Adventures in Patagonia

Semana Santa is both a holy day and a holiday here in Buenos Aires. Thousands of portenos flee the city to Mar de Plata (beach town), Mendoza and "countries" (aka. country clubs in the 'burbs). So in an attempt to fully integrate, we decided - hey, let's take a vacation too! Who are we to argue with local protocol.

We decided to head down south to Patagonia. The province is coincidentally named Santa Cruz (Zack's hometown) and hosts some of the most beautiful glaciers and trekking destinations in all of South America. We spent our first days in El Calafate where we actually hiked on the famous glacier - Perito Moreno. The experience of walking on a glacier was certainly surreal and concluded with a treat provided to us, whisky "on ice", taken right from the glacier. This was certainly a drink, and an experience, we'll never forget.

,

After tasting the delicious Calafate marmalade and artesanal chocolates, we made our way three hours north to the trekking town, El Chalten. While still a hikers paradise, El Chalten will inevitably change into a tourist town now that the main road has been built from Calafate. For the present time, we enjoyed the small town feel and friendliness of this adorable pueblo. We had three full days of hiking - one four hour hike (day 1), one eight hour hike (day 2) and one six hour hike (day 3). If I ever thought I knew hiking, I was sorely mistaken. The challenge of one hike in particular (Laguna de los Tres) gave new meaning to the term "a steep ascent."

All that to say, our days were marvelous. The terrain was picturesque, the hikes afforded wonderful moments with nature and the evenings were full of delicious wine, feasts and experiences. One night, we enjoyed our own private chef at an adorable local restaurant! Thanks for the delicious tapas, Chef Chipo.

After seven days on vacation we packed up our hiking boots and headed back to the city. I learned once and for all that Santa Cruz(s) - of all varieties - are magical.