Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Good morning from El Chalten, Argentina. We are staying at the base of some of the most famous mountains in the world, but … sigh, we can’t actually see them right now. The weather in El Chalten today is 45 degrees with misting rain and steady winds. Today is a work / school day for us anyway, so if it has to be crummy weather during our time here at least it’s today.

Andi was not happy this morning with our internet situation. The property manager assured him the internet would be fast enough for him to work here today. Spoiler alert: it’s not fast at all. We can barely get enough connectivity for text messages to go through on our phones. It’s frustrating when you rely on information from others that turns out to be incorrect. The property manager blamed the wind for lack of signal, but I think it’s always windy here in Southern Patagonia.

After breakfast, Andi went to a coffee shop to see if the internet was any better there while Tory, Aden, and I started in on their school work. I asked the kids to write another journal entry about Perito Moreno Glacier and Aden responded, “How many times are we going to have to write about that thing?” Well, it’s kind of a big deal, Aden, so more than once.

Andi asked to have our apartment to himself for his afternoon calls, so Tory, Aden, and I walked into town for lunch. First though, we stopped by the laundromat to drop off our clothing. We each have three long-sleeve shirts/sweat shirts, three pants, three short-sleeve shirts/tank tops, and three shorts/dresses with us in our packs. Since it’s been cooler weather the past two weeks of our travels, all of our warm clothing has been in heavy use. Next, we’re traveling to Buenas Aires where temperatures are in the 90’s, so all the shorts & t-shirts in our bags will get a turn.

The kids and I picked a restaurant called Ahonikenk for lunch & ordered spaghetti, carne ravioli, and a bowl of vegetable soup. I also ordered a plate of chicken and fries to take back to Andi at the apartment. The kids and I played hangman on the back of the restaurant placemat while we waited for our food and had a really nice time together.

By the way, I really like that most Argentinian restaurants bring bread to the table as soon as you’re seated, and most have a special condiment to go along with it. This particular restaurant served their bread basket with a lentil relish. Other times, we’ve been served pumpkin, beet, plain hummus, or sour cream & chives dips. Bread service right away keeps the kids satisfied while we wait for our main plates. Amen to anything that makes dining out with kids easier on moms & dads.

Andi finished his calls around 6:00pm, then we decided to get outside to move our bodies. It was still cloudy and cold outside, so we couldn’t see the famous Fitz Roy or Torre mountains. But! It was still nice to get some fresh air and see our new town from a bird’s eye view.

We ventured along a 1 km path to the Mirador de Los Cóndores viewpoint which left from the Visitor’s Center in town. We parked in the parking lot there, then started our walk up the steep hillside. Apparently, Argentinians haven’t heard of a switchback! The steep hill had our lungs pumping.

Placards placed along the trail kept the kids occupied learning about Andean Condors. I told them they each needed to remember one fact about the birds, so Aden was busy reciting them aloud as he walked. “Can I just tell you my fact now so I don’t have to remember it?” he asked.

The walk ended on top of the hillside with views of El Chalten below. We could easily see the town, but the mountain views behind it were completely socked in with clouds.

That’s Rio Fitz Roy running alongside the edge of town.

From the viewpoint, we had the option of continuing on the Aguilas trail for another kilometer more. We started down the trail a little ways before Aden and Tory started to grumble about the hike already being over and then Andi said he was hungry anyway. We walked less than half-way on that trail, and then turned around to walk back down the hillside to the parking lot.

Andi and I were surprised how busy restaurants already were at 8:00pm. I suppose it makes sense that if people have been out hiking all day, they’ll be hungry and want an earlier dinner. This is a very different pattern than what we’ve experienced in Argentina so far. We drove down the streets of El Chalten until a place jumped out at us. Andi picked a parilla (grill) called Patagonia Rebelde with smells piping out of the smoke stack and fortunately, we were able to find a table inside right away. We ordered an arugula salad, steak with chimichurri, two chorizo sausages, and a side of mashed potatoes to share. The food came out quickly and tasted fantastic.