⛰️ Journey through Patagonia

this is a video about a journey to see the highlights of Patagonia from born as Aires we flew south to Patagonia at El Shelton we hiked up to see the stunning Sierra Fitzroy then on to al Caliphate 8 where we visited the massive perito moreno glacier and then went on to explore the Torres del Paine National Park before heading to quarter arenas and finishing up the new square we flew south from winter in the land of ice and snow to land in pole summer after a brief stop in Santiago de Chile we flow across the mighty Andes to born as Airy [Music] from born as Aries we flew three and a quarter hours south to cover the 21 hundred kilometers to Al Caliphate A's airport [Music] leaving born as Aries we flew over the brown waters of the River Plate with its ocean-going cargo ships steaming along [Music] the skies were clear and nearing el calafate a we could see the famous mountains at el shell 10 some 80 kilometers away in the distance landing at el calafate a we immediately drove north for four hours to cover the 220 kilometers to reach out shelled pan where we'd hike to see monte fitzroy from cyclists battling the winds to wildlife to an interesting landscape there was lots to see us we drove on to El Shelton Ria's our large flightless birds that are native to South America but are related to the oestrogen EMU although they can't fly they open and lower their wings when they run [Music] guna closed jumping over the fences occasionally get hung up and diam at the bridge across the Rio liliana we stopped for a break at the hotel la leona where we could get our first clips of the snow-covered andes in the distance [Music] as we drove alongside the long leg oh the Edna we started to get good views of the mountain spires around al Shelton [Music] the roto L shell pan goes up and down and around like a rollercoaster with ever more beautiful views of the spires [Music] [Music] the area around el Shelton is in the parque nacional los glaciares territory is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world the steepness of its spire the mushroom of rime ice on its summit and the notorious Patagonian weather make it a very difficult climb nearby mount a fitzroy is an equally impressive mountain el chalten is a small mountain town nestled in the rio de las vueltas valley the village was built in 1985 by the Argentine government to help secure the disputed border with Chile today the sole reasons for existence is tourism el Shelton's permanent population is about 1,000 people and it increases considerably in the summer months during the height of the tourist season [Music] the town is mainly a simple resort but tours come from around the world to climb and hike surrounding mountain the town is surrounded by mountains with the pizza Sierra Torre and Monta Fitzroy visible from the town [Music] we made a nine-hour hike to see the futur Massey from laguna de los tres to avoid retracing our steps our hike started at el Pilar and ended back at el chalten for the classic laguna de los tres hike we were up early and soon were driving 17 kilometers north to el Pilar where our hike would start the beautiful views of fitzroy from the road added to the anticipation of starting the hike from the trailhead we could see the summit of fitzroy in the distance peaking over a ridge the trail from lpr to laguna de los tres is moderate until near the end where rears up steeply in a 400 meter climb [Music] the hike along the rio blanco afforded us great views of the mountains glaciers and a lake the trail passes through a quiet forest with large langa beech trees [Music] as we hiked along rio blanco our views of fitzroy were constantly changing but we're always fascinating the glacier descending off the east side of fitzroy ends in a tumble of blue tracks descending into laguna piedras blancas fitzroy was called shelton by the indigenous people shelton means smoky mountain and reflects the clouds that usually form around the mountain summit there were impressive views of the granite spires in the fitori massive that culminated in the mass of monte fitzroy itself the trail passes through a wide open area with a grand view of the whole landscape [Music] near the personal campground we joined the trail coming up from L Shelton so the number of hikers increased significantly the trail passes through the Ponson old campground which is located in a beautiful beech forest shortly after crossing the rio blanco on a log bridge the trail becomes very steep as 400 metres must be climbed up to a ridge to get to the laguna de l'eau spray hiking through the trail maintenance work we had lunch in a shelter before starting up the steep trail to the top of the moraine 400 metres above us [Music] the trail up the 400-meter rise is steep and rocky so care is required both going up and descending [Music] finally after a tough slog up the steep trail we reached the top of the moraine and could finally get an unobstructed view of the beautiful mountains behind the glacier fred laguna de los tres we were fortunate that the Troy was not the Smoky Mountain that day during our visit otherwise it would have been a lot of effort for not monta fitzroy is one of the most challenging peaks in the world despite its average height this is due to its sheer granite bases and the frequently wild Patagonian weather while hundreds of people may reach the summit of Mount Everest during a season Fitzroy might only be successfully summited once during the year there is an impressive Berg strong on the glacier high up on the east flank of the Pantanal spire descending from laguna de los tres we started back on the 10 kilometre height to L shell pant [Music] my job a [Music] that the weather had granted us break was soon evident when Fitzroy massive became shrouded in a cloudy mantle living up to its name of smoking Mountain it was a long slog back down to El shell can with a wonderful view near the end out over the valley of the rio de las both paths have the trails end back in el shelton we were grateful to have seen the futur massive in all its glory returning from el shelton we stopped at al calafate a to see the impressive perito moreno glaciar el calafate has a town of some 22,000 people and it is now the jumping off point for tourists wanting to see the wonders of los glaciares National Park the perito moreno glaciar 80 kilometers from el calafate a is named after the explorer Francisco Moreno a pioneer who studied the region in the nineteenth century [Music] there's lots to see on the drive to the glacier starting with the waterfall on leg argentino which includes swans and flamingos [Music] [Music] the estancia's along the way we're very evocative of the Argentine in our minds I the perrito moreno glaciar is only one of three Patagonian glaciers that are going to spike glacier shrinking elsewhere the reasons for the growth remains debated by glaciologists tour boats take tourists out to the glaciers terminus where they can hike upon the glacier [Music] due to its size accessibility and act of calving the glacier is one of the major tourist attractions in southern Patagonia [Music] at its terminus the glacier is five kilometers wide with an average height of 74 meters above the surface of Lego Argentina [Music] the tourist facilities at the glacier are very good with a walkway that affords good viewing of the activity at the terminus there is even an elevator that takes people down to the lower walkway level given that it was a bright sunny day there were beautiful blues visible in the crevasses at the glacier terminal [Music] we spend our time at the terminus waiting for cabinet events to occur fortunately because the glacier is advancing it calves frequently and we saw five such events in our hour of watching [Music] [Music] it's all happening now Donna [Music] leaving the glacier we headed back to el calafate a where we caught a public bus for the 272 kilometer drive to puerto natales in chile it took about four hours for this drive given the two sets of border crossing formalities involved one to get out of Argentina and the other to get into Chile our guide sat up front in the bus and made and shared herb amate tea with the bus driver Matta is reported to have a number of positive effects such as increasing mental energy and focus for us that kept the bus driver awake as he was talking to the person whom he was sharing the mate' with bus ride gave most passengers a chance to sleep although if awake the passing scene was interesting to watch at the Argentine border we had to stop and check out of the country this stop gave us a chance to watch a gaucho with two sheepdogs shepherding his flock in the distance he's got two sheepdogs [Music] once checked out of Argentina we drove on to the Chilean border control post at Villa Sierra Costello we had to set out our luggage on the ground so that a sniffer dog could check it out as our passports were being checked the final part of the drive to puerto natales was interesting with some condors and a lenticular cloud in the sky overhead puerto natales a small town of 20,000 was just an overnight stop for us before we drove onto Torre del Paine National Park in Chile's Patagonia region visitors to puerto natales are welcomed by a giant ground sloth known as lamella dawn whose remains were found in a cave nearby although puerto natales appears to be inland it is actually on the última esperanza sound which connects in a serpentine way to the Pacific Ocean the immoral viento or love of the wind statue was erected in 2012 as a tribute to them to tourists Patagonia wins that regular reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour we later experienced these winds in the mountains at the Bayeux a campground the city was settled by European immigrants primarily Germans English Welsh Scots Croats Greeks Italians and Spaniards traces of this heritage can be found in businesses throughout the city we saw a wedding but a dapper may been put on that wedding by police issuing traffic tickets from puerto natales we drove 100 kilometres north on an overcast dreary day to torre del Ponyo national park to the start of our hike to see the famous granite towers that give the park its name [Music] after a stop at Villa Sierra Costello we drove through the rain towards the mountains passing by Ria's ruin ACOs geese and caracaras [Music] the hike from the hotel las torres to the mirador las torres is about 10 kilometers with a planning figure of about seven hours for the round trip hike our hike however lasted 10 and a half hours in total as my hiking boots unexpectedly split their seams at the sole i used duct tape to make a desperate emergency repair before the hike started only time would tell how long this repair lasted we started our hike to the Torre del Tania from the parking lot of the hotel las torres trail to the mirador las torres is rated as being of medium difficulty it starts off deceptively flat but soon steepens as it climbs up the rio Ascencio valley until the refugio l shelah know the trail is shared with horses led by Gauchos packing out tourists hola nearing the refugee oil chillon oh we descended down to the bridge to cross the fast-flowing Rio essential for those making an overnight hike the refugio has share bedrooms camping ground hot showers and a restaurant for day hikers like us the refugee girls dining hall was a welcome place to eat our packed lunch out of the rain at the refugio horses to pack Oh tours could be hired for about $70 and there was no shortage of customers after the refugio the trail continued upwards and past over several fast flowing streams interesting sites along the trail included a large conglomerate rock at first view of the towers uprooted tree roots clinging onto rocks and wonderful parallel dikes emerging from the lehnga beach forest the trail becomes a steep rocky ascent over talus and moraine the path is not well marked so care is required to keep going in the correct direction nearing the mirador las torres the trail affords wonderful mountain views all the towers are not fully visible finally cresting the ridge the mirador las torres was attained and the three torres del paine iya were in full view towering above us the clouds were boiling over the towers during our stay but fortunately the rain had stopped and the Sun had come out our efforts getting to the mirador had paid off and we were not disappointed departing the mirador the hike back down to the hotel las torres was still an effort and as we descended the sky became overcast and it started to drizzle my duct-tape emergency repair of my hiking boots had not survived the height finally after 10 and a half hours we were back at her bus at the hotel las torres and off to a nearby private campsite with an outstanding view of the towers [Music] the views of the Torre del Pena nearing sunset were ever-changing as the clouds formed and disappeared over top of them a short sleep was followed by an early rise at 5:00 a.m. to watch the stars over the mountains surprisingly not only the stars wrote in the dark catching the sight of a puma in the wild is like winning the Patagonian lottery since these secretive creatures are masters at quietly blending into the background Pumas are most active in the very early morning or as the Sun is setting and lo and behold just before 6 a.m. a pair of Pumas walked by the campsite stopped and stared at us before continuing on the golden sunrise on the Torre del pena made for an interesting sight you after breakfast we were off on a short drive catch the ferry to the PEI Oh a campground where we'd spend the night on the drive to the ferry there are excellent views of the mountains including the Quirinal del Ponyo or literally the horns of pena [Music] here it goes honest melting another you can see they're not fighting oh when they fight they put in the years down and they try to fight to by the desiccant ferry ride across like okay Oh a toupee Oh a campground was rough as the PAL Gordian wind was high there were excellent views of the queer knodell Ponyo during the crossing at the pay Oh a campground dock there was a large number of hikers waiting to catch the ferry back the wind at the campground was still high making it difficult for campers struggling to erect their tent the dining hall was crowded with hikers looking to get a break from the high winds and cold temperature [Music] the high wind made for very changeable weather we made two short hikes from the campground one towards Quirinal del Pena and the other to Lego gray we hiked towards the French Valley to better see the queer knodell Pena the dramatic point of bariloche dominated the northern skyline a strong wind to rip the top of the waves off on lago Payoh a [Music] the sort like Sierra Espada clearly stood out on the skyline arriving back at the campground it was bedtime although the flapping of the tent in the wind did help sleep [Music] at breakfast in the dining hall we noticed the racist sign blaming a forest fire on the deliberate actions of a Jew this was a reference to a fire in 2012 that burned about a hundred and seventy-six square kilometers of the park the trees burnt in this fire were evident as we hiked to lag o gray fresh snow had fallen on the mountains overnight and the wind was blowing again [Music] there were light Bluebird events grounded on Lego GRA that were being battered by the waves whipped up by the high wind the birdie bids come from the glacier gray at the northern end of lag oh great returning to the campground we walk down to the dock and lined up to wait for the next ferry leaving lego pay away behind we headed south two-pointer arenas which would be our next overnight stop we stopped to see a herd of Guin ACOs feeding beside a small lake with the wonderful backdrop of a ruggedized covered mountain goo and knockos are related to the camels found in Africa and Asia they are also related to vicunas llamas and alpacas which all live in South America goo nachos and vicunas are wild animals unlike llamas and alpacas which have been domesticated goo and Alcazar ever alert to dangers to the herd [Music] back in puerto natales we waited in the bus terminal for a public bus that would take a 250 corridor south in three hours to point out arenas [Music] [Music] Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile's most southern region it has a population of about 120,000 and is located on the Straits of Magellan Chile has used pointa arenas as a base to defended sovereignty claims in the southernmost part of South America the Shaggs at the porch struggled to make any headway against the strong southerly wind the port is logistically important in accessing West Antarctica in fact there was a u.s. Antarctic resupply vessel in port the public cemetery 0.0 rayna's started in 1894 has been ranked by CNN as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world it was designated a National Monument of Chile in 2012 giant topiary trees dominated Cemetery the [Music] impressive chapels of the great families in the history of porta arenas contrasts with the small burial niches of the lesser mortals [Music] after walking around downtown we had a traditional supper of chili and beef in a restaurant with memorable symbols for the ladies and the man's rooms in the main square of Punta Arenas is a statue to Ferdinand Magellan the Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain who passed close to the present site of Punta Arenas in 1520 while circumnavigating the earth for Spain from pointa arenas we caught a public bus that would take us six hundred twenty kilometres south to Liu Shui and Argentina in nine hours one and a half hours out of Punta Arenas we arrived at the ferry crossing of the Straits of Magellan the ferry crosses the narrowest part of the Straits of Magellan to connect mainland Chile to Tierra del Fuego once loaded the ferry crossing only takes about 20 minutes however frequent high winds can cause long delays and crossing the day prior to our crossing the ferry was cancelled due to the winds [Music] the strait of magellan provides a well-protected inland waterway for safe navigation between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the unpredictable winds and currents and the narrowness of the passage ferdinand magellan of portugal discovered and navigated the street in 15-20 during his global circumnavigation voyage in the service of Charles the first of Spain [Music] once across a straight we were in Tierra del Fuego but still in Chile the name Tierra del Fuego is Spanish for the land of fire it is an archipelago split between Chile and Argentina the name Tierra del Fuego came about because of the fires of the native population seen by the early European explorers the native populations of Tierra del Fuego were largely forced off their land in the latter half of the 19th century the northern part of Tierra del Fuego has a Stanzi as raising sheep despite the strong wind there were still hearty bicycle tours trying to move against the wind whom we watched as we were being served coffee on her bus finally we arrived at the border and were checked out of Chile before being cleared into Argentina the concern about Ebola was evident at the borders nearing ushuaia the rolling open countryside was replaced by a mountainous one finally after nine hours we entered the city of ushuaia which while on the surface is not the most interesting of cities it has some interesting attractions if one digs deeper woosh whale was originally named by early British missionaries using the native Yamana Indian name for the Bay on which the city is cited although shui totes herself as fen del mondo or into the world a check of a map will show that the nearby Chilean town of puerto williams is further south still Liu Shui is population growth in the late 19th century was centered around the prison built by the Argentine government to both increase the Argentine population in the area and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego a cup of mate' went well with lunch we were lucky that the carnival douche whale was on during our visit so we got to see the parade with its wide variety of carnival groups displaying their talents [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] penis has a beautiful old-fashioned carousel that is still in use [Music] like other Argentine cities who Shui has a Falklands War Memorial to commemorate the failed 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands it was from ushuaia that the Argentine Cruiser General Belgrano sail before being sunk by the Royal Navy with the loss of 323 lives anti British propaganda can still be found around the waterfront the tug st. Christopher has been grounded since 1957 in the harbour and now serves as an object of interest for tourists and as an excellent subject for photography a significant generator of activity English where is it spear where during the Austral summer there are numerous comings and goings of Antarctic cruise ships because of all the sailings of Antarctic cruise ships there are last-minute deals available on cruises to Antarctica moosh whale with a population of 57,000 is situated on the Beagle Channel which was named after the Royal Navy ship HMS Beagle which under the command of Captain Fitzroy first reached the channel in January 1833 we took one of the many beagle channel cruises available from ushuaia that enabled the viewing of wildlife including shag sea lions and penguins our beagle channel crews started at the yosh way appear with its eclectic collection of ships ranging from a spanish research ship a nice strength and cruise ship an Argentine Coast Guard Cutter and a cargo ship resupplying woosh whale riding at anchor off the end of the pier where the boats of the wealthy tourists including the super yacht Triton and the luxury sailing yacht drumbeat off the end of the yoshua airport is an island with a large number of shags that blankets its surface while we were watching the Shaggs there were several jet liners taking off in the distance [Music] [Music] the isla de los lobos has a population of sea lions including huge bowl sea lines with their harems [Music] [Music] passing the lighthouse called a thorough laser clear we continued on to a magellanic penguin colony [Music] it was fascinating to watch the Penguins flying back through the water to their Beach becomes I'm flying Inlet [Music] [Music] amongst the magellanic penguins were some seemingly lost penguin species including Gentoo and king penguin while returning to ash whale we passed by the MV plan theist which was sailing down the beagle channel to Antarctica [Music] the Sun set on the way back to the US way appear was glorious [Music] even though it was still the Austral summer there was fresh snow in the mountains [Music] back in - where that night is we are having our end of trip celebration cruise ships were departing on nighttime sailings to Antarctica take me somewhere nice - some tired island in your heart called paradise

Channel: tletter

Views: 56,058

Rating: 4.819355 out of 5

Keywords: travel, Patagonia, El Chaltén, El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier, Torres del Paine, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Strait of Magellan, Ushuaia

Id: RtmCSyEaIFc

Length: 44min 31sec (2671 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 10 2016