I spent almost one month traveling in Argentina and Chile, most of it by bus. Therefore, I learned that Argentina and Chile are huge countries, and that I was not used to those long bus rides (24 -28 hours in some cases). Both countries have many types of landscapes, from cosmopolitan cities such as Buenos Aires or Santiago to the isolated life of a “gaucho” in the Patagonia. Before visiting this area you should do some research depending on your interests, and plan the bus itineraries in such a way that you don´t have to stay extra days in certain cities you may not enjoy too much. Here I have some info about a couple of cities I visited in Argentina, I hope this helps for your next trip. For any follow up questions please feel free to post a comment and I will answer it as best as I can.

View when traveling in southern Argentina by bus

MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

On december 27th I left Quito, I flew to Santiago de Chile, then took a 6 hour bus ride to Mendoza (Argentina), a beautiful city (considered the cleanest in the country). In summer it can get very hot (too much for me, a person that lives in the mountains at 2800 meters of altitude), and so, I learnt why do the people from the city still do the “siesta” wich means that every single store or business is closed from 1pm to 3 pm, because it is too hot, you barely see people on the streets (those you find are mostly tourists). In summer, the city has a lot of cultural activities. “San Martin” park is a great area for jogging or just have a pic-nic. If you are a wine lover, Mendoza has many of the best Argentinian wineries that you can visit. Tourism industry is big in Mendoza, especially that one for adventure tourism (rafting, climbing, biking, and skiing(in winter July-August). Perhaps the biggest (literally) attraction is that from this city you can arrange visits to Aconcagua mount, the highest in the Americas.

Summer in Mendoza, San Martin Park

THE BUS RIDE FROM MENDOZA TO BARILOCHE

Buses are very comfortable in Argentina, there are usually two categories: “cama” (which is actually like laying on a bed) or “semicama” which is a very comfortable seat. If you buy your tickets in advance, you may have the option to buy the first row seats on the second floor, which have a wonderful view! Here you can see some of the routes and bus itineraries. From Mendoza, there are almost 60 hours of bus ride to El Chalten. A good option is to take a bus from Mendoza to Bariloche (24 hours), stay there one or two days enjoying the city, doing some hiking, swiming in the lake and enjoying the beaches. Then taking a bus to Rio Gallegos (28 hours), there is not too much to do in this city. It is better if you only have to spend one or two hours there and take as soon as possible a bus to El Calafate (5 hours), a very nice town where you can stay a couple of days enjoying specially the Perito Moreno Glacier. And finally, yoou should take one last bus to El Chalten (4 hours). A good idea is to make this itinerary on one way , and take a flight to Buenos Aires from El Calafate or Río Gallegos(3 hours flight)

Bariloche, a nice city in northern Patagonia.

EL CHALTEN, ARGENTINA

El Chalten is an isolated town in the heart of the Argentinian Patagonia . Even in summer (Dec, Jan, Feb), it is a cold, rainy and windy town. It is a hot-spot for tourism, because is in the closest town to the mytical Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre peaks (I was so happy only knowing that -even if it was cloudy- I was surrounded by these peaks). The town is actually part of “Los Glaciares” National Park -which has no entrance fee because of some historical background-. In this park, you can hike by your own to view points to see the mountains, lagoons, wildlife, etc (It is supposed to be the “national capital of trekking”). And if you like camping there are a few free camping sites in the park. I liked the town really much, their way of living, the nice and simple people, the views, the fact that you can walk the entire town in one hour, and the most wonderful feeling of isolation, that unfortunately this place is losing because tourism is growing too fast considering the size of the town.

The view...only 2 hours hiking from El Chalten, Argentina

The team composed by Nico Favresse (Belgium), Sean Villanueva (Belgium) and Ben Ditto (USA), reached the summit of the Paine Central Tower on Torres del Paine, Chile. This happened at the beginning of this month (February 2009) while  I was there doing some mild hiking in comparisson. When I finished the hike from Bader valley towards the base of Torre Central with a couple of friends, we saw a group of climbers, we chatted for a while, I remembered that one of them was Nico, we just wish them good luck on their climb to the South African Route.  And now, it turned out that their names are in all the climbing websites! What is special about this climb? That this is the first free ascent of the east face of the Central Tower.  And it is only the third time that that route is repeated ever. The first ascent was in 1974 (by South Africans), the second in 2004 by another South African team. They spent 13 days in the wall, climbing, hauling, singing, playing music, etc. in “an endless dihedral of about 1200 meters” with “some spectacular pitches up there on amazing granite with incredible moves!”.  But for me, the most important thing they did was to enjoy the wall, enjoy the Patagonian conditions, and enjoy the company of those friends that you can only make when you climb, those to whom you literally trust your life. Check some of their stories, pictures and videos on the expedition blog, I highly recommend it! It is so much fun.

Panoramic view from the Bader valley in Torres del Paine, Chile Being in Patagonia was one of my lifetime dreams.  I clearly remember once that I was watching in TV a documentary of Torres del Paine (Chile), and thought that I should visit that place.  Later, when I started climbing, I heard stories of climbers in Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, I was specially attracted by those stories about strong winds that can pull you out from the wall, or that the rope goes up instead of going down when you throw it for rappelling.  So many things I read and I heard, including of course those videos of Ermanno Salvaterra, an italian man that is in love with Patagonia and Cerro Torre.  All those things together made me think that I had to be there, someday. And so, that day arrived, on December 27th, 2008 I was flying to Santiago de Chile, took long bus rides for days and finally arrived to Patagonia, the house of some of the most beautiful mountains and landscapes of the world (at least for me).  I also had the chance to hike up there, to the base of some of these wonderful peaks.  Now, I am back in Ecuador, with the strong feeling that I will soon be back to Patagonia, and thinking that any person that likes outdoors and nature should go there, at least once.  If you are one of those, you will absolutely fall in love with Patagonia. During the next few weeks I will share with you some of my experiences in this part of the world, information about traveling and the highlights of a couple of cities.  Enjoy them.

Fitz Roy Cord