distance off the beach, is a small rock outcrop that is teaming with sea animals, including sea lion. Oxen are used for ploughing in the area and one still sees ox carts in the towns carting dried kelp. Locals buy bundles of this product and apparently cook it up as a soup. Huaso (cowboy or skilled horseman in Chile) were riding in the streets and were seen tending cattle in the countryside.
Buchupureo, a few kms further north up the coast, is a busy fishing village. There were a large number of fishing boats on the beach and the fishermen were very busy sorting and packing the fish to be sent to the bigger towns for sale. Apparently, oxen were used to drag the fishing boats out from the surf onto the beach. We looked around but could not see any sign of oxen, nor was it evident how they dragged the boats onto the beach.
We excitedly raced northwards to Santiago to collect Ursula, our daughter, who will spend Christmas and New Year with us. What a great blessing.
