Meine Argentinienreise 2007/2008

Impressions of Patagonia

I took the bus from Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos, a ride of more than 2,800 km and 36 hours, and there I caught another bus to go to El Calafate, a little but very touristic and commercial town near the National Park “Los Glaciares”. Here we packed our stuff for a 5-days trekking tour to Mt. Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy, one of the most magnificent mounts I have ever seen. These mountains are well-known for stormy and rainy weather, and they say you can’t see the tops of the hills at 340 days a year. They are always covered by clouds. Because we are lucky one, we just arrived when the weather had changed and the blue sky offered us fanastic views on these fascinating landscape. Have a look at the picture gallery “Patagonien – Cerro Torre und Fitz Roy” (Patagonia – Mt. Torre and Mt Fitz Roy).

Another spectacular adventure was an Ice-trekking over the glacier Perito Moreno. It is astonishing to see a glacier like that but it is much more electrifying to touch it and to see the valleys, little rivers of melting water, the caves and holes and especially the famous glacier-blue which differs from light to deep or steel-blue. Have a look at the picture gallery “Patagonien – Glaciar Perito Moreno” (Patagonia – Glacier Perito Moreno).

Another natural wonder of Patagonia are the clouds and the magic light. How can I describe this visual spectacle? Look at “Patagonien – Licht und Wolken” (Patagonia – Light and Clouds).

Wherever you are in Patagonia this landscape and its rocks, woods, its rough weather, cold and icy water, its deep skittering clouds does always surprise you with bizarre  and unique forms, figures and colors. Do you want to know what I am talking about? Here we go: “Patagonien – Form und Gestalt” (Patagonia – Form and Figures).

What I like in the National Park is that entrance and the camping-sites are free as long as everybody follows the rules: Leave no trace! Take the garbage out of the park! No dogs! No open fire! Keep the water pure! Everybody should take responsibility to preserve this piece of paradise as long as possible!

After ten days and overwhelmed with impressions I continued my travel towards Atlantic coast. I had to return to Buenos Aires but my idea was not to take another 36-hrs-ride but to travel slowly and from place to place alongside the coast. So I passed and stayed in Rio Gallegos (what a disconsolate town), Puerto San Julián (a small and quiet place I enjoyed a lot), Puerto Deseado (dusty and windy), Comodore Rivadavia (boomtown after they found oil there a hundred years ago), and finally Peninsula Valdés, another National Park and a paradise for sea animals. Here you can watch whales (unfortunately I came out of season), penguins, sea lions and sea elephants, orcas and a lot more. I took some pictures of these animals: “Valdés – Tiere” (Valdés – Animals) but there is also the specific maritim landscape which fascinated me a lot. It is amazing to see how the sea is changing, creating figures and textures, how very little things like a shell or a stone appear like a work of art made by nature. Maybe you enjoy it as I did: “Valdés – Impressionen” (Valdés – Impressions).