Countries 3 & 4: My Brief Detour to Argentina & Uruguay

Hopping a bit out of order here, but figured I should tell the most recent stuff while its still fresh in my mind ... that and I didn't take daily notes while I was in Argentina, so I'll forget the detail if I don't put pen to paper on it soon. 

On December 11th, I flew down to Argentina with a group of 10 other staff members from the camp I worked at this summer. 

Zarate

We spent the first 4-5 days in a city called Zarate (also known as the Tango City), which is about 2 hours up river (northwest) from the burgeoning metropolis of Buenos Aires.

A few years ago, Zarate undertook a massive project to convert the abandoned industry buildings and dump on the bank of the Parana River into a beautiful riverfront park. 

An ode to Argentine Great, Manu Ginobili, in the riverfront park

In Zarate, we worked stayed with the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order) at a house they run for old men with nowhere else to go. We did a lot of dishwashing, laundry, mopping, card playing (by the end, Owen and I almost had the hang of Truco Argentino), and getting an immersion course in Spanish (only one of the men at the house spoke English). 

The full team with the Sisters (left to right): Reilly (doctor in training), Cole (frat president who managed to climb a whole mountain in Patagonia without noticing that his rental mountaineering boots were 2 different sizes), Grayson (Auburn superfan), Shane (wandering yogi), Kasey (San Diego's hottest new DJ), yours truly, Ben (future dude rancher), Justin (new father), MK (catch her Vietnam War documentary on PBS in 10 years), Liam (aspiring Bob Ross impersonator), and Owen (our resident sommelier). The Sisters: Alas, I can't recall any of the Sister's names, but the second one was from Mexico, the third was from Kenya, and the 4th was from India. 

The boys with Attilio. Since Attilio spoke English, we were able to get more of his story that we were for most of the other men. Attilio is 62 and has only been at the house a couple of months. Until recently, he was a sportswriter. He enjoyed going to concerts, like Coldplay, and cheering on his favorite soccer team, Boca. He's divorced and has a few children. A couple years ago, Attilio got some sort of disease of the nervous system (doctors were never able to identify a definitive diagnosis). He spent all his money on medical treatments that failed to stop the progression of his symptoms. He's lost almost half his body weight since the onset of the disease and spends most days in bed - getting up and spending the day in a wheelchair like he did for this picture has become a significant undertaking for Attilio. Attilio came to the Missionaries of Charities because he had nowhere else to go. We dedicated our summit push in Patagonia to Attilio, a man so full life in spite of his failing body.

German (pronounced Hair-mon), in off white, and Lujan (pronounced Loo-han), in red, attempt to teach us Truco Argentino. In my broken Spanish, I told them that I'm going to learn Truco and that I'll beat them the next time I see them. I intend to keep that pledge - I've since learned (most of) Truco Argentino (there are dozens of variations and nuanced rules) and am hoping to return to Argentina for a much longer stretch next winter. Lujan, who has 3 sons, used to be a port inspector and won many dance competitions with his wife. After his wife died, he experienced a major depressive spirals and attempted to take his own life multiple times. I'm not sure how he ended up at the Sisters' house, but he said he's become friends with everyone there and that he's found peace there - living there has helped him to stop thinking about the past and live in the present. In my experience, the peace that Lujan described was truly palpable at the sisters' house; the simplicity, routine, and somewhat isolated nature of it made it easy to forget that time was passing passage or that there was a whole world out there rushing and striving to get things done.

I was able to piece together less of German's story. We did discover that he has 3 daughters, is a big Tigres fan (another Argentinian soccer team), and apparently was a bit of world traveler - he said he met a pretty lady in Oklahoma in his 30s.While we could only understand about 10% of what German was saying, you didn't need to know any Spanish to see that he had a great sense of humor. 

Some of the most popular residents of the Sisters' house: Piadina (aka Doug) and Hong Kong (aka Stuart)

In total, there were about 30 men living at the house. While the language barrier made it difficult to learn much about many of the men, the sisters shared tidbits that made it clear that everyone there had been through trials akin to those of Attilio and Lujan.

Despite the language disconnect though, it was amazing how deep of a connection we were able to form in just a few short days. One image that continues to resurface in my mind is that of 5 or 6 of the men gathering on the porch, animatedly ringing the dinner bell and waving to send us off at the end of our stay.

When we weren't helping out the sisters, we explored Zarate. The pace of life is slower there, and, especially in the heat of the summer, taking a siesta is the norm, so we ended up having a lot of time every afternoon and evening for exploring and reflecting. 

An old villa that has been converted into a local history museum

The bridge over the Parana Guazu River to Uruguay - a short 20 minute drive from our digs in Zarate. Can't say I did much in Uruguay - just got out of the car to say I had stepped foot on Uruguayan soil, but in my defense I had left my passport in Argentina and was worried border control was gonna decide I looked suspicious. 

Big Mate Guy

Liar's Dice: The game of choice when we weren't struggling to learn Truco

Doing my best to blend in with the locals

Probably the best meal I had in Argentina: Pork with Red Fruit. Since the Argentine Paso is weak relative to the dollar, we were able to eat great meals on the cheap. Despite this, I have to say I was disappointed with all the beef I got in Argentina; Argentina is known for its beef, but I found it was always overcooked, even when I ordered it rare. 

Buenos Aires

After 4 days with the Sisters, we drove back to Buenos Aires for the afternoon before our flight to El Calafate the next morning. 

Buenos Aires has a city proper population of 3 million and a metro population of 16 million. Driving through it, it often feels like it sprawls endlessly away from the ocean, a bit like Los Angeles. While driving through Buenos Aires is not for the faint of heart, I'd say its less of a free for all than some other global cities I've been to, like Rome, or heard about, like Mexico City or Calcutta. 

One of the main drags of Buenos Aires

The Botanical Gardens: We didn't have time to see all of Buenos Aires, so we focused mainly on the Palermo neighborhood, which was full of gorgeous parks

More of the Botanical Gardens - we got locked in here after it closed

I forget the name of this park. All the parks were so lively though - this may have been the only open park bench there. 

Apparently George Washington had a big impact on Buenos Aires too ....

The quintessential tourist photo of Buenos Aires - from what I could gather, this was their equivalent of Times Square

After another overcooked fancy steak dinner (this time a cut called Vacio), my first hot shower in a week, and the best night of sleep I got on the trip, we departed for the airport the following morning. For those wondering, the Aerolineas Argentina travel experience is not a party that you want an invite to. Frequent and last minute changes of not only flight times but also arrival/departure airport (our flight got moved to an airport an hour away less than 16 hours before the flight departed; this was the third or fourth change the airline had made). Machines for self bag check never work, so lines are always long. The whole boarding group thing is ignored, so boarding is always a mess and delayed with a mob of 200-300 people jostling for a spot in line. 

Patagonia

Almost as close to Antarctica as it is to Buenos Aires, the Fitz Roy range of Patagonia is not an easy place to get to: a 3.5 hour flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate (the closest airport), then a 2 hour bus ride to El Chalten (the climbers outpost on the edge of the national park), and finally a 3 hour hike to the foot of the Fitz Roy. 

El Chalten is a neat little town - a mix of food shacks, hostels, gear outlets, and souvenir shops catering to climbers who travel from all corners of the earth to take their shop at the famed spires of the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre ranges. 

Feel like I couldn't say I'd been to South America had I not seen some llamas/alpacas. These fellas (or ladies?) were one of the few signs of life (besides scrubby plants) in the otherworldly terrain of the drive from El Calafate to El Chalten. 

El Chalten: A Climber's Mecca

Some interesting flowers in front of the gift shop where I bought my first mate gourd

People use the wall to the left as a warm up before more serious climbs in the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre ranges

One of the main drags of El Chalten

Looking into the park from town

Church of Our Lady of Patagonia (also known as the Climbers' Church) has mass on Tuesdays instead of Sundays since the closest priest lives hours away in El Calafate. 

After a night in a hostel in El Chalten, we rose early to collect our mountaineering gear, meet our guides, and trek to our base camp in Patagonia. 

The hike in 

This dude was pandering for snacks during our lunch stop at an alpine lake

Once we finished the 3ish hour hike in, we set up camp in a small forest near the base of the Fitz Roy range.

The site of our base camp. We'd gather water from this river every morning and evening. 

After setting up camp, we ate dinner and went to bed around 8 pm, which was difficult since the sun didn't set until about 10:30 pm (our winter solstice is their summer solstice). Going to bed early was a must though, as we got up at 3 am the following morning to begin our summit push. 

The mountain we climbed is called Cerro Madsen; our approximate route is shown in red. We climbed the first portion - a series of switchbacks and rock scrambles up to the ice as a group. Once we hit the snow, we pulled out our ice axes, put on our crampons, and climbed in rope teams of 2-3. After traversing the ice, we popped off our crampons scrambled about a quarter mile then roped in for a belayed climb at the foot of the summit.

5 am sunrise over Lake Viedma, the deepest lake in Argentina

Getting crampons and ropes set ahead of the traverse across the east face of Cerro Madsen

The team scrambles/climbs up the foot of the summit - I had just descended from the summit before taking this picture

The view from the summit. On a clear day, this spot probably has the best view of the Fitz Roy range, but alas it was not a clear morning. We summited around 9:30 am through heavy winds, some snow, and a shroud of fog over the Fitz Roy.

The view of Lake Viedma and El Chalten from the summit of Cerro Madsen.

The Fitz Roy glacier as seen from the scramble just below the summit of Cerro Madsen. 

My guide, Joakim, waits for me to get my crampons back on ahead of the traverse back down the east face.

Attempting to ski in mountaineering boots on our way back down

The full team (minus guides) at the small alpine lake that was visible from the summit. Everyone summited, but the climb certainly pushed many of us beyond our comfort zones. With the high winds and significant exposure, there were periods I had to keep my eyes trained on my guide's steps just ahead of me in order to keep my cool and continue moving. 

After the summit push, we limped back down the seemingly endless switchbacks and through the forest back to our base camp. Outside the night in the hotel in Buenos Aires, this was definitely the best night of sleep of the trip - most of us got 10+ hours (9 pm to 8 am). The following morning, 5 of us opted for a longer (12-13 mile) hike to get great views of the of Cerro Torre range, while the rest of the group opted for a shorter hike to an alpine lake or to stay in camp and recover. 

Some unique foliage spotted in the loose shale on the hike. Crazy how some of the most delicate flowers in the world grow in some of the harshest environments. 

Never seen flowers like this anywhere else in the world

Ended up having much clearer conditions on the second hike

The Fitz Roy in all its glory. Unfortunately Cerro Torre (left side of the photo) was still shrouded in fog. 

Hike 2 offered incredible views of the valley and El Chalten. 

A video from about halfway up. The solitary mountain near the end of video is called Cerro Solo. We stopped and watched a 4 man rope team traverse the glacier, weaving between massive crevasses as part of their summit push. 

The day 2 crew at the summit of our hike. Ben was able to hold it together for this photo but he got a serious case of the summit shits minutes after this picture was taken. 

A vertical one for the insta (Kasey's, not mine)

The descent was not without its own spectacular vistas

Towards the end of the hike, I found a great lake for swimming - while it wasn't exactly swimming weather, I felt the trip wouldn't be complete a quick dip. 

We spent our final evening listening to the stories of our lead guide, Manu. 

Manu (front left corner) grew up in Rosario, the same city Messi is from. He spent some time as a YMCA camp instructor and has traveled and climbed most of the west coast of Canada and the US. Manu first started climbing on a brick wall in Rosario with improvised harnesses. He's since climbed everything in the Fitz Roy range (among many other famous peaks). For fun, he enjoys climbing different peaks in the Fitz Roy range and skiing or paragliding to get back down to his home in El Chalten. Manu has 3 young sons and is hoping to retire soon but is having trouble finding a buyer for his guide business. 

The next morning, we packed up camp, hiked back to El Chalten, and explored the town during our final night in Argentina. 

The final Fitz Roy overlook on the hike out

Approximately 36 hours later (after a 2 hour bus ride, a 3.5 hour flight, an hour long cross city transfer, a 10 hour overnight flight, a short flight from Atlanta to Charlotte, and approximately 10.5 hours of driving, I found myself back in Pittsburgh at 11 pm the day before Christmas Eve. Much like the journey back, the whole trip was a whirlwind that I'm still unpacking and sorting through. The only firm conclusion I've reached is that I don't want it to be the end of my time in Argentina. While I'm not firmly planning much on this trip, I am tentatively planning to return to South America for 2-3 months next winter ... as long as the money doesn't run out before then. 

Keep Exploring, 

Kevino