South America Trip - Day 14

Los Glaciares National Park Day 4!  Somehow, I’m still not sick yet.  Most of the rest of the group except for me, Janice and Kathy have come down with the nagging cough - two of the older guys have missed several days of events.  Earlier, I thought this cold may have traveled with us from the USA but now it appears to be widespread in El Chalten (other hikers have it).  Riding in the van and sitting near people in restaurants has made me feel sure I’m next but, perhaps, the exercise I’m getting every day in the mountain air is counteracting the other factors.  My day started a bit later (woke at 0630) and I met everyone for breakfast (cereal, fruit, eggs, meat/cheese sandwich) in the El Barranco lobby at about 0715.  By 0800, we (12 members of the group) loaded up in the van for our day’s adventure on the north end of the National Park.  Actually, we crossed the official park boundary (on to private land) again, drove north of El Chalten for about 40 km and arrived at the southern end of Lago del Desierto at around 0920.  One thing that was completely different about today was the fact that our driver (Augustin) had brought a huge trailer full of mountain bikes!  After parking at the Base Camp for hikes to Glaciar Huemul, we first took a short walk to an overlook over the lake.  At that point, we were only about five miles from the Chile-Argentine border but the crossing was only accessible by boat (and then by foot) in the summertime.  Luis told us that a location nearby was the scene of a small but violent skirmish between border patrol teams on November 6, 1965.  The situation eventually led to rapport and resolution, fortunately, but is still remembered as an unnecessary tragedy.  Back at the van, Augustin and Julie helped fit us with all the gear we needed for our 20 km bike ride.  Our guides provided brand new (18 speed) mountain bikes (complete with a modern shock absorber system), helmets, biking gloves, water bottle and reflective belts.  After a safety brief from Luis, we were ready to go!  At first, I had some trouble with the bike I’d been given - the seat was too low (I fixed that) and the brakes made loud squealing sounds when applied.  For the latter problem, I ended up having to wait for our “Sag Wagon” (Augustin) to help - he ended up giving me a different bike that worked just fine afterwards.  Armed with new equipment, I made my way towards the front of the group (Ed led the way and Janice/Kirk, Shelly/Tony followed close behind).  Unlike most of my previous mountain bike rides (on nice crushed stones or pavement) the riding surface was made out of huge stones that probably came out of the river.  Rolling over them was rather unpredictable and I had to concentrate A LOT (result = few photos).  But I eventually got the hang of things. We made stops at several waterfalls (one had some pretty red flowers called “tears of the stream”) and at a memorial for the 1965 conflict.  After that, though, Luis gave us free reign in a few places and those of us who bike more often had a great time racing on the gravel roads.  We did have to watch out for oncoming cars but we successfully avoided problems.  Our weather was great (50s and clear), scenery was awesome (high peaks on either side of the valley) and the bikes worked well (by the end, I was digging the shocks!).  After passing Laguna Condor, we began to watch for signs of the Huemules Reserve, a private resort (and residential) area near the road crossing of the Rio Electrico.  When the front-runners arrived (1245), Luis showed us where to put our bikes and where our group picnic would be.  After everyone else (including our van) arrived, Augustin and Julie set up a huge lunch spread.  While they were busy, we walked to the Huemules main building so we could take a tour of their museum.  Inside, we found a very nice series of displays that covered the natural sciences (and some local history) of the Reserve.  By 1315, it was time to eat and we got to enjoy a typical Argentinian picnic: fruits, empanadas (meat and veggie), assorted meats and cheeses, chocolate and potato chips.  Topping off the meal was a big can of Imperial Lager (Cerveza Extra), an Argentinian beer.  At about 1430, Luis and Alvaro suggested that we begin our second planned event in the area: a hike to the Laguna Azul and Laguna Verde.  We just had to walk west on a gravel road until we reached the trailhead and from there we had about 40 minutes of climbing.  It started to sprinkle a little bit but I stayed mostly dry under the good tree cover of the forest.  At the top of the climb (a long ridge), we could see a lake with a deep blue color that sat at the foot of snow covered mountains.  On the other side (towards the east), we saw a dark green (almost emerald) pond with lots of reeds in it.  Luis told us the different colors were the result of lake depth and sediment density.  We soon headed downhill and circled back towards the van by a different route.  During our circuit, we saw lots of flowers (including our third kind of orchid), several kinds of birds (many ducks) and more of the large European Hares that seem so ubiquitous.  We also crossed a few torrents (almost waterfalls) on rickety, one-person-at-a-time, suspension bridges - yikes!  I quizzed Luis about some of the animals and he told me about two invasive species (the beaver and a mink-like mammal, both from North America) that were wreaking havoc in Patagonia.  Later, I practiced more Spanish with Julie and got tips about travel in Buenos Aires from both her and Alvaro.  At the bottom of the hill, we reunited with our driver and a few folks that hadn’t taken the hike.  We then started the 40 km drive back to El Chalten (on the way, I had another beer).  JoAnne was sitting near me and she told me all about her home in Western New York, Shelly & Tony made more specific plans with me regarding our trip to Uruguay and Kathy shared some of her Australian licorice.  By 1645, we were at the hotel - Alvaro was having trouble with the restaurant reservations but told us to meet him in the lobby again at 1855.  I cleaned up and checked on some of my travel plans.  When our group reconvened, we just had to walk a short distance to the restaurant, La Ceverceria Chalten.  Alvaro had been talking about it since we arrived and I soon understood why: in addition to serving delicious Italian food (most of the workers, and much of Argentina for that matter, are of Italian descent), the restaurant made their own beers (in the Czech style).  For dinner, I ordered one of their Bocks, some fried cheese to share with Kirk & Janice, a ravioli made with spinach (inside and outside) and an apple crumble.  Our server proudly added a “shot-glass” of delicious soup as an apéritif and kept the beer and wine flowing.  Shaowen seemed relieved that we’d finished most of the planned active adventures and happily talked about how much he was looking forward to returning home.  Meanwhile, I became aware of a push by others to just depart El Chalten in the morning and arrive in El Calafate early.  I’d been hoping to do the last hike (Lomo del Pliegue Tumbado) in the morning before we left town but the group inertia was clearly shifting against this.  Fortunately, Alvaro squelched this mini-rebellion and those who didn’t want to hike were told to wait for us to return.  The weather isn’t supposed to be very good (for the first time in the entire trip) so we shall see which people were the smart ones… We paid for our drinks (2100) and we walked back to the hotel.  The temps had dropped noticeably (40s, with wind) so I was glad to have my fleece pullover.  In the lobby, I practiced my Spanish with a different clerk (who was from Buenos Aires) and paid for my laundry (2115).  In my room, I read a little bit before going to bed at the earliest time in over two weeks (2215).  Only one more day of trekking in Patagonia - I’ll be really sad to depart…