So after the cancellation of the Antarctica trip, we had a few extra days to explore Patagonia. El Calafate seemed like the only close option nearby, but was an extra 3.5 hours driving each way and a border crossing into Argentina.
We picked up our car in Punta Arenas, the pickup was by far the best rental car experience I have ever had. They were super clear and thorough to make sure I understood everything, and were able to setup the paperwork for us to cross the border to be picked up the next day in Puerto Natales. The paperwork bit was important because the next day, 3 out of 4 groups of people were unable to make their trip happen because they didn’t have the paperwork.
We first drove south from Punta Arenas, to drive to the end of the road, this is the furthest point you can drive to in Chile. It was nice to take a walk from their and see some more of the straight of Magellan.
We then turned north for about a 3 hour drive to Puerto Natales, a somewhat boring drive through unpopulated lowlands, though we did get our first sight of guanacos. The city of Puerto Natales was also not so interesting, but it is the best spot to visit Torres del Paine, more about that later.
The next day we headed to El Calafate. The border from Argentina to Chile was interesting, first you stop on the Chile side, get out of your car and go through 2 steps to get your immigration and car paperwork checked and stamped. Then you drive about 6 miles of no mans land, where the road is unmaintained and then go through 2 steps again on the Argentinian side. Lastly we were questioned by an seemingly overzealous guard on the Argentinian side as we drove through the gate. Though he might have been flirting with our hitchhikers. Charissa had seen two girls on the Chilean side with a sign for Calafate, so we picked them up in no mans land. They spoke Spanish so they spoke with the guard, I couldn’t quite ascertain if he was serious with his questions or just joking around.
We don’t often pick up hitchhikers, but this was a nice change as the conversation helped us during the drive to El Calafate, they were young ladies from France and Spain touring South America. The google route had us taking 40 the whole, though one section was quite rough gravel road, so despite being a lot shorter, if you are taking this, just stay on the paved road. This was by far the most uninhabited section of dry grassland we have ever been through, far more desolate than some of the places we visited in New Mexico or Utah, so it was interesting but also boring.
El Calafate was a nicer city, with a Main Street lined with cool shops and restaurants. We originally planned to see Perito Moreno glacier the first day and tour some other sights the next, we discovered that it closed at 6 and at 4:30 we were still an hours drive away. So we saved this for the next day and had a lazy afternoon. The next day we headed out to Perito Moreno a short drive from Calafate. Just after entering the park, we saw some hitchhikers, the same girls from yesterday, so we picked them up, and toured around together the rest of the day. Perito Moreno was awesome, the topography stops the glacier from advancing any further, so you are able to walk on a hill directly across from the glacier, with it calving chunks of ice on each side. It’s a rare opportunity to get so close to the face of a glacier with out being in harms way. We spent almost 2 hours walking all the paths and watching and listening as chunks broke off, making a ton of noise and a big splash. This was one of my favorite sites I have ever been to, in hindsight I wish we had stayed longer so I could have caught a major calving event on video, but we were all getting cold.
We spent the rest of the afternoon touring some other parts of the park, it was relaxing, but really there isn’t much else to see around Calafate. We did however get a flat tire on the way back, but this was a quick and easy fix. 20 minutes to change on the side of the road, and only 3000 pesos or about $5 to get it fixed in town. We did take the time in Argentina to get a traditional Parillada, a large selection of various cuts, lamb, beef, chicken and sausage, and a little salad on the side, washed down with a nice Malbec. This brought on good memories of past Argentinian trips and left us stuffed for a relatively low cost.
Despite being short the side jaunt was sweet. And we just touched on part of Argentinian Patagonia, there is so much more to explore, so hopefully someday I can come back.
