March 9-16

Not many people make Puerto Natales, Chile their home base, but Devin and I found ourselves in and out, leaving our luggage behind at the hostel a few times. When we showed up after the flight from Santiago, the hostel staff joked “Bienvenidos a casa, chicos”. Welcome home, guys. However, it would not be a long stay in Puerto Natales as we were catching a bus to El Calafate, Argentina that same day. The next morning, sweet Caroline would be flying in from Buenos Aires to meet us in El Calafate.

We were bummed when Caroline couldn’t join the family in Costa Rica, but she was determined to visit wherever we would be during her spring break! Flagstaff, AZ to Buenos Aires, Argentina…not a simple travel route, but Care made it safely and we were overjoyed to see her in El Calafate. It took a few days for Devin and I to ease out of our shoestring budget and start treating ourselves to happy hours and nice dinners, to Caroline’s delight (she is on vacation, after all!). Enjoy some stories in this blog post from a guest writer, none other than herself, Caroline Reed.

El Calafate

Hi blog,

Caroline (Rachy’s sister) here for this blog post! I was lucky enough to spend my spring break with DevnRach in southern Argentina, exploring the Patagonia region!

Our first stop was in El Calafate, well known for its proximity to the glacier Perito Moreno. We got to stay in a schwanky hostel with a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains. The first day we spent downtown and finding good pastry shops so I could try a medialuna. On Monday, we got in a taxi with Hugo to see the Perito Moreno glacier. Hugo was lovely and made great conversation (mainly with Rachael replying, but Devin and I understood it all)! Once at the park, we walked along boardwalks to get different views of the glacier. The coolest part of the glacier was watching ice chunks fall off and crash into the lake. Even if the chunks were small, it would sound like a massive boom of thunder. Everyone should pause here and go watch this video. My life goal is now to witness the Perito Moreno dam fall.

After the park, we went and took some naps before going to the Glacier Museum. The museum had a lot of amazing info on different types of glaciers and their behaviors. It was interactive and we learned so much, including why glaciers appear blue. The next morning we are off to El Chalten!

El Chalten

We woke up early to catch a bus (and carry my roller suitcase in less than ideal conditions). The bus ride had amazing views the whole time with many guanacos hanging out too. Once in Chalten, we took in the sights of the Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre range before grabbing the necessities for a yummy sandwich (bread, salame, avocado, tomato, and mayo). This first day we did a shorter hike, which overlooked the river and entire town, plus a good spot to see a couple condors.

The next day was another shorter hike to “Mirador Cerro Torre”, a nice viewpoint of the Cerro Torre range. Here we got to see Devin juggle and Rachael and I spent too much time taking photos of my shoes. We snacked on some alfajores before heading back into town for a happy hour drink + empanadas. We had a casual night in watching Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell complete the Fitz Roy traverse which we would hike to the next day.

Waking up early the next morning, we began the hike to Laguna de Los Tres. We did not start with the intention of catching the sunrise, but we managed to get a view of the iconic red Fitz Roy rocks from Laguna Capri. Continuing on, we passed through dense forests into open fields with a couple river crossings. Then, the massive switchbacks for all of our elevation gain. Some chossy rocks, false summits, and lots of non-yielders later, we made it to the summit of Laguna de Los Tres and saw the Fitz Roy range. This will be a moment I will never forget, especially because we saw a sweet zorro rojo (red fox) asking for some scraps. Rachy and I enjoyed a dip in the glacial water and then munched on some leftover empanadas (best trail lunch). We made the trek back down, following our rule of yielding to those coming uphill.

We took a well deserved nap after the hike, but made sure to wake up for happy hour. Per usual, our happy hour was spent playing cambio (I think I won most games??). After happy hour, Rachy and Dev treated me to a parrilla, meaning lots of meat and wine! Some of the most amazing and tender meat, and the best company a girl could ask for.

After a good night’s rest (lots of meat and wine), we went out to find some climbing gear to rent. With all the supplies in town, we went to a smaller crag with some fun single pitches and a friendly cat. We climbed all afternoon, enjoying some of Rachael’s speciality sandwiches. This day ended with yet another happy hour & cambio, before waking up at 2am to catch another bus back to Calafate. After arriving in Calafate again, we hopped on an airplane to Buenos Aires.

Once in BA, we went to a nice zoo and saw lots of capybaras, a camel (??), some giraffes, and an elephant. Our primary goal was to go to a Basque restaurant for a nice dinner (after happy hour & cambio in the arts district). We made the trek to the restaurant, just to find out you needed a reservation and it was properly out of our price range anyway. So, we found a bar with some yummy burgers and beer to finish out the night.

To sum it up, I got to spend a week with DevnRach exploring some of the coolest places in the world. I am jealous they get to keep seeing new places while I am back at work.

Cheers,

Care Bear