On the road to El Chaltén

I want to write! I want to write down all those bits and pieces that make you go wow, but I can’t seem to remember them. Every moment has an intense sense of urgency and it’s hard to keep those things in your mind when you’re fighting a head/side/all around wind, or scurrying about for your rain gear, or looking for a suitable camp site, or looking for your warm layers. Every moment is weighed down by the elements of fear, whether real or imagined. The rare moments of sublime are shadowed by the ongoing drag of ‘just holding it together’ to get to the next stage... whatever that is!

Yesterday was one of those rare moments, rolling down a hill as the landscape expanded before you, then realising you are actually in Argentina. The river flowing fast and the empty space reminding me of my insignificance, and there it is, the magnification of our insignificance when confronted with the sublime. Condor cuts through the empty space and I know for a brief moment I am not alone, though I feel like it. The Hawk, the Wedge Tail, the Condor. Birds of prey suppressing my fears, anxiety and stress for a brief moment. Just long enough for me to remember I want to be here. Unfortunately, this is fleeting and a quick jolt to reality via a stove that won’t light and uses too much fuel or a wind that tries to fill your tent with dirt. Nothing like lying in a tent and having dirt fly all over your face, settling like dust on a mantle piece. 

Two hours seeking shelter from the wind behind a tiny scrub and the best entertainment for biding the time is watching another tour cyclist (through binoculars) trying to hitch a ride down the way. The excitement of watching a car roll up, the anticipation of whether they’ll stop and the anxiety of them not getting a ride and discovering our awesome camp spot behind the rock - which we have claimed but not yet set up! Anyway, that’s a pretty good summary of Patagonia thus far, disjointed, confusing and all over the place.

Be xx

Top headline:

“We are NEVER doing THAT again!” (Riding north to El Chaltén)

Wind break 

A room without a view (from a hotel we can’t recommend in Esperanza)

A big league wind break!

So close!