Patagonia in winter…a photographer’s paradise – if the weather is good :)
If you speak to any landscape photographer from virtually anywhere in the world, you will find that a trip to Patagonia is on his or her bucket list. Some pretty famous photographers actually run pricey photo expeditions to Patagonia every year, usually in Match or April when the weather is at its best. As things turned out, we had to visit Patagonia in September, just before we would return home in October after 6 months of traveling. So for us Patagonia was never going to be an easy place to take great photo’s in. We knew this once our schedule had firmed up.
Patagonia is not perceived as the cheapest place to visit for a number of reasons, which are mostly transport-related. Flying is the quickest, easiest option, but it comes at a premium price which can be unaffordable to the budget traveller. Long-distance busses are cheaper, but then you are looking at massive travel times. We travelled from Buenos Aires to Mendoza, then on to San Martin Los Andes for three days, before hopping on another bus to Bariloche, the gateway to Patagonia. We spent a day on each of the busses :). Once you travel deeper south your travel woes grow, depending on the time of the year you are traveling in. During the winter months until 30 September, there is no direct bus from Bariloche to El Calafate. To get there by bus involves three bus rides and at least two days of travel. The only other option was an expensive 1hr40min flight along the edge of the Andes – it was for us US$220 well spent as the views were just amazing…
We started our Patagonian adventure in Bariloche, which is renowned for its snow-covered ski-slopes during the winter months. We stayed in the town itself for three days, visiting the popular Cerro Otto on the sunniest of the days. Access is by cablecar if you are willing to pay, or by hiking up the mountain in the snow…so the cablecar whisked us up to the top of the mountain, renowned for the views it has over the surrounding lakes and mountain ranges. We were not disappointed…and the scene was set for our month-long Patagonian adventure…Bariloche was also the place where we had the best steak we have ever eaten, from the famous restaurant Alto El Fuego.
Our next stop was near the shores of Lake Guiterez, which is 13km from Bariloche and is surrounded by snow-covered mountains during winter. Argentina’s most famous ski-resort Catedral is located about 90 mins walk away from the little village we spent two weeks in. We stayed at Los Coihues Hostel and Camping, where we volunteered doing most of the cooking for the staff and other volunteers. We also helped neaten up the place in preparation for the coming summer season. It was nice to stay in one place for a few weeks and enjoy the village life.
About 500m away from our accommodation is the beautiful Lake Guiterez, which is surrounded by beautiful mountains and is just amazing to look at on a clear day…
We made two visits to Catedral during our two weeks in the area….Our first visit ended up being an adventure in itself, as the weather turned bad while we were half way up the mountain on a ski-lift. It started snowing, and the temperature plummeted to -15 C. Damn it was cold! Luckily we saw the weather change before traveling too far up into the mountains, so after seeking refuge in a shelter for an hour, we headed back down the mountain and out of the cold…Not much opportunity to take photo’s, but we managed to capture our experience nonetheless.
Our second trip to Catedral was on foot from Lake Guiterez….We hiked for about 2 hrs along a really picturesque little road which provided us with great views of the lake. Eventually as we ascended we found came upon lots of snow and ice, which was a dream come true for Akhona. So we did a few little photoshoots along the way, and finally the snow-covered mountains of Catedral came into view. The sun was out, and it was amazing to be surrounded by such natural beauty.
After our two week stay near the lake we returned to Bariloche for two days before our flight down south to El Califate. During our earlier stay we had eaten some delicious chocolate and feasted on the most delicious steak we had ever eaten, but because the weather was not great we had not really managed to capture the essence of Bariloche in photographs…That changed on our last day, when we were bade farewell by an absolutely fantastic sunset…
We flew from Bariloche to El Calafate as it is the launchpad into the great adventure that is the Glaciers National Park, and the jewel in its crown, Perito Morino glacier. We stayed at the excellent Calafate Hostel for $25/night in a large private double room including breakfast – what a pleasure. We could also book our day trips at low cost directly through the hostel, with included pick-ups. There are several ways to experience Perito Morino, and we chose one of the more premium options – a daylong boat trip on Lago Argentino on a luxury catamaran which would take us to three glaciers, and get us very close to numerous icebergs along the way. At $115/person excluding park fees of $15 it is not a cheap option, but it was one of the highlights of our Patagonian adventure. Daytrips are another cost which make Patagonia a pricey destination. Where else were we going to see icebergs?
Our boat trip took us to two glaciers before we had lunch at around 14h00. Because the weather was quite bad and snowed in the region of the Apsala glacier, there was not really much to see because of the thick cloud cover. Luckily when we proceeded further to Glacier Spegazzini we got lucky, with the sun coming out. It was a truly memorable experience and Akhona said she will never forget it… Her first glacier, and it is really a dramatic glacier…
We took a break for lunch, after which excitement mounted on the boat as we set sail for the famous Perito Morino glacier. I went out onto the deck early to secure my spot right up front, as with over 100 people on board, it can be difficult to get a clean shot from the back 🙂 It was great just sailing along with the brisk wind in my face and taking in the whole experience. Finally, in the distance I saw Perito Morino…a lifetime dream was coming true…
The glacier is absolutely enormous, and as a result quite difficult to photograph in its entirety. So showing its scale is difficult, but suffice to say that it has two massive fronts, with a point that actually touches the land. A land bridge builds up at the point, and eventually that forms a massive arch, as water eats away at it from underneath. After a few years that arch collapses, which is a sought-after event for glacier-freaks. We sailed past the glacier and were put ashore, where we then spent two hours walking along the walkways which stretch along most of its front.
We really wanted to see some calving of the glacier, so we returned the next morning, this time by bus from El Calafate. We had four hours to spend at the glacier, but it snowed intermittently so we had to seek shelter several times. Nevertheless we managed to witness five carvings during our time there, which was just spectacular…I don’t think I will ever forget the sound of the ice cracking and the crash as it came down….
So after two very busy days visiting glaciers we took a two day break and rested a bit, before the final leg of our Patagonian adventure…A three hour bus ride to the town of El Chelten to see the the iconic Mount Fitzroy. Because of the uncertain weather we decided to book a self-catering cabin for five days in order to take advantage of any breaks in the weather to do the 4km hike to the Mirador Fitzroy viewpoint. As it turned out the weather was good on the day of our arrival, so without further ado we set off at 1pm. It was quite a steep hike for two unfit non-trekkers like us, but we made it to the viewpoint in around 2 hrs. It was worth every step…
What was also pretty cool was the glacier we could see peeking around the corner on the right of the mountain range. We spent about an hour taking in the scene, and of course shooting lots of photo’s as the clouds moved around the peaks. It had rained and snowed on the two days before our arrival, so we were very fortunate to have such relatively good weather straight off the bat.
On the hike back, which thankfully only took us an hour or so, we paused to take some photo’s of the valley on the opposite side of the trail with the Rio de las Vuellas flowing down from a beautiful snow-capped mountain range in the distance…
With thick cloud and rain forecast for the next afternoon, we decided to do the 3km hike to the Cerro Torre viewpoint the next morning, as it may have been our last chance of good weather. We set off at around 09h00 at quite a pace along what turned out to be a less steep but more dangerous trail to try and get a glimpse of the infamous Cerro Torre. We reached the viewpoint with cloud and wind already beginning to move in, and ended up getting a good view of Cerro Solo and the mountains to the right of Cerro Torre, which was covered in thick cloud. We could just glimpse the glacier flowing into Lago Torre…that’s nature for you 🙂
Nevertheless, being the persevering photographers that we are, we shot what we could in fact see on the hike, and came away with a few cool shots anyway.
As it was starting to spit rain, we then beat a hasty retreat back to El Chalten, only pausing to shoot a little waterfall cascading into the aquamarine river below. Although not a total success, we were content with our achievements in the mountains around El Chelten, as the wind came up with a vengeance for the next few days, and the mountains were sometimes fully covered in clouds.
In our final hours in the town we had to walk from our accommodation to the bus station at around 07h00. It was an absolutely perfect day, with clear skies and the sun rising over the snow-capped mountains. This is what we saw…Mount Fitzroy showed itself in all its glory, and we finally saw the Torres with our own eyes…Once more a Patagonian town was kind to us and bid us farewell by revealing its beautiful side…
And so our month in Patagonia came to an end…We experienced cold like we have never felt before, it snowed on us many times, and the wind was just in another dimension and could literally blow you off your feet. The scenery was of course spectacular and unique and we will never forget Catedral, Perito Morino, Glacier Spegazzini and Mount Fitzroy…We were lucky with the weather and managed to get pretty cool photo’s of most of the places we visited. Our final glimpse of El Calafate says it all – the entire mountain range filled the back window of our bus in all its glory…
