Wednesday 12 November
Sebastian was going into town again this morning so we took advantage of the opportunity to take a break from the isolation. He was only going for a short time so we went again to Rancho Grande, the Youth Hostel, for a nice coffee - & wi-fi. The drive in & back is very picturesque, if bumpy!
Sebastian picked us up on his way out of town; he had his girlfriend on-board & her English is good so we had a nice chat. I think the locals like to practise their English when they can.
What IS lovely to see here, is how much the people LOVE the "nature" as Sebastian calls it. He keeps telling us every day how he never gets sick of the drive: "It ees deeferent every day". He & his girlfriend were regularly looking out at the landscape & remarking to each other quietly on points of interest as we went along the road.
The wind is up - as predicted - but there is a little sun so we will head out later for another walk. Can you believe it, they polish the floors here in the hostería the old-fashioned way: with wax & a floor-polishing machine.
We were a bit crazy. We did the walk through the Eléctrico Valley to Piedra del Fraile in the afternoon, setting off about 1:30 p.m. - 2.5 hours each way (22.5 kms it turned out to be). I think this was overdoing things somewhat. There was nice hot chocolate & torta (cake) at the refugio at the end, but it's a bloody long way to go for a piece of cake! Expensive too, but we'd been warned it would be; we weren't bothered because we got a good rate: 14 Argentian pesos to the $US (official rate is 7.5) so that helped make the cost more acceptable.
Beyond this is the departure point for all the multi-day expeditions which dare to cross the Southern Ice Field. You register here & pay 300 pesos per person for the privilege.
It was in fact a lovely walk following the Rio Electrico - crossing small streams over some pretty interesting bridges (hanging onto ropes, etc.); used the poles today: they were useful for balance in the windy spots & when crossing over some of the more difficult streams where there were no bridges.
Wonderful views out to the snow-capped mountains; there were glaciers and a waterfall. It was especially beautiful on the return walk with the late afternoon sun glistening on the snow. At one point we heard what sounded like thunder & the wind was very strong, knocking me off my feet a few times in the exposed spots. I quickly ditched the quilted jacket for the waterproof one, although it was unnecessary in the end as we got back to the hostería just before it started to rain. It was now almost 7:00 p.m. The wind is blowing a gale.
Mt. FitzRoy continued to tantalise us with just the occasional glimpse of its granite peak but today it remained resolutely shrouded in cloud for the most part.
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