We spent 10 weeks in Chile and Argentina making our way through many of the national parks of the Patagonia region. We started in Punta Arenas, bused to Puerto Natales, picked up a car in Puerto Natales, drove ~2000 miles to Puerto Montt (driving mostly through the famous Carretera Austral (Route 7) which connects the national parks of Patagonia), and did six border crossings via land. We visited 12 national parks (and drove through at least 4 more) and did 27 hikes, which totaled over 230 miles and 55K feet in elevation gain. We then flew to Mendoza for a week. We had planned on doing this trip one year prior as a continuation after our trip to Antartica but we had to postpone it due to Keith's prostate cancer.
We flew to Santiago on business class as we got a last minute cheap upgrade and then had a six hour layover before we flew down to Punta Arenas. We had a rental car for most of the trip but because they had limitations on how long you can rent, we had to break up our rentals into three. We also had to get permission through the rental car companies to cross the boarder between Chile and Argentina. Since we had to bring all of our hiking and camping gear, we were not light packers on this trip!
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| Luggage for the trip |
Punta Arenas and Tierra del Fuego National Park
We stayed for two nights to relax a bit (and as a buffer in case of delayed flights) before we started the rest of the trip. The town is quite large with many colonial style buildings.
Accommodations:
Hotel La Yegua Loca - This boutique hotel is very cute - it is a restored home that is decorated with items representing the crafts and trade of Chile. Our room was the carpenter room with saws as the primary decoration - it was roomy with a very comfortable king sized bed. The staff were super kind and the restaurant on site (see below) was also very good.
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| Hotel La Yegua Loca |
Activities:
Penguin Tour - We took a bus and then a boat out to Magdalena and Marta Islands where we saw lots of Magellanic penguins, gulls, and sea lions. We were able to walk around Magdalena Island where there was a defined path for about an hour and we only saw the sea lions on Marta Island from the boat (we were not allowed to disembark there). It was great to see but of course no comparison to Antartica!
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| Penguins on Magdalena Island |
Restaurants:
Restaurant La Yegua Loca - Located in our hotel, we had breakfast here (included in the rate each morning). We had to get up early the first morning so just had a continental breakfast but the second morning we ordered the lamb stew and avocado toast - both were OK. We had dinner here one night as well - we shared a salad and lamb dish with mashed pumpkin - the lamb was super tender and tasty.
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| Dinner at La Yegua Loca |
Delicias de Rozas Sucursal - We stopped at this bakery and each had an empanada - not the best we have had.
Aima - We had dinner at this cute restaurant. We shared a salad, king crab, roasted potatoes and grilled cauliflower - all tasty.
Puerto Natales Cruise of Southern Ice Field
Accommodations:
Skorpios III Cruise - We did this four night/five day cruise through the Patagonia fjords of the Southern Ice Field (the third largest after Antartica and Greenland), leaving out of Puerto Natales. We had the option to board the boat the night before which we did as it allowed us to get settled. We booked the cruise through Swoop Patagonia as we could not figure out how to book directly. The boat has 45 cabins and we got the largest cabin which had a king sized bed with a sofa and two chairs and a large bathroom. The boat was a bit dated but our room was quite spacious and comfortable. There were two bar areas on the boat as well as a restaurant.
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| Our boat |
Activities:
Each day we had a few excursions off the boat as well as talks in the evening on different topics (e.g. glaciers and natives). Our activtiies included:
- Boat ride to see an elephant seal colony - the colony was pretty small with about 10-12 males.
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| Elephant seals |
- Boat ride around Amalia Glacier - this glacier is in Torres del Paine National Park and is 21km long, 2.1km wide. The right side is advancing and the left is retreating.
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| Amalia Glacier |
- Hike to viewpoint of Guillard Glacier - we walked about 800 meters to get a closer viewpoint of this glacier located in Bernard O'Higgins National Park.
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| Guillard Glacier |
- Boat ride around Calvo Fjord - they brought a smaller boat (we think is stored nearby) that could fit us all and we drove around this fjord that is surrounded by glaciers - one in particular was massive with beautiful blue ice. The served us whisky with glacier ice onboard and the we went to a waterfall to take photos.
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| Calvo Fjord |
- Hike to El Brujo Glacier - this glacier was our favorite - stunning blue colors and we can see some calving. The glacier is about 14km long and over 900 meters wide. After we hiked to it, we then rode around for a while in the smaller boat as we floated among the ice.
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| El Brujo Glacier |
- Boat ride around Parelles and Alsina Glaciers.
- Hike to Bernal Glacier - this glacier is in Kawesqar National Park and is receding quite rapidly. The hike was nice with small trees, berries and flowers around.
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| Bernal Glacier |
Restaurants:
We had all of our meals on the boat which was included with drinks. Each morning breakfast included continental items with eggs, guacamole and sausage. Lunch was a three course meal as was dinner. Generally, the food was very good and the wine options were also quite good. Food ranged from chicken to beef and lots of great fish!
Torres del Paine National Park and W Trek
After the cruise, we picked up a rental car in Puerto Natales, got a few supplies and drove to Torres del Paine National Park where we stayed for nine nights.
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| Torres del Paine National Park |
Accommodations:
Konkashten Lodge - We stayed here for one night before the W Trek and another four nights after. It's located on the south/western part of the park - to get to the main trails, it takes about 1.5 hours so probably not the most convenient but it was one of the cheaper options. The first night was in a small room with queen sized bed and the four nights was in a larger room with two bunk beds, kitchenette, and a table with bench seating. The place was simple but also cute and clean and the owner/staff were super nice and helpful. We were able to store our bags with them while on the trek.
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| Konkashten Lodge |
W Trek Campsites - We brought our own tent and sleeping bags and stayed at Grey, Paine Grande, Cuernos and Torres Central campsites. They were very different than what we had 27 years ago when we did the O Trek. Back then, the sites were very basic with places to pitch a tent and squat toilets - there was no option for food (you had to carry and cook yourself) and limited options for a shower which was cold when you got it. Now, the campsites offer a variety of accommodation options - bring your own tent, use one of their pre-set tents, stay in the Refugio (bunk bed and shared rooms) or even have private cabins/cabanas. They also all have restaurants and bars, Wifi (which you had to pay extra for), flush toilets and hot showers (a luxury indeed). While we brought our own tent, we did opt for half board at each site (see below) to save on carrying that extra weight. Each of the sites were quite clean, some had amazing views (Paine Grande and Torres Central) and some were more fun as they were compact so you can socialize more (Grey and Cuernos). We didn't like the platforms for tents at Cuernos as it was harder to stake the tent and we had to climb up/down each time we wanted to get into the tent. Torres Central was the most modern of the facilities but it was very spread out and it felt like car camping since our car was so close to the site! We booked the sites along with the meals, catamaran and park entrance through Torres Hike which aggregates the booking process across the campsites.
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| View from our campsite at Paine Grande |
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| Campsite at Cuernos |
Activities:
W Trek - Our main event for this leg of the trip. We had done most of the O Trek 27 years ago so we decided to come back to complete it by doing the W Trek. Three of the days were repeat from the prior trek but two days were different to us. We hiked a total of 86km (55 miles) and 3400m (12K feet) in elevation gain. The scenery was stunning and carrying the backpacks was not as bad as we thought it would be. That said, we were quite sore at the end! Overall, the weather was fantastic - sunny with occasional clouds. One day it was overcast and then rained towards the end of the hike and overnight. Our route was as follows:
Day 1: We drove our car to the end of the trek and parked at the Welcome Center at Torres Central. The owner from our lodge had arranged for someone to follow us there and then bring us to Lake Pekoe where we got a catamaran to bring us to the start of our hike at Paine Grande. It cost us $200 to have this guy bring us but we had no other way of getting there! After a 30 min ride on the catamaran, we began our trek to Grey Campsite and along the way, we saw views of Grey Lake and Grey Glacier which were beautiful. It was quite windy during certain sections. After we set up our tents, we hiked another 0.5km to the Grey Glacier lookout point - we had skipped this short walk when we did the O Trek so we had to do it this time and it was worth it. In total, we hiked 14km, gained 400m in elevation and took a bit over 4 hours.
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| Day 1 Views |
Day 2: We hiked back to Paine Grande so the scenery was the same as the day before but in reverse. In total, we hiked 11.4km, gained 313m in elevation and did it in under 4 hours.
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| Day 2 Views |
Day 3: This was our longest day, hiking to the French Valley and then on to Cuernos campsite. Before hiking into the valley, we were able to drop off our large backpacks at the Italian campsite (which is not operational but had water and toilets for us to use) and we brought water, snacks and warm clothes in small lightweight backpacks. We stopped at Francis and Brittanico lookout points where there was stunning scenery of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and rivers. When we put our packs back on to hike the remaining 5.5km to our campsite, they felt so heavy! In total, we hiked 26km, gained 1100m in elevation and took 10 hours to complete. While we stayed away from alcohol the prior nights, we did celebrate with a beer at the campsite after this long day!
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| Day 3 Views |
Day 4: This was a much needed shorter day, hiking to our last campsite at Torres Central. The scenery was nice but no where near as majestic as the prior days. In total, we hiked 13km, gained 450m in elevation and took 4 hours. We enjoyed some downtime at the campsite, catching up on email/internet and having a beer while staring at the beautiful mountains and peaks of the Towers.
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| Day 4 Views |
Day 5: While not quite as long as the third day, this was the hardest day due to the elevation being the steepest at the end. It was also the most rewarding day as we hiked to the Towers (or Torres) which is the iconic scenic landscape of the park. Thankfully, we could leave our large packs behind and we did this with our day pack. We were so lucky that it was sunny and had great views - when we did this hike 27 years ago, it was very cloudy and windy. In total, we hiked 22km, gained 1100m in elevation and completed it in 8 hours.
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| Day 5 Views |
We had intended on kayaking in the park after the hike but it was quite expensive. So instead, we used our time to relax, catch up on tasks, and do laundry. We also drove back into Puerto Natales our last full day as we had to swap out the car before we drove to the next leg of our trip. This turned out to be an all day affair as they did not yet have the paperwork that gave us permission to cross the border into Argentina. At first, they said we had to wait three days but after explaining we had submitted everything months before, we were told to come back at 4pm. So we walked around town, had lunch, had a hot chocolate at a coffee shop, napped in the car and then finally got our documents. After returning to the lodge, we packed everything up so we could leave the next morning.
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| Walking around Puerto Natales |
Restaurants:
Konkashten Lodge - We had breakfast here each morning which included eggs, toast, cheese/meats, cereal and yogurt. We had dinner here as well a few nights - they offer choice of chicken, beef or salmon with a starch and veggies. We got the salmon which was very tasty. They also served a salad, soup and dessert.
W Trek Campsites - We had breakfast and dinner at each of the sites and then brought trail mix and granola bars to snack on during the hike. Breakfast was the same at each site - scrambled eggs with bread, cheese and meats along with yogurt and cereals. Dinner varied from pork and beef with rice and beans to chicken with stir fried veggies to salmon with mashed potatoes. The food at Grey and Paine Grande were served buffet style, while we were served our food at Cuernos and Torres Central. Overall the food was way better than we expected - the best was at Cuernos and Torres Central.
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| Restaurant and bar at Torres Central |
Pampa Lodge / Don Pascual's Restaurant - We had dinner at this restaurant down the road from our lodge. The dining room is large and modern with amazing views of the Cordillera Paine mountains of the park. We shared a yummy salad and filet with risotto.
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| View from Don Pascual's Restaurant |
Mesita Grande - Located in Puerto Natales, we had lunch here sharing a great salad and pizza.
El Calafate and El Chalten and Los Glaciares National Park
Margaret joined us for this part of the trip. We stayed for two nights in El Calafate and eight nights (Margaret was there for six of those nights) in El Chalten. We had been here six years prior and loved the area so decided we had to come back and share it with her. El Calafate is more built up with more options for hotels and restaurants and El Chalten is smaller with more of a backpacker feel. Both towns are very cute but we like El Chalten more - especially since it's also close to some great hikes.
To get here, we drove to El Calafate from Puerto Natales, crossing the border into Argentina. The drive was not very scenic but we had no problems crossing the border. We had to get out the car in Chile to get a stamp that we were leaving and then again in Argentina (a couple of km away from the Chile customs office) to get a stamp that we were entering. It all seemed unnecessarily bureaucratic. We made it to El Calafate in time to check in to the hotel and relax a bit before picking up Margaret at the airport.
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| El Chalten |
Accommodations:
Mabra Suites - Located in El Calafate, we stayed here for two nights. The hotel was right in town so convenient to walk to restaurants nearby. The rooms were very large, clean, modern and comfortable with plenty of space to put luggage. The bathrooms were also spacious with nice rain showers. The breakfast, which was included, was just OK.
AirBnB - Located in El Chalten, we stayed here for eight nights. The house is up on the hillside above town with easy access to walk into town. The first floor had a small kitchen, dining table and sofa along with the bathroom. The second floor had the two bedrooms - one with queen bed and the other with twin beds. The beds could have been more comfortable but overall it was clean and cozy.
Activities:
While in El Calafate, we did the following activities:
Explore Perito Moreno Glacier - We saw the glacier from water, land and air. The glacier is the third largest in Argentina and was famous for being stable up until four years ago when it started to retreat. We drove out to the park and then did a boat/hike tour (Safari Azul) with Hielo and Aventura. The tour started with a 15 minute ride on a boat where we disembarked and hiked for about 1.5 hours to the edges of the glacier. We then did a 30 minute boat ride around the glacier back to the starting point. We had done a tour with this company six years ago that also allowed us to hike on the glacier but they don't offer this option if you are older than 55 which seems crazy. We then drove about an hour to do a 20 minute helicopter ride to the glacier and back - the views were stunning.
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| Perito Moreno Glacier |
Kayaking and Trekking the Rio La Leona River - We did this all day activity with Kayak Santa Cruz where they drove us halfway to El Chalten and we kayaked along the Rio La Leona River. The river was class II so there were a few waves to navigate but nothing too crazy. We got out of the kayaks to hike into the hills, seeing petrified wood and dinosaur bones. We had a quick lunch (that we brought our own) and then hiked back down to get back in the kayaks for the final 4km - the last bit was very windy so was hard to do. We had to change into, out of and back into wet suits for the kayaking which was interesting to do out in the open in front of strangers! Overall, great activity and the guides were funny and informative.
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| Kayaking and Hiking along Rio La Leona |
While in El Chalten, we did the following activities:
Lago Torre Hike - We did this 14.5 mile, 2.5K elevation gain hike to Laguna Torre and hiked up on the ridge to get views of the Torre Glacier. The hike took 8 hours with 7 hours of moving time. It was stunning with great views of the mountains - the clouds, however, were a bit stubborn only occasionally exposing some of the peaks.
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| Laguna Torre Hike |
Horseback Riding and Via Ferrata - Margaret and Keith did this activity at Estancia Bonanza. The first part of the day was riding a horse for two hours with two other Americans, getting to canter a bit. The views of the valley were super. The ride ended at a restaurant on the grounds with huge windows looking at Mt Fitzroy - though it was cloud-covered most of the time. Lunch was amazing...far exceeding expectations. We both had a 4-course meal and a drink was included. The afternoon was then a via ferrata with about 10 others. The route was 600 meters long and 200 meters in elevation increase. A great day!
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| Horseback Riding |
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| Via Ferrata |
Laguna de los Tres (aka Fitz Roy) Hike - We did this epic and most famous hike in town that takes you to the base of Mt Fitz Roy (which is featured in the Patagonia logo). The hike was 14.5 miles and 3.5K in elevation and took us 8 hours (7 hours moving time). It was a stunning day and we had great views throughout. The last 1km is really tough with straight uphill but so worth it once you make it to the top. This time, we also climbed the second hill that gives you views of the two lakes.
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| Laguna de los Tres Hike |
Kayak Lago del Desierto and Las Vueltas River - We drove into the valley to Lago del Desierto where we kayaked across the lake and then down the Las Vueltas River for about 14km. We stopped about 45 min before the end of the kayak to have lunch where the guide made us stir fry veggies and steak that we ate inside their dome tent that was located on a small island in the river. We also have a little bit of red wine. Since the current was strong, we did not have to do much paddling except to steer so it was more of a float - the scenery was spectacular with multiple views of Fitz Roy.
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| Kayaking Las Vueltas River |
Loma del Pliegue Tumbado Hike - We did this last hike with Margaret the day before she left - it's the third most popular hike in the area taking you to a saddle and a peak to see the views of Fitz Roy and Torre Mountain at the same time. The hike was 11 miles and 3K feet in elevation and took us 6 hours with 5 hours of moving time. We made it to the saddle and decided not to do the peak as it looked steep and we read reviews that the views were not necessarily better from the peak. It was cloudy when we got there so we did not get the majestic views of all the peaks but it was still pretty. It also started to sleet a bit so it was chilly. Of course, by the time, we hiked down, the clouds had cleared. That said, we counted ourselves as lucky as we had very good weather up to this point.
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| Loma del Pliegue Hike |
Restaurants:
El Calafate:
Patagonia Brewing Company - We had a couple of beers here when Margaret first arrived. They have a great lager.
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| Patagonia Brewing Company - El Calafate |
Centinela Cocina al Horno de Barro - We had dinner here sharing a pizza and some empanadas. Food was OK.
Asador Parilla Resto Merino - We had dinner here the second night. We shared a shrimp appetizer, two fish entrees and some roasted potatoes. Food was very good.
El Chalten:
Patagonia Brewing Company - We had our first night dinner here, enjoying the beer and lamb goulash. Keith got the lamb burger and we shared fries for the table. We also had dinner another night - sharing a pizza and fries. Great beer - food pretty good.
Maffia Trattoria - We had dinner here, sharing a salad and spaghetti with meatballs. Food was pretty good.
La Esquina - We had breakfast here, each getting toast with eggs and avocado - very cute place and food was great. We stopped here several mornings for a coffee and/or scones/croissants to take with us on hikes. They have a bakery with take-out. We also had our last lunch here - sharing a yummy pasta and trout dish.
La Cerveceria - We had an early dinner here after the Fitz Roy hike - we first went to have a couple of beers (they have great wheat beer) to celebrate the hike and then ended up having dinner as well. We shared the rustic potatoes, salmon bruschetta and a pizza - all tasty. We liked the beer here so much that we went back a few times for beer and also had dinner here another night - this time sharing a capers salad and pasta with meatballs. Cute place with outdoor seating.
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| La Cerveceria |
Bandidos Patagonicos - We found another place in town that had wheat beer so we stopped for a beer after our hike.
Roots Patagonia - We had our last dinner here with Margaret, sitting outside and enjoying the live music. We ordered broccolini (which turned out to be broccoli), roasted sweet potatoes (which turned out to be potatoes with sugar) and a teriyaki chicken bowl. Food and beer were not the best.
La Tapera - We had eaten here on our prior trip and liked it so returned to have our Valentine's lunch after Margaret left. We shared a lamb ravioli and pork chop with a bottle of wine. Cute place and good food.
Cochrane and Patagonia National Park
We drove for nine hours from El Chalten to Cochrane, including about 30 min of crossing at the border. The drive to the border was a bit boring but also challenging due to bad (pot holes, gravel) roads but once we crossed the border, the scenery was beautiful. We had to time our drive to get to two different gas stations to make sure we had enough gas for the ride. The border crossing was eventless (thankfully) but interesting since it's small buildings in the middle of nowhere!
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| First glimpses of the park on our drive into Chile |
We stayed in Cochrane for six nights - the town is small (about the size of El Chalten) but not nearly as developed for tourists. We were definitely in the minority here. There are no hotels that we could see but lots of houses for rent and a few hostels. There are several restaurants but nothing 'high end'. Our first trip to the grocery store was interesting as we stopped by to see what they had and then went back an hour later to buy and found that many staples (e.g. bread, eggs) were already gone as many people go there right after work to pick up their groceries.
We chose to base here as it's near Patagonia National Park which was founded in 2018 (so a new park) by Douglas Thompkins (founder of North Face) and his wife. They acquired quite a bit of land to create this park and then donated it to Chile.
Accommodations:
AirBnB - We stayed in this 3BR, 2 bath house located at the edge of town. The house is quite large with a big living room, dining room and kitchen plus 1BR and 1 bath on the first floor. On the second floor are two more bedrooms, 1 bathroom and an open area. The kitchen was lacking a bit in supplies to cook and we had to work some magic to get hot water for showers (e.g. run the water in the bathroom sink to get hot water in the shower) but otherwise the house was great. One day we returned to the house with no electricity only to find out that there was a planned outage until 7pm - we guess they do this periodically to help with electricity surges. And another time, we had no water as their was a break in the main water line - thankfully, things were back to normal within 4 hours.
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| Living room of our AirBnB |
Activities:
While here, we did the following activities:
The Eagles, Los Nires and Los Carpinteros Trails - We combined these three trails in the Tamango Sector as a circuit hike. This sector of the park is the closes to town - only 4km to the entrance. We hike was 9 miles and 2K feet in elevation and took us 5.5 hours. The views on The Eagles were not the best but the other two trails were great with nice views of the lakes.
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| Los Carpinteros Trail |
Lagunas Altas Loop Trail - This is the most popular trail in the park taking you to a ridge, a few lakes and through lychen forests - 22km and 3K feet in elevation. It took us a little over 6 hours with a 30 min break. The first bit of the hike was all up hill, albeit gradual until the last 0.5km and then the rest was undulating and downhill. There were great views from the plateau. On the way down, Shawna tripped on a rock, went flying through the air and scraped her knee, hand and a tiny bit on her nose. Quite shaken from the fall and a bit dehydrated, she then started to fill dizzy and passed out twice while sitting on a rock. Keith shook her awake both times trying to get Shawna to talk - after the second time, she finally felt well enough to hike the remaining 3km to the car! Mishap aside, it was a great hike.
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| Lagunas Atlas Loop Trail |
Kayaking Lake Cochrane and Cochrane River - We did this five hour kayak tour with Viki (the woman with whom we booked the trip - she was super nice but spoke very little English), Luis (our kayak guide who spoke pretty good English) and Luis' brother (who he is teaching to be a guide) and his mom. It was really nice to spend the day with them. The tour started on the lake which is known to be one of the clearest lakes in the world - the water was so stunningly blue and clear. The lake feeds into the river where we kayaked for a bit, stopping along the shore to have a nice lunch of local products (bread, cheese, avocado, fruit, juices). We also stopped in an area that is great for swimming - we did not go in as the water is quite cold but the rest of the group did swim. The last bit of kayaking was a bit more challenging as it was windy but still beautiful. Great day!
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| Kayaking Lake Cochrane and Cochrane River |
Restaurants:
Shawna cooked one night which is the first cooking she did on the trip so far. We got some pasta and veggies and made a batch that fed us for two dinners. It was quite tasty considering the sauce was from a jar!
Tehuelche Cerveza Artesanal - We had our first dinner here, sharing a pizza which was decent but service was slow. We returned another night to share the same pizza.
Kau Aike - We had dinner here, sharing a burger and a ceasar salad (which was surprisingly good). There was a chicken running around the restaurant so wondered if that was for the salad which had chicken in it!
Nirrantal Patagonia Restaurant - Probably one of our better meals of the trip so far - we had dinner here sharing the salmon with mixed vegetables and the Thai lentil dish - both of which were very tasty!! Service was a bit slow but that is par for the course.
Puerto Rio Tranquilo and Laguna San Rafael National Park
We drove to Puerto Rio Tranquilo from Cochrane which took 2.5 hours, stopping along the way at a few view points to see the river confluence between Cochrane River and Baker River (the largest river in Chile). From Cochrane, we also started to drive along the Carretera Austral (Route 7) - a 1240km road connecting Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins and connects many of Chile's Patagonian National Parks. The town is located on Lago General Carrera (the largest in Chile) with views of the mountains. We stayed here for three nights - the town is super small but cute and energetic.
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| Confluence of Cochrane and Baker Rivers |
Accommodations:
Apart Home Costanera - We stayed in a two bedroom apartment - spacious, clean, comfortable and close to everything. The kitchen did not have a stove so we did not cook here. Highly recommend.
Activities:
San Rafael Glacier - We did this tour with Valle Glaciares to the San Rafael Glacier, located on the northern Patagonian ice field. While not a large glacier, it is a very active glacier. We drove in the tour van for 2.5 hours seeing beautiful mountains along the way and then boarded the boat which took another 2 hours to get to the glacier. We then sat at the glacier, watching the calving and enjoying the scenery and then did the trip in reverse. They served us breakfast onboard (very basic bread with cheese and ham) and lunch (meat, rice and lentils). While the food was just OK, the scenery was wonderful. Keith did joke that it took us 11 hours to spend 1 hour at a glacier!
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| San Rafael Glacier |
Kayaking the Marble Caves (Catedral de Marmol) - We kayaked for three hours on Lago General Carrera with Chile Andes - spending our time seeing and kayaking through the marble caves. The shoreline was beautiful. Shawna thought this was the best kayak of the trip so far.
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| Marble Caves |
Restaurants:
Cafe Chirifo - We had lunch at this cute place owned by an Austrian woman. We shared a pumpkin soup, bean stew and falafel place. All very tasty.
Casa Bruja - We had lunch sharing a yummy baked bacalao with veggies and lamb with risotto. One of our better meals of the trip.
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| Lunch at Casa Bruja |
Villa Cerro Castillo and Cerro Castillo National Park
We drove here from Puerto Rio Tranquillo, taking about 2.5 hours. It's another small town - not quite as cute and lively as Puerto Rio Tranquillo - but the views are even more stunning with the surrounding mountains and Cerro Castillo itself. We stayed here for five nights.
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| Cerro Castillo |
Accommodations:
AirBnB - Very cute, cozy cabin right outside of town with nice views of the mountains. It was a two bedroom with one of the bedrooms located upstairs that you had to climb a ladder. Thankfully, the main bedroom which had a king sized bed was on the ground floor. The bedroom itself was quite large while the kitchen / living room area was small. The bed was super comfortable; however, the wifi was slow. Hard to complain given the location.
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
Unfortunately, it rained a lot so we spent most days relaxing in the cabin and running into town for some meals / using faster wifi!
Lago Duff Hike - We had planned on hiking the Cerro Castillo hike but when we showed up to the park, they said the trail was closed due to weather so they suggested we do this hike instead. We are so glad we did it as we got to see the backside of Cerro Castillo plus the other mountains in the valley along with the lake. The scenery was stunning - Shawna said she thought this was her favorite hike of the trip - even beating Fitz Roy - which says a lot. She thought this because the scenery was so beautiful, there were less people and the mountains were closer. We experience all weather on the hike - rain, sun, sleet, and crazy wind gusts! The hike in total 14 miles and 3.8K in elevation gain plus we had to walk another 5km to/from our car to the entrance!
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| Laguna Duff Hike |
Restaurants:
Shawna cooked eggs in the morning with avocado and bread and made pasta with veggies.
Restaurant y Cafe Campesino El Castillo - We had lunch at this cute place when we first arrived in town. We sat outside and shared salmon with sautéed vegetables and quinoa with pesto as well as a pizza. Everything was super tasty.
Restaurant Ruta 7 Sur - This place has nice views of the mountains (although it was cloudy when we went). We had lunch, sharing a tasty chicken stir fry and salmon with veggies. We returned after hour hike for an early dinner sharing similar dishes but this time they came with French fries!
Chaiten and Corcovado and Pumalin Douglas Thompkins National Parks
We drove here from Villa Cerro Castillo, taking 9 hours with stops. It was quite rainy so we could not see as much but the scenery seemed like it would be very pretty - the valley that we drove through was quite lush with lots of waterfalls. We stopped in Puyuhuapi to have lunch - it's a cute town on the water with views of the fjords. We ate at El Muelle which is a nice place with views - we shared salmon with veggies and a caesar salad. When we got to the cabin, Shawna realized that she left her purse at this restaurant so we have to drive back - 2 hours each way - to get it! A huge pain but thankfully they had it as our passports were in her purse! We stayed in this location for four nights.
Accommodations:
AirBnB - This cabin is about 25km south of Chaiten near the South entrance to Douglas Thompkins National Park. It is a very cute two story cabin - the ground floor has a small kitchen and living room with a bathroom and the top floor has the bedroom with a king sized bed which was very comfortable. It's also located near a river which you could hear. We would put this place as one of our favorites.
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
Chaiten Volcano Hike - This is the primary hike in Pumalin Douglas Thompkins Park. It's a very steep hike - constant uphill on wooden steps that are eroding in some places - that mostly is through a lush forest. In the final 0.5km, you get out of the forest and hike to the saddle where you see the volcano. The views from the top are really cool and nothing like we have seen thus far on the trip. This volcano erupted in 2008 destroying much of the town - thankfully no one died but many buildings/houses were destroyed with the ash/mud flows which also redirected the river through town. The hike was 4 miles and 2k elevation gain and took 3.5 hours.
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| Chaiten Volcano |
Chaiten Museum - We went to this small museum in town that highlights the volcano eruption in 2008 that destroyed much of the town and created a river through the middle. Most of the exhibits were in Spanish but was cool to see the photos of the town before and after the event. Outside of the museum were remnants of a few destroyed houses/buildings, the bottom half of which were now below grade. It was touted as a mini-Pompeii and while not quite that, it was still cool to see.
Sendero Mirador Glacier Michinmahuida Hike - Located near the south entrance of the Pumalin Park, this hike was 7.2 km and 1.4K feet in elevation and took us 2 hours. While the trail was in a good condition, most of the hike was on a road and the views were nice but not spectacular.
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| View from the hike |
Ventisquero El Amarillo Hike - We attempted to do this 20km hike to a glacier but got stuck at a river about halfway that we could not cross. So we ended up hiking for 14km (5km of which was on a road) over 4 hours. The valley was pretty but not the best hike!
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| Glacier we tried to hike to |
Ventesquero Yelcho Hike - This hike is located in Corcovado National Park and is the only land access into the park. We did the hike on our drive to Futaleufu. It was a shorter hike - 6km - which took us 1.5 hours. The view of the glacier was not very spectacular but it was nice to get a bit of exercise.
Restaurants:
Shawna cooked eggs in the morning and pasta for a couple of dinners.
Cocineria Empanadas Doña Irina - We stopped here to grab a couple of empanadas for lunch. They were fried so a bit heavy but tasty.
Futaleufu and Futaleufu National Reserve
We drove here from Chaiten, taking 2.5 hours and stayed for five nights. When we turned off the road from Chaiten towards Futaleufu, we left the Carretera Austral road. The town is small but nice - definitely catering more to backpackers - and is well known for its rafting and kayaking as the Futaleufu River is known to be one of the best in the world.
Accommodations:
AirBnB - While small, the cabin was very nice and modern with beautiful views and an extremely comfortable bed. We had to meet the host to get the keys and get a mini-orientation. The cabin comes with mountain bikes and a hot tub which we never used. The owners had left us a bottle of champagne which we enjoyed on the porch with cheese and crackers. One of the cuter places that we have stayed.
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
Futaleufu River Rafting - The highlight of this part of the trip as well as the trip overall! We rafted the famous Futaleufu River with Bochinche Expeditions, completing the trifecta of rafting rivers (the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and the Zambezi being the other two famous rivers). We were able to do the full day Azul to Mecal trip which is 22km and drops about 150 meters. The trip takes you first through the Terminator Rapids which are class 5+, then the Bridge to Bridge section (most people only do this part) which consists of class 4 rapids and then finally the Mecal section which has more class 5 rapids. Shawna was very nervous to do it but then loved it! We felt very safe - we only had two rafting boats each with 4 passengers and a guide and then we had 4 additional safety boats - 2 that were catamaran style rafts and 2 that were kayaks. We were told that if we did fall in, rescue would be quick! Thankfully we never did fall in but did opt to swim at the end. The waves were quite huge in sections and the water and scenery were stunning!
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| Futaleufu Rafting |
Laguna Toro Hike - We attempted this hike which was quite steep through a forest that is supposed to take you to a lake. We made it very close to the top but turned around as we got to a steep section that required you to grab a rope to scrambled up a heavily rooted path - the problem (and we were warned about this) is that we could hear a loud sound of angry yellow jackets coming from the ground. We did not want to start to climb up and then get swarmed by them and we could not find another way around this part. We were quite bummed since we were so close! Otherwise, the trail was nice - we did 10.3km and 2500 feet in elevation which took us close to 5 hours.
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| View on the way to the hike |
Futaleufu National Reserve - We did the Mirador Condor and Mirador Piedra Ventosa hikes which were moderate hikes to really nice views of the valley. In total, we did 5 miles and 2K feet in elevation and it took us 3 hours.
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| View from the hike |
Restaurants:
Shawna cooked again for breakfast and dinner.
Once Once Restaurant - We had lunch here twice as we enjoyed the food. The first time, we shared the salmon and hake dishes with veggies and rice. The second time, we shared the hake with rice and a chicken caesar salad. Apparently, the name is not 'once once' in English but rather 'eleven eleven' in Spanish!
El Bolson
We drove here from Futaleufu - crossing the border again into Argentina - taking 3 hours. We originally planned on going to Esquel to spend time in Los Alerces National Park but the hikes did not seem that interesting so we changed course to stay here for four nights instead. The town is much larger than what we have been used to - not a city by any means but a large town.
Accommodations:
AirBnB - This house has two bedrooms and a large living room and kitchen. It also has a nice deck. While not modern or fancy, it was clean and comfortable. The owner, who was very nice, met us in town so we could follow him to the house and he showed us the ropes. He also left us some bread, jam and juice!
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
Cerro Piltriquitrón Hike - This is a beautiful and steep hike up to a mountain peak. Unfortunately, it was cloudy the day we did it. We made it very close to the top but we were surrounded by clouds and Shawna was getting nervous with the steepness of the trail so we turned around. On the way up, we walked around an outdoor museum with wood carvings. We hiked for 4.5 hours, going 10km and 3K feet in elevation.
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| View from our hike |
Encanto Blanco Lodge Hike - This hike was mostly through a forest and ended in a valley with a river, mountains and a refugio. We didn't see any people at the refugio - just a few cows and a cat. The trail was nice and the views were good on the second half of the hike. We had to cross a rickety suspension bridge which was interesting! It took us 4.5 hours to go 10 miles and 1.4K feet in elevation.
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| Bridge we had to cross on the hike |
Restaurants:
La Encontrada Wine Bistro - Finally a proper restaurant with a nice menu! We had lunch here when we first got into town and shared a trout dish and salad along with a bottle of wine. The food was great as were the views. We went back a second time and go the lamb and salad with a bottle of wine.
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| View from lunch |
Fika - A cute coffee shop in town - we stopped by because of the name (fika in Scandinavia means a break to have tea and sweets). We picked up a few goodies for our hike - croissant, scone and muffin - all tasty. We also stopped to get a few things for the car ride to Puerto Montt.
Patio Cervecero El Bolson Centro - One of the several brewery/cervecerias in town, we had 'linner' here after our hike sharing a pizza and trying their blond beer. Pretty good. We were surprised at how dead it was on a late afternoon on a Friday.
Jauja - We each got a scoop of dolce de leche ice cream with brownies after our hike. It's well known for its ice cream and while good, it was not the best we have had.
Puerto Montt
We could only keep our rental car for 45 days so we had to drove to Puerto Montt to swap out cars - crossing the border back into Chile. The drive with the crossing took 7.5 hours and unfortunately it was quite rainy so we did not see much. It was our first border crossing where they took procedures seriously, including searching our car and having the customs dog sniff all of our luggage.
We only stayed one night at the Courtyard Puerto Montt which is a decent hotel in a not so decent part of town. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was surprisingly quite good. We also had breakfast which was included in the room. The next morning, we drove to the airport to swap out the cars and then drove back to Argentina to spend our final "Patagonia" time in the Argentinian Lake District.
San Carlos de Bariloche and Nahuel Huapi National Park
We drove to Bariloche from Puerto Montt - crossing the border again into Argentina (we have become border crossing experts) taking 5.5 hours. The town of Bariloche is not the nicest but the surrounding area is beautiful with mountains all around the lake. There is plenty of hiking to do in this area and we finally started to get nicer restaurants and food. We stayed here for five nights.
Accommodations:
AirBnB - The house is 2.5 stories and very spacious. It has three bedrooms with the main bedroom on the main level with the living room, dining room and kitchen. It has a wonderful deck with amazing views of the lake and mountains. We really enjoyed basing out of this place.
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| Our AirBnB |
Activities:
We had a few days of rain and a few days of calls so we did not get in as much hiking as we would have liked.
Local Walk - We walked around the area of our house, making it down to the lake and made our way back by stopping in several stores to get supplies for meals.
Sendero Filla Tacul - Lago Escondido - Los Arrayanes Hike - The first part of this hike was nice as we hiked up Llao Llao hill and got to see views of the area. The rest of the hike was just through a forest and part of the hike was closed so we had to walk back on the road. At least we got some excercise, hiking 10 miles for almost 4 hours and gained 1.8K feet in elevation.
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| View from on top of Llao Llao Hill |
Refugio Frey Hike - Definitely one of our better hikes of the trip - this hike is just stunning. We walked along a ridge with views of the lake and then through a forest and into a valley with craggy mountains surrounding us. There was a lake at the top as well as an adorable Refugio. This hike was 13 miles over 6 hours with a total of 2.8K feet in elevation gain.
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| Refugio Frey Hike |
Restaurants:
Shawna cooked pasta again and we had breakfast each morning in the house. We also made salad and had bread and cheese with it for lunch and dinner. This was the first town where we got quality fruit, vegetables and cheese!
Oveja Negra KM4 - Located near our house, we got empanadas from here our first night and ate them at the house with a bottle of wine. They have a large variety of flavors - most of which were tasty.
Patagonia Brewing Company - We returned as we had fond memories of this place. However, now you have to pay an entry fee (which includes a beer) and the restaurant is only available if you have a reservation. We did go in and got a beer but it was not the experience we had remembered - views are still nice from the patio but it was rainy and cloud the day we went.
Punto Panoramico Restaurant - We went here for late lunch after visiting brewery and after sitting down, we realized we were here six years prior. The views are great and the food is pretty good. We shared goulash and a salad. The owner was super nice - we showed him our picture from 6 years ago and he gave us a free beer with the years 2020 and 2026 written on it.
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| Punto Panoramico Restaurant |
Stag - We treated ourselves to a 'fancy' dinner at this restaurant located on the lake with nice views. We had a two course meal for $50 each with our choice of appetizer and entree. We got the shrimp and agnolotti pasta for appetizers and the lamb and beef for entrees. We started with a gin and tonic and then had a bottle of Malbec. The food was very good.
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| Dinner at Stag |
Villa La Angostura and Los Arrayanes National Park
We drove here from Bariloche, taking only 1.5 hours. The town is smaller and a lot cuter than Bariloche. We stayed here for four nights. We walked around town a bit since we had some time before we could check-in.
Accommodations:
ONA Apart Hotel and Spa - We had a one bedroom 'apartment' at this hotel with a mini-kitchen, living room, and bedroom. It was clean and comfortable but not luxurious (furniture was dated). Breakfast was included but we went the first morning and were not impressed so we opted to have yogurt in our room instead. The hotel was just 5 minutes from town.
Activities:
Los Arrayanes Forest Trail - It was going to be a rainy day so we opted to do this hike which is mostly in a forest and allowed us to tag another National Park. The hike was not necessarily pretty but the trail was great and it was good exercise. The hike was 15.5 miles and we gained 2.6k feet in elevation taking 5.5 hours. At the end of the trail is a cute cafe with amazing desserts - we had to try them so we shared a lemon pie and a brownie with caramel topping.
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| Arrayanes Tree in the Park |
Cerro O'Connor Hike - As our final hike of the trip, we decided to gain some elevation and do one of the mountain hikes in the area. The trail was quite steep and once we got to the top, we had to navigate some snow and ice. We never made it to the top of the second peak as Shawna was getting nervous with the amount of ice - we tried to walk around the peak to reach the saddle to descend the other side but still saw too much snow and ice ahead of us. So we turned around and walked back down the way we came. The views from the top were stunning - it was very windy and cold so we did not stick around for long to enjoy the views. In total, we hiked 7 miles and gained 3.5K feet in elevation, taking almost 6 hours.
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| Cerro O-Connor Hike |
Drive to San Martin de los Andes - We drove Route 40 along the Camino de los 7 Lagos (7 lakes route). The drive is beautiful, passing by several lakes and mountains. The town of San Martin is larger than Angostura and quite cute. We thought it was the "Aspen" of the Lake District. We walked around a bit and then drove back, stopping a few times to take photos.
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| Drive to San Martin |
Restaurants:
Al Alba Parilla - Located in town, we had a late lunch at this great grill restaurant. We shared the lentil stew and steak with fries along with a bottle of wine. They also brought us their homemade bread which was the best bread we had on the trip. Everything was very good.
Tinto Bistro - Located in town, we had a late lunch at this wine bistro. We shared the lamb empanadas, a salad and trout with mashed cauliflower with a bottle of wine. Very tasty.
La Tasca - Located near our hotel, we had a late lunch after our long mountain hike. We shared a shrimp appetizer, a salad and trout with vegetables along with a bottle of wine. The trout was a bit bland but the rest of the meal was really good.
Nicoletto Restaurant De Pasta Caseras - Located in town, we had a late lunch here sharing a salad and spaghetti bolognese with a bottle of wine. Food was pretty good.
Benroth - We stopped here twice to get some chocolate (the area is well known for it's chocolate) and especially like the chocolate layered with caramel.
Puerto Montt
We drove here from Villa La Angostura - doing our final border crossing via car into Chile. It took 4.5 hours. We stayed here for one night before we flew out to Mendoza. We returned to the Courtyard Puerto Montt since we thought it was a decent hotel and we had dinner there again.
Mendoza
Mendoza is the famous wine region of Argentina. We had tried to come here a few times in the past but our plans were changed for various reasons. So, we joked on our trip that we would not say we had been to Mendoza until the end of our week here just in case our plans were changed again. We flew here from Puerto Montt through Santiago and stayed for nine nights, splitting our time between two locations.
We flew home via Santiago with a very long layover there so we got a hotel room a the Holiday Inn which is at the airport. We then flew back via Miami.
Accommodations:
Entre Cielos - We stayed for four nights at this hotel that is near Mendoza city. We had booked their wine loft suite which is a barrel shaped structure that is supposed to have views of the mountains and vineyards. When we arrived, they told us that our view would be somewhat obstructed as there is construction going on at the neighboring property so they offered us a different room that was much larger. We looked at both and opted to take the alternative larger room which was two stories with a living room downstairs and the bedroom and bath upstairs. It was very comfortable!
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| Entre Cielos Hotel |
The Vines - We stayed at this beautiful hotel in Uco Valley for five nights. Our room was a one bedroom villa with garden views. The resort is very nice, nestled among vines that are owned by many individual owners, with amazing views of the mountains. Our room was also very nice, spacious and comfortable.
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| The Vines Resort |
Activities:
We did wine tasting at the following wineries in Lujan de Cuyo Valley:
Pulenta Estate - This is a small winery that also produces wine for Porsche when they introduce new cars. We got a brief tour as we had showed up late due to the hotel forgetting to arrange our transportation and then we sat outside tasting five of their wines - all reds. Everything was great. We bought one bottle and had it at dinner one night.
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| Pulenta Estate |
Vina Cobos - This is a larger winery that has a beautiful lobby and nice views. We toured the winery and then had a tasting with four other people from Georgia. We tried a chardonnay along with four reds - again, everything was very tasty. We bought one bottle and enjoyed it at the hotel.
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| Vina Cobos |
Bodega De Angeles - We rode our bikes from the hotel to this fantastic winery! They only do tours a few times a week and they make it very personal. It was the two of us with one of the owners and spent two hours learning about the history of the winery and their wine making process. We lucked out that they were also harvesting that day so got to see them pick through the grapes. We had a tasting of five of their wines, including another tasting of wine directly from the barrel and a tasting of their olive oil. We also got a small charcuterie plate with bread as we sat in the shade among the vines. We ordered some wine to ship back to the US.
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| Bodega de Angeles Winery |
Rosell Boher - We went to this winery on the way to our next hotel getting the sparkling wine tasting which is what they are known for. We also did the tour of the winery which is more of a storage facility as the production occurs offsite in another location. The sparkling wines were all very good and we bought a bottle that we later enjoyed at our hotel.
Entre Cielos - Our hotel offered a wine tasting which included five wines and then a glass of wine of our favorite one. The sommelier gave the tasting and taught us a bit about wine growing in the region.
Entre Cielos Spa - We did the hamam circuit which included two steam rooms, a warm pool, and body scrubs, ending with us lying down on a warm stone. We then got 90 minute massages that were much needed after all the hiking we did! The spa was very nice and the massages were definitely top quartile!
We also spent a day at the pool at the hotel and rode e-bikes to a couple of the wineries.
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| Pool at Entre Cielos |
We did wine tasting at the following wineries in Uco Valley:
Salentein - This place is a higher production winery with an modern / industrial looking building on the outside. The barrel room, where we did the tasting, was quite impressive; however, the wines were just OK. They have an art gallery and chapel onsite that we also visited.
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| Salentein Winery |
Andeluna - We had a four course lunch here with a wine pairing of their own wines. We sat outside with amazing views. The food was very good as was the wine. We started with trout tartar, then had a pasta with duck. The entree was a very tasty filet with potatoes and the dessert was chocolate wafers with different whipped mousses in between.
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| Andeluna Winery |
Diamandes Winery - This is another large winery with a modern building. Our tour guide was not the best as he seemed to just rattle off his planned speech along the way. At the end of the tour, we tasted six wines which were pretty good - we particularly liked the Malbec and the Viognier wines.
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| Diamandes Winery |
Bodega Rolland Winery - This is a smaller winery so not much of a tour but the guide was very funny and had us doing the wine tasting by doing it blindly asking us to guess the grapes. Keith guessed Malbec every time (only one was a Malbec) and Shawna guessed them all correctly. They have some very good / bold reds.
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| Bodega Rolland Winery |
Monteviejo Winery - We had a five course lunch here with wine pairings that were very good. We started with a small snack and then had roasted apple carpaccio, braised ossobuco croquette, ribeye steak and grilled peaches. The winery has nice views as well.
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| Monteviejo Winery |
The Vines - Our hotel offered a complimentary wine tasting of some of the owner produced wines - nothing really special or notable.
We also spent one day relaxing at the hotel pool at got massages (yes again) at the spa! The pool is serene with beautiful views and the spa was XXXX.
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| Pool at the Vines Resort |
Restaurants:
Nube - Located at our hotel, we had breakfast here each morning (included in the rate) which was very good. We also had salad at the pool from the restaurant and had dinner one night, each getting a steak for our entree. We drank a bottle of wine that we had purchased at Pulenta Estate.
1884 - This is a Francis Mallman restaurant located in Mendoza city. We had dinner sitting outside. We got the five course meat focused menu - three courses were steak and one course was lamb with the fifth course being dessert. The food was fantastic. We had two bottles of wine which was too much!!
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| 1884 Restaurant |
Ramos Generales/Kaiken Winery - Another Francis Mallman restaurant located at Kaiken winery. We had lunch here which included a 10 course meal served family style. We thought we were getting an a la carte menu but found out they only offer that at night. So we got the tasting menu which was way too much food but everything was delicious. We also got a wine tasting of several of their wines to pair with the meal. Included in our price was a bottle of wine which we took back with us to enjoy on another day! All of the tables are outside among the vines in a beautiful setting. Since we rode our bikes here, we had to bike back to the hotel on full stomachs with a few glasses of wine in us!
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| Ramos Generales Restaurant at Kaiken Winery |
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| Lamb roasting at Siete Fuegos |
For those planning a similar trip, we have the following observations and tips.
- Getting around: We rented from Mitta as at the time, they were the only company who would rent for 45 days (that is the maximum amount of time you can rent a car) and would allow a one way rental. As a result of the 45 day limit, we had to get a few different rental cars. The roads are generally gravel and bumpy so you definitely need a car with high clearance and while 4 wheel drive is not necessary, it can help. We got a 2 wheel drive SUV and we were fine.
- Border crossings: We went through several of these as we weaved between the two countries. It was a lot simpler than we expected. You will need special paperwork from the rental car company that you have to show and get stamped at the border - this shows proof that you are allowed to take the car across the border. You will need to verify with the rental car company that they have this ready about a week in advance as once we showed up, they had not had it ready for us. You should also check if the border crossings have any other requirements - one that we did required that you submit your paperwork online 3 days in advance as they did not have internet service at that office to process you real time.
- Accommodation: We mostly stayed in AirBnBs and were able to keep the cost below $150 per night. Most of our places were small but comfortable. Most do not have AC nor a washer and if they did have a washer, there was no dryer. That said, we did not really need AC since it was cool at night and every town had laundry service where you could drop off and have it done at a reasonable price.
- Food: Generally, we stayed in small towns that catered more to backpackers so the restaurants mostly served local cuisine (which was usually meat or fish with potatoes or vegetables), burgers, pizza, and pasta. We found that the food was pretty bland and there was not a lot of variety. The grocery stores were small and did not have a lot of options either and in most cases, the fruit and vegetable selection was sparse and not of good quality. That said, wine was cheap and amazing! Food got much better in larger towns that catered to the broader tourist population.
- Money: Most places accepted credit cards but we had a few places that only took cash or debit cards.
- Cell Service: Due to the remote locations we stayed, we often did not have service as we drove between towns and in a few towns, we did not have service in town as well so had to rely on wifi. In general, wifi was pretty good but had a few places where it was slow.
- Language: We got by with Spanglish but did have to pull out Google translate several times as most people in the smaller towns do not speak English.
- General environment: Everything was very clean - the towns, the places we stayed and the restaurants. We were surprised by this. We found very little trash on the ground and the floors were always very clean. We also felt very safe, especially given that we were mostly in smaller towns. We often saw hitchhikers which says something about safety. And one time, Shawna left her purse at a restaurant and returned several hours later to find that nothing was taken - the owner had kept it in a safe spot until she returned to retrieve it.
- Weather: You need to be ready for all seasons as Patagonia weather can be quite unpredictable. Even though we were there in Summer, we experienced sun, rain, sleet and snow. Specifically, it was quite rainy in March.
- National Parks: They were all beautiful but some need more development to build out facilities and trails. The better parks and hikes were in Torres, Glacier (Chalten), Cerro Castillo and Nahuel Huapi (Bariloche).
- Priority: If you have to prioritize your time, we would say: a) Tier 1 includes Torres, Calafate/Chalten and Bariloche and of course Mendoza; b) Tier 2 includes Futaleufu, Cerro Castillo and Rio Tranquillo and c) Tier 3 includes the rest.
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