After the experience and the trip in Australia, the trip to Argentina and Patagonia has made me realize another dream.
For years I have dreamed of visiting those remote corners of the Planet, those remote and wild landscapes that many travelers dream of seeing but few will succeed in doing so.
For a geographer like me, this place, from a geographic point of view, has a huge fascination, the end of the world, beyond which there is only the South Pole, lands on which many explorers, hikers, geographers, and writers have written stories and books.
Patagonia. Terra del Fuoco, Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world, the Perito Moreno, places that just naming them they have an incredible charm.
When you think of Patagonia you often think of Argentina, but this geographic area is actually divided between two states, Argentina and Chile. There are different opinions about which Patagonia, the Argentinian or Chilian is more beautiful. Personally, from the beginning, I decided to concentrate only on Argentina having not much time available and given the prohibitive costs of excursions from Argentina to nearby Chile, which I will talk later on.
Patagonia is Argentina and Argentina is not Patagonia.
Argentina is a land of contrasts and landscapes, atmospheres and cities that are different from each other.
The northwestern part of Argentina is rich in farms and colonial towns, among which I mention the most famous Cordoba, Salta, Mendoza and the famous Argentine desert with a more arid landscape.
The north-east part of the border with Brazil is much lusher and is an ideal destination especially for those who have never seen a tropical rainforest landscape, here nature is flourishing, everything is an intense green, there are tropical butterflies that circulate around you, you will see birds and animals never seen before.
The Argentine pampas with its infinite plains (750000 km2!) with a desolating landscape, Patagonia with its most famous peaks in the world, its extreme and desolate environments, its deserted steppes and the Tierra del Fuego, the more southern land of the World, the land, source of legends, whose only name fascinates the most adventurous minds.
Indeed, Argentina has a geographic position that deters itself from a very different climate: from the hot heat of some areas to the north, to the dampest of Buenos Aires and the Northeast, to the pleasant climate of Pampa, and to the Sub -Antarctica of Patagonia and the Earth of Fire.
As a result, vegetation changes a lot.
But also the social conditions are very different, Argentina’s suburbs in Buenos Aires are characterized by poverty and degradation, one of the other parts of Argentina is a difficult economy, mostly poor people who live a simple but often tough life if we think about the climatic conditions of some areas. In Patagonia, however, there is much more well-being, the prices of hostels and food are much higher, here tourism is very present but in a different way to other areas. Competition between a tour operator and another almost does not exist, prices are the same and are pushed to the maximum. It just seems to be in another country!
r what concerns my trip, as most people the first stage was Buenos Aires. The capital, one of the most fascinating cities in South America, with its monuments and palaces with its European footprint and atmosphere, its history, tango, coffee, the connection with the Italian origins of almost all the Argentine population is a Great way to start your trip so it is advisable to stay for a minimum of 4-5 days to be able to visit it well and enjoy the unique atmosphere. And for those who leave behind the European winter it is a relief to be caressed by this sun and this warmth and blossoming blossoming flowers that adorn the tree-lined avenues and contrast perfectly to the white of many historic buildings in the city.
My favorite neighborhood is that of San Telmo, very characteristic, but the whole city encloses an artistic and cultural heritage of all respect and value.
The area I least liked is El Caminito, far enough away from downtown. Many advise you to get there by bus and you soon understand why. El Caminito has become a highly tourist and fake place controlled by police. Beyond these skinned streets there is true life, the reality of degradation and micro-crime.
Do not miss a visit to the historic Caffè Tortoni for a peculiar coffee and a medialuna, and an evening at the Tango Catedral, a typical and authentic locale frequented largely by Argentinians.
If you do not know when to go back to this part of the world, do not miss a visit to one of the most beautiful and spectacular waterfalls in the world, the Iguazu Falls, which can be reached by a night bus ride and which I will talk about in the post (Iguazu Falls-Man and Nature ).
Although I have decided to go see, indeed to admire the majesty of the most famous waterfalls in the world, my goal from the beginning and even before my trip was to go to Patagonia, and much more to the South to the Earth some fire.
Typically from Buenos Aires, you go to the Valdes Peninsula to see whales, penguins, and so on. I skipped this stage for several reasons and so I headed to Iguazu to El Calafate, a great stop to visit the surroundings, the famous El Perito Moreno and the Chalten Park.
My first stop was El Calafate, I decided not to go to the Valdes peninsula because I preferred to focus my visit to these more southern areas but above all because the animals I would see there like whales, I had the fortune to To see them months ago in Australia and why I could see the penguins even later in the journey. The tours that you offer safaris are not very cheap and are divided into animal categories, and so is the tour to see the penguins, to see whales (if any), etc. If you are traveling with your vehicle then it will be simpler and cheaper but in my case I had to make a choice to save money and days.
Distances in Argentina will make you feel and you’ll notice when you will start organizing your trips, some easy to do but others very articulate. The transport network is capillary but you do not have to underestimate the distances, so to go from the Valdes Peninsula to El Calafate I would have had to over several hours of bus change several buses with different coincidences.
I decided to stay for almost a week in El Calafate and stay in a beautiful and quiet hostel away from the center but facing the Argentina Lake and a Nimez Nature Reserve where you can see different types of birds.
Once you arrive in El Calafate, you will understand that you have come to that land that you have dreamed of when you will read a welcome sign at the Parque de los Glaciares, established in 1937, and one of the largest parks in Argentina, whose northern part is From Lake Argentino and Lake Viedma, while the southern part includes the area of the largest glaciers, Perito Moreno, Upsala and Spegazzini.
You will breathe a completely different atmosphere and air, with clear, cool, sometimes cooler skies, but with beautiful sunny days. The thing that will strike you and destabilize it will soon be the light. Imagine going to sleep at 9.30 pm, wake up after a few hours and notice that there is still plenty of light outside!
El Calafate is a small town where the main economic activities focus on tourism and on the sale of local products such as El Calafate jams, a spiky arubustus whose fruit is very valuable because only here it has given its name to the town.
It is a very quiet village surrounded by picturesque landscapes and colors, where you can organize various activities on site or out. At the train station, you can buy bus tickets to move around or for long journeys, as usual in Argentina, you will find several branches belonging to several tour operators / transport companies and you will have to do more than Choose where to go.
Or staying in the area, you can take a stroll along the coast of Lake Argentino (Paseo Kirchner) or go hiking on the glaciers, or visit the Glaciarium museum, an ice museum that will help you understand the physical geography of the glacier more Famous in the world, the Perito Moreno. The museum, with its modern structure, is located outside the city, but there is a free shuttle service provided by the museum. Near the museum there is nothing, but only the nature that will envelop you and will surprise you and it is not uncommon for these parts to see in the distance wild horse groups run freely in the meadows!
From El Calafate, with a trip of about 3 hours, part of which on the mythical Route 40, you can reach El Chalten National Park, famous for its peaks, including the famous Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. This resort has become the national capital of climbers
Before leaving the bus in the pretty mountain village of El Chaltèn, there is a stop at the Park Information Center, with free entrance but with careful management and respectful of nature. Here, more than in many other places, we feel a sense of gratitude and proud of mother nature, we recognize the importance of tourism but at the same time the importance of protecting and respecting the environment around us. All visitors who do not pay an entry ticket have the duty to behave intelligently because these beautiful places can easily become dangerous, this nature is extreme as well as its climate.
Excursions to this park are for all levels of hiking, there are more simple excursions within reach of children and family, but not for this less fascinating, such as the “Miradores Los Condores y Las Aguilas” and others more tiring And challenging, like Laguna de lo Tres.
The most popular and most exciting outing is definitely that of Perito Moreno, I still remember my euphoria and my Peruvian friend with whom I was traveling at that moment, our dream was coming to fruition!
Ice formation is one of the 48 glaciers powered by Campo de Hielo Sur, part of the Andean system shared with Chile and is the third reserve for the freshwater world.
The peculiarity of Perito Moreno is that it is a moving gheze and due to this movement there is an ice advance of about 2 meters per day!
The best thing to have an in-depth idea of this glacier is to visit Perito Moreno both from the water and from the ground. Once you enter the Park you will have the opportunity to buy a ticket to get on the ferry that will take you two steps from the glacier. You will see it stand in front of you in all its magnificence and you will soon be dazzled by its blue color. After getting out of the boat (the excursion lasts for almost an hour) you can take the bus back to the real entrance of the park, the one from which you will see the most famous and photographed image of the glacier world.
Seeing Perito Moreno has been one of the most amazing and unique experiences I’ve ever done, being in such a remote, so extreme and wild place made me feel really lucky.
The bigger emotion was to hear the creep of ice in depth and see the ice break and fall to the ground. I would never be tired of looking at him, admiring him and venerating him in all its splendor, in its color so light blue, so magical.
The walkway on which the visitor is walking has been made very well with a low visual and aesthetic impact, and allows you to walk well beyond the glacier for a more complete overview.
Once again being surrounded by people who, like me, were surprised and silent listening to the noise of the ice was significant.
Returning to Ushuaia, still enchanted by what we had seen, we arranged to leave El Calafate and go even further to the South at the end of the World.
Getting to Ushuaia by land is the best way to feel the distance but to realize where you are going, to feel a bit like those explorers who had discovered these areas and were crossing them.
However, I did not imagine that to get to the Land of Fire and Ushuaia would pass through Chile and that we would have to cross the Magellan Strait, and this made the trip even more special and adventurous.
Ushuaia did not impress me much for its beauty, but besides this place has become famous for its unique geographic position in the world.
From here the perfect thing is to go to the Fire Earth Park, which in itself does not have such special landscapes but where you can get a stamp on the passport in the post office most south of the world.
Here, too, you will enjoy the tranquility and tranquility of nature, and during the walks, you will find yourself in front of free horses. Often when traveling one of the most promising and interesting aspects are road signs indicating the presence of typical animals in the area or iconic places for excellence. In the Bahia Lapataia, for example, there is a sign indicating the end of Ruta Nacional n.3, the famous Panamericana, across the continent from the Alaska.
It’s not uncommon to talk about these parts of Antarctica, travel to Antarctica, those journeys that remind national Geographic expeditions. In the hostel, I stayed in Ushuaia, the hostel advertised in addition to the walks with the penguins this trip of wonders that in a few of fact can afford.
We were limited to surfing the Beagle Channel to see the penguins, and we were very lucky because we even saw a real penguin. This animal should not be in these parts, but because of global warming, four specimens have moved around here. Sailing on this famous and legendary Canal has given us the opportunity to admire the Light of the End of the World, but also to watch cormorants and penguins.
Sailing ended at Estancia Harberton, a very nice and historic place where wool was produced in the past but now only dedicated to tourism. It is possible to visit the cemetery, the botanical gardens (in this place the microclimate allows the flowering of many species) and you can visit the Museum Acatushún de Aved y Mamiferos Australes, a very special museum where the bones of important mammals are collected. In this area many cetaceans arenate and so the museum’s researchers are able to retrieve them, to bathe them to clean them (not far from the museum there is a small lodge where carcasses are present in the water Different time to unplug the skin from the bones).
A trip to these lands will leave you breathless because it will give you a chance to explore a magic environment with pure nature, an unforgettable journey that will make you believe that magic and paradise exist.