Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Aha! So Paddy’s day turned out alright in the end. I’ll skip all the bit about the rugby. We all know what happened so no point dwelling on it. Suffice to say after a few bottles of dodgy Argentinian red wine the night before Paddy’s day, we still managed to rise by 10am. This gave us just enough time to head to the local supermarket for booze before the games started. By the end of the first two matches we were actually quite depressed at the results and not even Wales’ victory over England could make us feel better. Just when we were thinking of knocking Paddy’s day on the head altogether and just going to bed, our American mates Aaron and Sarah turned up. So we decided to forget about the rugby and get on with the task in hand. I brought my iPod down to the tv room and we sat making merry with the Americans and our new friend Jo from Kerry. It wasn’t long before we were back on form. So much so in fact that after a couple more bottles of dodgy wine and a few litres of Iguana we were too rowdy for the TV room and were asked to leave. Fine. We were actually due to meet some other friends anyway.
We rocked on to Don Diego, a pub that we had seen advertised as one that would celebrate 17th March. Sure enough, two girls we met in Ushuaia, Beth and Sarah, were there waiting for us. Soon Bill from America turned up and our group was complete! The bar was pretty lame at the beginning and was only slightly more lively than a funeral. The millions of Shamrocks stuck to the walls didn't do much to perk it up either strangely enough. We decided to give it a while though and sure enough around midnight it began to take off. The tables were one by one cleared from the floor and before we knew it the place was hopping. There was great music and since I had my Irish flag I decided that it would be appropriate for everyone there to sign it. And so we wandered around the bar meeting millions of people and getting them to sign the flag. After a while I noticed a microphone stand in the corner of the room and I couldn’t resist incorporating it into the festivities. Soon enough, we were all on the stage in the bar and singing passionately into the mic stand as if it actually held a mic – thank God it didn’t! But it made for some fairly funny photos all the same.
When we eventually decided to head home, we were famished. Although we tried and tried we just couldn’t find an Indian take-away open at 3am in El Calafate. They must be living in the dark ages. Settling for Kinder Buenos instead we continued back to our hostel. To our disappointment we discovered that we were locked out and there was no sign of life from within the hostel. We yelled and yelled and banged on the door but to no avail. We notice a couple of open windows on the side of the hostel but were either too small or too high for me to throw Fiona into. Just as we were about to go back to the club and see if anyone there had a code to get in, a very VERY drunk guy turned up. We thought he wouldn’t be much use to us until we saw what he had in his hand – a piece of white paper with the code to the hostel typed in large bold black Times New Roman lettering! Brilliant. We grabbed the paper off him and lingered long enough to ensure he got in ok too and then ran for our beds.
The next morning we attempted to recklessly ignore the 10am checkout time and sleep in as long as possible. Unfortunately the fecking cleaners came around at 10 on the dot and woke us up by rudely shouting to us to get out in Spanish. Ah well, at least all we had to do was wait around for a bus to El Chalten. Being uncharacteristically disorganised, we had failed to book a hostel in El Chalten. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue and we figured we’d just turn up somewhere and get a room. The problem was that El Chalten is a very small village situated inside the Glacier National Park itself and exists solely to accommodate travellers interested in spending a few days doing some serious hiking. As such, everywhere was booked out. We went from place to place only to be turned away each time. Finally, nearing the end of our respective tethers, we asked one of the hostels that had turned us down did they know of anywhere that wasn’t booked out. It turns out they did and they pointed out the window to a little grey shack with a sign propped against advertising $20 beds. 20 pesos is very cheap and we were a little skeptical. Sure enough as soon as we walked into the house we understood why it was so cheap. Our dorm was barely big enough for 3 beds yet somehow they had managed to squeeze in 15 beds! It was full of other travellers who had the same problem as us and when the room was full of 15 beds, their 15 occupants and their 15 backpacks, there was barely room to open the door. Still we were knackered from Patrick’s day and tired of walking around El Chalten and gladly accepted the bed.
On our first day in El Chalten we decided to hike to the base camp of Mount Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy is regarded as one of the world’s most difficult climbs. It’s summit is only reached on average once a year. So no prizes for guessing why we only hiked to base camp! The hike was difficult enough for the first 3 hours but with spectacular views of Fitz Roy itself surrounded by snow and an impressive glacier. However the final hour is a serious uphill climb and although we made it it took a lot out of us. Unfortunately thanks to the wind and cold we couldn’t spend more than five minutes at the top and hurried back down. Although the uphill bit was difficult, the downhill was almost as difficult – a real challenge to your ankles and knees. Then we continued on the 3 hours back to El Chalten. When we arrived back we were completely shagged out and equally as much, we reflected, as we were on the evenings of the Inca trail. After dinner we went to bed at around 8pm since we had to be up at 9pm for a 12 hour day of super-trekking.
The first 3 hours of super trekking took us to a campsite where we were fitted out with crampons and harnesses. Once this was finished we continued on to a river which could only be crossed by zipline. I was excited about trying my hand at ziplining however the strain took it’s toll on my arm and stomach muscles. Once we were all safely across the river, we continued on for a bit but soon had to climb upwards very steeply. After about 20 minutes of this we came to a clearing and spotted a glacier just below. This was our destination and so we spent another 20 minutes climbing down to it. At the bottom we donned our crampons and set off across the glacier. To actually be hiking across a glacier with the type of scenery all around you that Patagonia offers was an incredible experience. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. Soon we arrived at a kind of ice cliff and our instructor tore up it at a ridiculous pace to attach ropes to the top. Then we all had a go at climbing up it using ice axes and the spikes on the front of our crampons. While being great fun, it was very demanding. You have to use every muscle in your body to pull yourself up and when you fall and are dangling there from a rope it’s very difficult to get back into it unless you do it all the time. Nonetheless I made it to the top but hurt myself a fair bit coming back down. I pretty much just fell all the way down and being bashed against the ice didn’t help my already aching body.
To get back to El Chalten we had to do everything in reverse. That meant back across the ice, up the really steep hill, back down the other side, zipline across the river, an hour back to the campsite and then another 3 hours back to El Chalten. We acually finished the whole thing an hour early than everyone else as we literally ran back to El Chalten. We were so wrecked we just couldn’t wait to get back and rest. If I thought the previous day’s hike was tough, this was way tougher and definitely tougher thatn Inca Trail making it the most physically demanding thing I’ve ever done. Once we’d had a bit of rest and a massive meal (I’d only eaten a ham sandwich and a plum all day!) we reflected on the day and it was definitely worth it. An amazing experience even if it does require a few days R&R afterwards. As luck would have it we are about to embark on a journey to Bariloche in the lake district that will take the guts of 2 days. Normally this would be a massive inconvenience but at this stage of our trip we actually have a lot of time left for what we want to do and 2 days on a bus is perfect for relaxing after the super-trekking and preparing for the onslaught of Bariloche – apparently a big party place. Talk to you after!
We rocked on to Don Diego, a pub that we had seen advertised as one that would celebrate 17th March. Sure enough, two girls we met in Ushuaia, Beth and Sarah, were there waiting for us. Soon Bill from America turned up and our group was complete! The bar was pretty lame at the beginning and was only slightly more lively than a funeral. The millions of Shamrocks stuck to the walls didn't do much to perk it up either strangely enough. We decided to give it a while though and sure enough around midnight it began to take off. The tables were one by one cleared from the floor and before we knew it the place was hopping. There was great music and since I had my Irish flag I decided that it would be appropriate for everyone there to sign it. And so we wandered around the bar meeting millions of people and getting them to sign the flag. After a while I noticed a microphone stand in the corner of the room and I couldn’t resist incorporating it into the festivities. Soon enough, we were all on the stage in the bar and singing passionately into the mic stand as if it actually held a mic – thank God it didn’t! But it made for some fairly funny photos all the same.
When we eventually decided to head home, we were famished. Although we tried and tried we just couldn’t find an Indian take-away open at 3am in El Calafate. They must be living in the dark ages. Settling for Kinder Buenos instead we continued back to our hostel. To our disappointment we discovered that we were locked out and there was no sign of life from within the hostel. We yelled and yelled and banged on the door but to no avail. We notice a couple of open windows on the side of the hostel but were either too small or too high for me to throw Fiona into. Just as we were about to go back to the club and see if anyone there had a code to get in, a very VERY drunk guy turned up. We thought he wouldn’t be much use to us until we saw what he had in his hand – a piece of white paper with the code to the hostel typed in large bold black Times New Roman lettering! Brilliant. We grabbed the paper off him and lingered long enough to ensure he got in ok too and then ran for our beds.
The next morning we attempted to recklessly ignore the 10am checkout time and sleep in as long as possible. Unfortunately the fecking cleaners came around at 10 on the dot and woke us up by rudely shouting to us to get out in Spanish. Ah well, at least all we had to do was wait around for a bus to El Chalten. Being uncharacteristically disorganised, we had failed to book a hostel in El Chalten. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue and we figured we’d just turn up somewhere and get a room. The problem was that El Chalten is a very small village situated inside the Glacier National Park itself and exists solely to accommodate travellers interested in spending a few days doing some serious hiking. As such, everywhere was booked out. We went from place to place only to be turned away each time. Finally, nearing the end of our respective tethers, we asked one of the hostels that had turned us down did they know of anywhere that wasn’t booked out. It turns out they did and they pointed out the window to a little grey shack with a sign propped against advertising $20 beds. 20 pesos is very cheap and we were a little skeptical. Sure enough as soon as we walked into the house we understood why it was so cheap. Our dorm was barely big enough for 3 beds yet somehow they had managed to squeeze in 15 beds! It was full of other travellers who had the same problem as us and when the room was full of 15 beds, their 15 occupants and their 15 backpacks, there was barely room to open the door. Still we were knackered from Patrick’s day and tired of walking around El Chalten and gladly accepted the bed.
On our first day in El Chalten we decided to hike to the base camp of Mount Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy is regarded as one of the world’s most difficult climbs. It’s summit is only reached on average once a year. So no prizes for guessing why we only hiked to base camp! The hike was difficult enough for the first 3 hours but with spectacular views of Fitz Roy itself surrounded by snow and an impressive glacier. However the final hour is a serious uphill climb and although we made it it took a lot out of us. Unfortunately thanks to the wind and cold we couldn’t spend more than five minutes at the top and hurried back down. Although the uphill bit was difficult, the downhill was almost as difficult – a real challenge to your ankles and knees. Then we continued on the 3 hours back to El Chalten. When we arrived back we were completely shagged out and equally as much, we reflected, as we were on the evenings of the Inca trail. After dinner we went to bed at around 8pm since we had to be up at 9pm for a 12 hour day of super-trekking.
The first 3 hours of super trekking took us to a campsite where we were fitted out with crampons and harnesses. Once this was finished we continued on to a river which could only be crossed by zipline. I was excited about trying my hand at ziplining however the strain took it’s toll on my arm and stomach muscles. Once we were all safely across the river, we continued on for a bit but soon had to climb upwards very steeply. After about 20 minutes of this we came to a clearing and spotted a glacier just below. This was our destination and so we spent another 20 minutes climbing down to it. At the bottom we donned our crampons and set off across the glacier. To actually be hiking across a glacier with the type of scenery all around you that Patagonia offers was an incredible experience. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. Soon we arrived at a kind of ice cliff and our instructor tore up it at a ridiculous pace to attach ropes to the top. Then we all had a go at climbing up it using ice axes and the spikes on the front of our crampons. While being great fun, it was very demanding. You have to use every muscle in your body to pull yourself up and when you fall and are dangling there from a rope it’s very difficult to get back into it unless you do it all the time. Nonetheless I made it to the top but hurt myself a fair bit coming back down. I pretty much just fell all the way down and being bashed against the ice didn’t help my already aching body.
To get back to El Chalten we had to do everything in reverse. That meant back across the ice, up the really steep hill, back down the other side, zipline across the river, an hour back to the campsite and then another 3 hours back to El Chalten. We acually finished the whole thing an hour early than everyone else as we literally ran back to El Chalten. We were so wrecked we just couldn’t wait to get back and rest. If I thought the previous day’s hike was tough, this was way tougher and definitely tougher thatn Inca Trail making it the most physically demanding thing I’ve ever done. Once we’d had a bit of rest and a massive meal (I’d only eaten a ham sandwich and a plum all day!) we reflected on the day and it was definitely worth it. An amazing experience even if it does require a few days R&R afterwards. As luck would have it we are about to embark on a journey to Bariloche in the lake district that will take the guts of 2 days. Normally this would be a massive inconvenience but at this stage of our trip we actually have a lot of time left for what we want to do and 2 days on a bus is perfect for relaxing after the super-trekking and preparing for the onslaught of Bariloche – apparently a big party place. Talk to you after!
# posted by Grum @ 3:05 PM 
Comments:
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Great blog Graham, u certainly have the gift of the gab, must be from yur fathers side as not usually seen on Sandys side! Off to High Wycombe, where is that???,at weekend to see Wasps v Leinster. No BOD unfortunately. If weather is favourable I think we have a good chance. Anyhow should be a good weekend, meeting up with Mark and a few of his pals.
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