Trekking around Torres del Paine

After two long days on the Argentinian pampa, I reached the small but incredibly windy village of Cerro Castillo just over the border in Chile. This was my staging point for a trek around the Torres del Paine, one of the most famous national parks in South America. I decided to do the "O" and set off with enough food for 6 days. On the third day, I reached Paso John Gardner in perfect conditions and enjoyed fabulous views over Glacier Grey as it stretched down from the Campo de Hielo Sur. From then on, weather conditions rapidly deteriorated with several days of rain and high winds at low altitudes and snowfall up higher. I therefore decided to complete the simple "O" and not make detours up to the base of the towers. Disappointing, but I still saw some incredible scenery.

The window of a gas station on the pampa. Many travellers pass this way...

Back to Chile for the Torres del Paine trek.


Approaching the Torres del Paine.

Camp Dickson in a beautiful setting on Lago Dickson.

Perfect conditions to enjoy Glacier Grey from the Paso John Gardner.

The glacier's crevassed top surface.

The glacier feeds Lago Grey.

A great sunrise from the campsite at Paine Grande. The clearing in the weather was only temporary.

On this morning there was a mystical feel to the landscape between Paine Grande and Campamento Italiano.

The sun came out briefly over Lago Nordernskjold and the wind was howling.

 Not all tents survived the night.

Farewell to Torres del Paine.

A Visit to Perito Moreno Glacier

I visited Perito Moreno Glacier as a day trip from El Calafate. While the weather was not the greatest for taking photos, it was still fascinating to observe the front face of a calving glacier from up close. The front face towers about 75 m high out of the water. While mostly white, given that it was cloudy, some crevasses and fissures were an iridescent blue. Small and large pieces of ices would occasionally crash down into the grey water below. Quite a spectacle to watch.

The Perito Moreno glacier extends 30 km up to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field and is one of only 3 in Patagonia that is growing.

 The glacier's advancing front face.

Boom!

Back to Argentina: Villa O'Higgins - El Chalten - El Calafate

Next stop: Argentina. It was necessary to take a boat across Lago O'Higgins, then ride/push the bike along a remote and rough 25 km section of single-trail to reach the Argentinian border post at the head of Lago del Desierto. I had a great view south down the lake to 3375 m Mt Fitzroy and its surrounding peaks.

After taking another ferry to the south end of Lago del Desierto, I finally reached El Chalten. This rapidly growing little village was my base for hikes to Cerro Fitzroy, Cerro Torre, and Campo de Hielo Sur - the Southern Patagonian Icefield. It's not an easy place to reach and the sweeping view across the Viedma Glacier to the vast icy interior was a real highlight. 

Mindful of wanting to reach Ushuaia before the end of March, I pushed on to El Calafate and had my first taste of headwinds on the pampa. The next few weeks are going to be tough! 

All aboard - the boat across Lago O'Higgins. 

At this point I'm one of many cyclists. The nice thing is we all know each other, having ridden the same road during the previous weeks. 

Unfortunately, we're leaving the good weather behind us. 

Goodbye to Chile (but not for long).

Riding the pass to Argentina. 

No road, just a well-worn track. 

With some nice forest. 

Into Argentina!

Lago del Desierto with Cerro Fitzroy in the cloud at the far end. 

End of a pretty tough day. 

Cerro Fitzroy and surrounding peaks in perfect weather with Lago de Los Tres in the foreground. 

A redheaded woodpecker doing his thing. 

Approaching Cerro Torre. Cerro Torre's the first of the three spires. 

Cerro Torre from Lago Torre. 

Hiking in to the Viedma Glacier. 

Lago Viedma. The glacier is to the right hidden behind the hill. 

Up on Paso Heumul with a view across the glacier to the peaks of the Southern Patagonian Icefield. The wind was crazy. 

Perfect for condors! There were three of them. 

They were fascinating to watch as they hovered effortlessly over the glacier. 

Time to move on from El Chalten and cross the pampa to El Calafate. 

Out in the pampa, an armadillo crossed my path.

Coyhaique to Villa O'Higgins

The second half of the Carretera Austral began with a 100 km ride through to Villa Cerro Castillo. The impressive craggy peaks of Cerro Castillo watch over the town. From there, Ruta 7 deteriorates to a rough gravel "ripio" road through
the mountains to emerge again on the shores of Lago General Carrera. This is the second-largest lake in South America behind Lake Titicaca and feels like an inland sea. The contrast of its blue waters against the barren brown hills of the surrounding countryside is stunning. 

After a night in Puerto Rio Tranquilo on the shore of Lago General Carrera, I continued south on the ripio to Cochrane, the last proper town until Villa O'Higgins around 220 km away. The summer festival was in town so it was a good chance to encounter people from the Aysen Region and learn about some of their customs. 

Loaded with food for 4 days, I set off for Villa O'Higgins. After 2 days, I reached the tiny village of Caleta Yungay and was back at sea-level. I arrived in the middle of a storm with a malfunctioning rear derailleuer, so things were not looking great at that point, but after a good sleep I could resolve the problem the next morning.  From Caleta Yungay it was necessary to catch a ferry across the fiord to Rio Bravo in order to continue the journey on Ruta 7. The weather, which had been rainy and cold, cleared up as I rode south and when I finally reached the remote little village of Villa O'Higgins, I saw it at its best.

Happy to have completed the Carretera Austral, my mind turned to the challenging route south to El Chalten in Argentina. 

The craggy peaks of Cerro Castillo. 

Rounding the shore of Lago General Carrera. 

Lago General Carrera. 

Heading south on the ripio to Cochrane.  

At the meeting point of the azure blue Rio Baker & grey Rio Chacabuco (top left). 

Rugged country near Cochrane. 

Still following the Rio Baker. 

Arrival in Cochrane. The end of the Carretera is finally within reach. 

Faces at the summer festival in Cochrane. 

Plenty of food and fun. 

My cycling buddies planning the next leg of the journey in the army barracks at Yungay. 

With the weather clearing, I took the ferry across the fiord to Rio Bravo. 

The Carretera is nothing for softies...

The final few km's to Villa O'Higgins. 

Ane the bike's still going strong. 

Some impressions from a great day-hike near Villa O'Higgins.