Cerro Castillo, CL/AR
As of the opening of the town hall of Cerro Castillo I benefitted
from WiFi connection. I learned a good news. Indeed the day before
Grimaldi Lines had informed me of the change of boat with a
carryforward of date at April 9th, dates estimated. At once I sent
an answer to ask for a date estimated to before April 1st be to
ensure of arrival in France before May 20th, date of exhaustion of
my stock of drugs. Bingo, this morning the answer was an estimated
date of March 18th with Grande Buenos Aires Vessel.
I crossed the border, at Cerro Castillo, with the balsam in the
middle, way of speaking. The station is just at the exit of the
city. My passport accepted a exit blow of stamp, I gave the
temporary license of importation to the customs, 10 minutes. A dozen
kilometers further on the border post of Argentina expected me. A
entry blow stamp on my passport, signature of the temporary license
of importation, 10 minutes.
Calafate
The overland route finished to become the tarred road from Punta
Arenas to Calafate where I arrived at 15:30 to make supply at
Anonima supermarket. I bivouacked at the edge of Lago Argentino.
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| Bivouac Lago Argentino |
Glaciar Perito Moreno
On Thursday, December 15th I visited in first Punta Bandera in the
fog then the Glaciar Perito Moreno with some breaks of the sun which
played hide-and-seek with the clouds. After having climbed the
board-walk not without difficulties I admired the high wall of the
glacier about 70 meters. It advances of two meters per day with
noisy falls of ice sides. I have the occasion to see one, look at
below the two last photographs of the gallery. During the climbing I
saw a woodpecker. At the beginning of afternoon I returned to the
bivouac of the day before where I met two French vehicles of which
one of the drivers challenged me: “It is you busarounsglobe, I
follow your journey round the world since 2006 etc.”
Perito Moreno, click on the picture
El Chalten
After a departure from Calafate in mid-morning in the rain, the sun
made timid appearances during the way towards El Chaltén. But after
the junction towards Tres Lagos a strong wind blew of through making
the driving difficult. Little before El Chaltén a small animal
crossed the road, it resembled a cat! The oficina of tourismo
ranger, a young-lady, with the picture using a booklet, determined
the Argentinian name as well as the scientific name of this wildcat.
She told me that I was “very lucky”. I recorded a specimen of the
picture on her USB key, she thanked me cordially. El Chaltén was in the rain
with an overcast and misty sky, the temperature fell quickly. I took
the city map. Some rare hikers traversed it. I returned to the
entrance to bivouac on a carpark of a lookout.
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| En route to El Chalten |
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| Wild cat, Gato del Pajonal (Lynchailierus Pajeros) |
Bivouac El Chalten |
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On Saturday, December 17th the weather station of my truck announced
a day without rain. I decided to try the trekking to Laguna Torre
given to 9 km of length and three hours of duration one way. The
track is marked with arrows giving the distance covered on the
total. It is not difficult in spite of delicate passages in falls.
Left at 7:40 I arrived at Laguna Torre at 10:27. I went again after
a pause lunch and rest of my articulations to arrive at my truck at
14:06. The return by the same track lasted longer due to my
articulations become very painful. The red trace below by GPS Garmin
eTrek gives a covered distance of 17.900 km. The point of arrival at
Laguna Torre on the rather precise but old Russian map is far away
from the lake indicating the consequences of the climate change
increasing the surface of the lake. I returned to my bivouac of the
day before to make the report of my walking day. I spent a bad
night because of my pains and of the strong and noisy wind
agitating my truck.
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Laguna Torre click on the picture
Lago Del Desierto ? No, back to El Chalten
Sunday, December 18th was a day dark, rainy, fogy and with low
temperature. Despite everything I decided to go to Lago Desierto at
38 km northwards from El Chaltén. I left around 10 a.m. hoping for
disappearance the fog. At the end of 15 km I went back to El
Chaltén. I will not see the Fitz Roy.
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| En route |
