After a day’s rest in Puerto Natales, we drove to El Calafate, where we would base ourselves for two days, spending a night in between in El Cheltén.

The purpose of these extra days was to get in more hiking before leaving Patagonia, and to see the Perito Moreno glacier.

We hadn’t expected much from either town beyond their close proximity to the national parks we intended on visiting, but they were pleasant spots to unwind in following the intensity of Torres del Paine.

The first thing we noticed (and it was a similar case in Puerto Natales) was the number of seemingly stray dogs roaming the streets. Far from the feral, bedraggled state one would normally associate with stray dogs, these dogs were healthy looking, well fed with glossy coats. They were friendly and calm, polite even. They went about their business happily, often walking around in pairs, and it was common to find them snoozing on the doorsteps of shops and restaurants. What was interesting was how little they interfered with humans, even those with food on their plates (although they did occasionally try their luck).

A little research on this unusual phenomenon highlighted the mixed feelings people have about these dogs, with many concerned for their health and safety, and advocating for better education on responsible pet ownership (many dogs, it seems, do have owners, they just let them roam free).

Aside from the slightly wilder trio that chased after our car as we left Puerto Natales, we had only pleasant interactions with the dogs, with one particularly gentle soul accompanying us on one of our walks.

Dogs aside, the main attraction in El Calafate is undoubtedly the glacier, which is classified as ‘stable’, meaning global warming has not yet significantly affected it. It ranges between 50-70m in height and has an area of approximately 750m squared.

We drove for an hour from the town to see it, and spent about an hour admiring it from various heights along the designated walkway. Arriving after lunch on a particularly hot day meant a lot of the ice had heated up, and we got to see a few ‘calvings’ (melted chunks of ice crashing down from the glacier’s edge).

In El Cheltén, we spent the day hiking what was both the most strenuous and rewarding of our treks to date.

The views along the way to see both Monte Fitz Roy and Laguna de Los Tres are renowned for their gobsmacking beauty, the former being the inspiration behind the Patagonia clothing brand logo. We made our way across rivers and through forests with Fitz Roy in our eyeline the whole way, then faced a particularly steep and tiring final hurdle to see the beautiful turquoise lagoon at the very top.

That night, we walked our tired, aching bodies to a restaurant called Ruca Mahuida, where we stuffed ourselves with wine and pizza. A good ending to a long day.

Back in El Calafate, we organised an afternoon of horse riding for our last day before heading north to Bariloche.

This was a four hour trip with a gaucho as our guide. Eduardo led us uphill and lakeside on our horses, Bat (almost entirely blind) and Mike Tyson (missing part of his ear). Naturally we had a parade of dogs behind us, all delighted to be part of the adventure.

Next stop is Bariloche, where we’ll spend a few days visiting more small towns before heading to Mendoza.

Ar aghaidh linn 🙂