Argentina - Fitz Roy last week, Antartica Tomorrow!

We have had quite a couple of weeks. We started in the town of El Chelten. It is a very amazing little town - it was first constructed in 1985. The water for the town water is pumped straight out of the river. There is no contamination in the river so it still requires no treatment. A local guide told us that before the streets were paved they used to walk around wearing ski goggles to prevent getting sandblasted by the gravel.  A local dude welds together junk to make litter baskets that look like climbers.  

Or Jedi Knights!

There is also a chapel in town that was moved brick by brick from Austria. It is dedicated to the many climbers who have perished in the area. 

The wind is always very strong in Patagonia!

The big attraction is views of Mount Fitz Roy. 

We started a

five day trek with a trip to Laguna Torre, the lake below Cerro Torre. The winds here sometimes knocked us off of our feet! We actually managed to see the top of the peak one day!

There are a lot of amazing hanging glaciers in the Fitz Roy area. 

Because we had so much time, we were able to traverse along the entire Fitz Roy massif. 

When we returned to town, we found out that our Antartic cruise had been cancelled due to an engine failure on the ship. The next 24 hours was a frenzy of work via very slow internet, but we managed to find an alternate voyage - and our new ship has a helicopter!

When we managed to make the last change, we celebrated at a local wine bar. 

Yup, Jackie is in love with Malbec! They also have some mighty fine beer!

Our last days in El Chalten we did an amazing trip to the Glacier Huemel. Because the environs are sowind blasted and arid, there is not a lot of wildlife, and the band that is habitable ecosystem is very thin. 

We went to the glacier on a shuttle, which took us upwind. The winds were so strong on the return that at times we had to use our brakes to keep from going too fast! On one flat stretch, Steve went five minutes without pedalling!