Day 1
Woke up to glorious weather and couldn’t wait to set off. We packed up with our overnight gear and were off. We walked to the end of the town, found the start and proceeded to hike upwards towards the magnificent Mt Fitzroy. Views were exceptional, we stopped so often to take photos and couldn’t fail to take supurb photos, even with our old iphones.
Steeper and steeper it got, 1.5km straight up, with loose rubble, extremely tough terrain which was very exposed (would not do this hike on a windy day).
At the top we were speechless and stood silently absorbing the epic views before us.
We soon realised that down at the glacier lagoon, one person had jumped in.We had already wanted to swim and this confirmed that it was possible, so off we went.
Jon traversed across to a rock near the side of the lagoon and then bombed into the water, where Vanessa did go in but gracefully kept her hair dry. It was ridiculously cold (not Antarctica cold but around 3 degrees). Jon actually took a few strokes, where Vanessa got in and very rapidly out.
The sun shone, so getting out was quite pleasant and we warmed up quickly. We left our stuff to dry, whilst we hiked up to see the other lagoon, larger than the first one, just magical!
The hike back was just all down, so lots of concentration was needed to ensure no slipping was had. At the campground we cooked, chatted for a while, then hit the sack.
Day 2
Rain and wind was in abundance last night, so when there was a break early morning, Vanessa suggested that after eating breakfast, that we pack up the tent, so that it stayed dry. Jon thought this was a good idea and down came the tent. Once done, Jon wanted to go visit the nearby glacier, whereas Vanessa wasn’t too fussed. We parted ways. Jon went to the glacier and Vanessa hiked back to El Chalten as the heavens started to pour.
Vanessa headed off with a quick pace trying to get away from the rain and wind but it was useless the wind ploughed and the rain came down sideways. At one point crossing a small bridge, Vanessa contemplated on crawling across just so she wouldn’t get blown into the river. An hour in and just as the wind and rain had started, it stopped. Sun came out and layers came off. Vanessa took a diversion to Laguna Capri, the water was a crystal blue and green mixture and felt secluded from the hussle and bussle of the wind and rain so recently experienced.
