Hosteria Koonek El Chalten

... scenery etc.
We arrived and were greeted by a girl on our bus who i taught said she would be back in 5 mins to explain our day etc. 10 mins later we found out that most people had been inside the hostel for this talk so we missed the introduction which mainly gave advice on what treks to take and which treks were closed etc..
Now we learned it was no organised tour but we were on our own hiking to different parts to get views of the surrounding areas etc..
We ...

... here (access to the National Park from Calafate is very limited) is to see the Perito Moreno glacier, a finger-like extension of the ice field into Lago Argentina. The glacier rises to 60m (above the water) and is 5km wide where it meets the lake. Having seen a few glaciers up now, I was still shocked by the size of the thing, and the immense sound that resonates in the valley when the ice detaches from the front of ...

... on earth... this is nuts... vertical climb.. no point turning back... have to do this.. Stephen giving me encouragement... you will regret if you dont see the view and all that ...

... man jacket adds a cool 100 pounds to my frame, nice one!) 4. Wave your arms, yell and throw rocks aggresively. (Grand, my Mullingar roots should stand to me there. I'll just pretend I've walked out of the Final Fence at 3 in the morning and am in the queue for Lingui's Takeaway). So off I set, confident I cold overcome any Puma attack. Only a few minutes in and I spotted a condor circling above. I ...

... being in obscure locations, and, of course, because Ireland have had such a good season and the Grand Slam was at stake (I may have missed all the games, but my sources have kept me informed!) And it was, indeed, great to be able to see the game... but sitting in a tame wee bar, with a handful of other foreigners and disinterested locals, with zero atmosphere, and trying to make out the unfolding events on a ...

... run, without a break so that i could get back before sun set... Fuelled on but together podcast mixes, which is so not the spirit of hiking but was the only thing to get me up that mountain... i was so lucky also as the weather cleared up and i had perfect views... (thank you evil nine for getting me through that last hour ) i came back a broken woman, however nothing a steak the size of my head couldnt sort out!!! another day, on our way, to BA!!!!

... Chile border which took over an hour with the stamping of passports, changing and checking of luggage and finally visit to the money changing tourist shop. It was clear that they are not the best of friends. I think there are ongoing border disputes in Tierra del Fuego. Taken via a swimming lake and local beauty spot and first view of Torres del Paine with a rainbow waterfall and via a hovercraft over Lago Pehoe to the Refugio Pehoe where I ...

... or 40 miles disappearing in to the horizon. Everywhere you look in Patagonia the views are of an epic proportion - the horizons and skies seem to go on forever. The second day was a 'proper' trek. We set of at 9 and by 9.15 I was cursing Paul for making me do this trek. As El Chalten is in a valley all the walks start by hiking up a steep hill (350m incline) with hundreds of steps made from old ...

... is worth a fortune!!! I got talked into a hike that I thought was a bit beyond me by a couple that Iīd been with on the bus, but I was really pleased I did it (thanks Steve and Johanna!). It was a 32km hike that wasnīt too demanding for the most part to be honest, apart from some fairly steep ascents (being a shorty didnīt help). We had to cross a river using harnesses and a pulley system, and then we went ice trekking and climbing on the Cerro Torre glacier. It was awesome ...

We both slept like logs, sleeping for an impressive 10.5 hrs; it's amazing what a bit of physical exercise and fresh air can do!

After brekkie and collecting the laundry, we headed out to walk to Mount Torre, which was listed as a 6 hour return walk, but they always exaggerate the timings, so we were confident of doing it in under 5 hours.

The trail took us steeply uphill for the first hour or so, before reaching a 'mirado'" (viewpoint) looking over the ...