trading city lights for starry nights

📍 Patagonia 📍 Ushuaia 📍 El Calafate 📍El Fin Del Mundo 📍 Tierra Del Fuego 📍

I finally know where Gatorade got the name for the flavor "Glacier Ice." I don't have the words to describe how blue the water is here at the "end of the world." My words will never do this place justice but I can at least explain our perfect trip itinerary.

Sunday

Sunday morning I was at Lollapalooza until 3 AM, our train broke down and I waited on the track for hours knowing that I had to be at our meeting place at 6 AM for our flight to Patagonia. Sunday morning we landed in El Calafate, the entire plane ride you could see the beautiful blue lakes and snow capped mountains that took my breath away.

We bussed straight to La Jardin de Infantes 63 to plant trees and restore native plants. We learned all about the history and importance of native plants, composting, and halting consumption culture. The earth all around was brown and almost looked dead but we were informed that these plants are all native and are made to withstand the year-round winters and high impact winds. Isn't amazing how the earth adapts to its surroundings. The view from the kindergarten was insane, we could see the most beautiful bright blue lake from the distance. The woman instructing us was so passionate about saving the earth that it was inspiring. We planted trees for wind protection, fruit bearing plants for sustainable consumption, and native plants that could withstand the soil.

Later, and exhausted, we checked into our hotel, which was just beautiful. There were beautiful chandeliers in each room, golden fixtures, and lovely framed mirrors. I was surprised to see flowers growing all around the building even in the extreme cold weather. The view from my room of the sunset over the water was insane. After the sunset, we walked to a local restaurant for dinner and a show. This walk was accompanied by horses and the show was no elaborate opera. It was a native jig, telling the story of how this place came to be.

Monday

We had breakfast at our beautiful hotel, which I should note that hotel breakfast in Argentina is just pastries and chocolate. After breakfast, we walked to the lake to wander for a little before we went to the glacier museum. The location of the museum was so peculiar but had an incredible view of the bright blue lake that I keep, and will continue to mention. We were able to learn about the history of the glaciers, how they form, and why they move. We also learned that the reason that the water is so blue is because of a mineral that is released when the glaciers slide. I seriously can't express how blue this water is.

Later in the day, we put on our warmest clothes and went to the national park. Here we went on a mile long staircase route around the glacier, Perito Moreno. Every single step was insanely beautiful, it is another one of those sights that makes you realize how small you are and how big the universe is. The walk surrounds the blue lake before getting close to the glacier. The glacier would constantly break off and fall into the water creating a piercing noise that you could hear from every direction. The water would create waves and swallow the broken ice. The blue and white shades hurt your eyes to look at were unlike anything I have ever seen or will ever see again.

Tuesday, my personal favorite day:

We watched the sun try to shine from behind the clouds as we boarded a boat. Being on a boat in the middle of that bright blue lake was so surreal. The vast mountains surrounded us as it rained, yet the views I experienced here are unexplainable. We stopped to look at a large iceberg in the middle of the lake. These icebergs are so unreal, they express so many colors of blue, and also represent how cold it is here. We got to Estancia Cristina and loaded into 4WD trucks up the mountain. It was dark, raining, and around 30F but we got out of the truck and hiked through the black rocks without being able to see very far in front of us for around 30 minutes. Once we got to the peak, we could oversee a glacier and another bright blue lake. This lake was even more impressive than the others. The contrast between the bright lake and dark mountains surrounding it, was breathtaking, in fact, this whole 16 km hike was breathtaking. We started to descend from the top of the mountain through an area where a glacier once was. It was called a fossil hike because every step uncovered a new fossil from the glacier that was there 5000 years ago. Every kilometer brought a completely different terrain, new views, vibrant plants, basically new everything, including weather. The rain stopped and it became a little lighter outside as we passed through the black flaky rocks that kind of shimmered in the rain. The rocks quickly shifted to very bright orange and red that also hosted bright green succulents that were flowering even in the freezing weather. We walked along streams and rivers of crystal clear water and large Bodies of water that are unexplainable. Around the half way point, the different terrains all met at a focal point over a lake. We could see a range of the black shiny rocks, the bright orange Grand Canyon like rocks, and a green grass covered mountain. At this point we started our walk through a grassy area through trees with wild horses. Every few minutes I wouldn’t help but turn around and look at the mountains that overwhelmed the landscape. As if I don’t say this about every place I have visited in Argentina, I stopped to take in the glory of the surrounding landscape and realized how insignificant I am. for miles I could see so many colors, plants, rocks, mountains, streams, and animals yet it was so quiet. This is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. I am in AWE of this place and of this life. I remember saying many times on this hike that I felt like I was in another dimension or planet, it was too unreal to be real.

Wednesday:

We hopped on a plane to Ushuaia which was only an hour, luckily I got the window seat and watched the sunrise and glisten over the mountains. We went straight from the airport to Tierra del Fuego. We took the 3 (a road that runs from Alaska to Ushuaia, people often roadtrip this) into the national park at El Fin Del Mundo, the meeting place of Chile and Argentina, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, the fresh water river dumps into the ocean and the mountains line up with the waves. The most magical place. This far south doesn't see clear days and sunshine very often but for us, the weather was perfect, other than a little cold. The crystal clear water glistened while the sun was shinning over the mountains. The water, yet again, was so blue but even more vast than the lakes in El Calafate. We went for a walk through tall trees, over colorful rocks, and beautiful sea shells, next to this beautiful ocean looking out at the Andes, this is the craziest thing I have ever experienced. We had the chance to get our passports stamped and send a letter to our families from the southernmost postoffice in the world, it was on a doc out in the ocean.

We took a boat from the park to the town of Ushuaia. On our boat ride we had to cut off our engine because we saw whales! We went through the dark blue water of the beagle channel and could see the snow capped andes from very direction. We encountered islands filled with sea lions and birds and even saw an original lighthouse on one island.

We checked into our hotel, —. This was an amazing hotel, there was a long glass hallway out to the pool, hot tub, and sauna. There was even an outdoor hot tub that was in a garden of beautiful purple plants. The hotel had it’s own trails and a little waterfall.

Thursday:

We went to Estancia Harborton where we rafted through the river from one island into the open water. It was crazy to see the calm fresh water collide with the rough salt water of the ocean. The water remained clear and a deep blue color. We had four rafts between our group and we all tried to race. We got out on another island where a boat was waiting for us. This boat took us to the only island with penguins in the Southern Hemisphere. This is where penguins mate and create nests and we were lucky to see the last few penguins before they start their migration. The seals followed our boat and jumped in our wake. We had lunch with everyone on an island that was covered in beautiful white flowers. After lunch, we went on a hike around the island. Just like Wednesday, it was crazy how many terrains we covered and how different they were from the day prior. We walked through green trails where the ground was oddly spongey and clearly not traveled very often. We went through streams and ducked under trees and crossed dams made by beavers. We finally got to the other side of the island where we encountered a huge whale bone. Our tour guide told us that two years ago he was kayaking this area when we found the beached whale and now it’s bones are all over the beach. We sat on the beach and collected rocks and shells while having mate with everyone. This was such a lovely experience.

Friday:

I woke up before wake up call to go on a sunrise hike behind our hotel. When we left it was still dark outside but soon we saw a bright red flash of light through the trees and as soon as we exited the tall trees the sun was up and it started to lightly rain. Our first stop overlooked the city which was unbelievable at dusk as people turned on their lights. The next stop was in a valley with an incredible view of the red and orange tree filled mountains while the peaks have slight reminisces of snow. We made it back for breakfast before we loaded into 4WD cars.

Me and my driver bonded from the start over never wanting kids and just wanting to travel the world. Every time I asked him if he’s seen a state or country he says “not yet” and I really resonate with that response. We went off-roading down to a lake where the reflection of the mountain was perfect on the water. It created a rainbow like picture from the blue water, green trees at the base that were turning red and orange, and the white snow on top of the mountain. We stopped at an igloo-like dome for lunch with our tour guides before going to the airport to head back to Buenos Aires.

I always talk about how we meet the most amazing people on our travels and there is no difference on this trip. Our tour guides with Canal are the most fun and inspiring people. On our rafts we became close with Fran who told us that he roadtripped in his VW bus from Ushuaia up to Alaska for two years. He catered to our competitive boat race and we even shared mate with him. We also bonded with our 4WD driver. He put me on aux at 8 AM and I obviously played Spanish music and he was hype that I knew the songs. He later introduced me to his favorite music, so I can guarantee we had the best car. This trip will forever be locked in my memory. I have never seen earth like this. This is the kind of trip you don't have the words to describe. I can't explain how blue the water is or even how cold it got, you just have to experience it for yourself. In this country I am continually reminded of how small I am and how amazing life is around us.