Day 11 ... like walking on the moon

Today we had a full day excursion which we believed was a shared excursion. However, when our guide Pol and driver Jaime (pronounced Hime) arrived we discovered that we were the only ones on the tour! We were travelling north today for about an hour (although the journey probably took more like an hour and a half as we kept stopping to allow me to take photos!).

So following the usual get up, get dressed, fill in the paperwork that you need for the border crossing tomorrow, have breakfast … we were ready to go. Pol offered the front seat to one of us and Ian suggested I sit next to Jaime which proved to be a winner as he had eyes like a hawk and was quick to spot animals as we drove along. This meant he was quick to pull over to allow me to take photos. I captured condors, caracara, a beautiful red breasted bird, guanaco (a type of llama that is related to the camel family). You won’t get to see any photos though at this stage as most of them were taken on the camera (you know … those old fashioned things).

We drove along the edge of Lake Argentino so had beautiful views of the turquoise water, the snow capped mountains, the rivers that are fed from the lake as well as the Patagonian steppe, dry arid terrain with little to no vegetation. We drove to La Leona Parador … which is a resting stop where you can use the bathroom, get a cool drink if you wish, or in our case … look through the little museum they have before heading outside to dip your fingers into the glacier fed river … brrrrrr!

Back in the car we headed off the main road (route 40 that runs 5,700km down the spine of Argentina) onto a “provincial” road, a gravel road that leads into the estancias. We were headed to Estancia La Herradura … a 90,000 hectare sheep farm owned by a man who lives in Beunos Aires. The place we were going to was the Petrified Forest which is on this man’s land. The only tour company that has access is the one Pol works for. The landowner is happy to provide access to small groups but does not want bus loads!

The road in to the forest is accessed by a padlocked gate (Pol jumped out to open it) … the gate however has no fences … so to be honest it is somewhat of a token to other people to say DO NOT ENTER. We travelled then on a very rough and bumpy road to the edge of the canyon. Once we arrived, we were given walking poles, rugged up and said farewell to Jaime who would wait for us to return.

The hike (about 3 hrs) took us down into the canyon along a series of paths marked by yellow metal poles, or sometimes a plant that had some yellow light reflecting tape attached. The terrain is amazing … it is honestly like walking on the moon (I have vast experience of this). You walk down steep slopes, sometimes there are steps made out of pieces of wood held into the ground by steel posts. Sometimes there is a rope to hang onto. Sometimes you cross a bridge. It wasn’t a difficult walk but it had moments of challenge.

We walked on clay, rocks and even sand. There were huge boulders held up by clay, pyramid like shapes, very few plants, and even caves. Pol said the landscape changes a little every few years due to the snow in winter that gradually erodes the landscape. It was very surreal.

The bonus though is fossils that exist in the area that date back to the Cretaceous period approximately 65 million years ago … when it is believed a meteor hit the area and wiped put everything leaving this barren land. Pol was an excellent guide showing us fossils of dinosaurs … a femur, some ribs, other bone fragments.He showed us some bone fragments that had well preserved bone marrow with its intricate spider like pattern.

The main fossils though were the trees. Massive trees that had been felled by the meteor and covered over and then fossilised over a period of time. The tree trunks were massive. You could see the detail of the bark, the rings of the tree, the knots in the wood. They were different colours depending on what mineral had formed the fossilisation process. I have seen fossils before … but not on this scale.

We stopped for a bagged lunch, sitting on huge chunks of petrified wood - which was somewhat ethically uncomfortable, although physically perfectly comfortable. Our bags contained a ham and cheese roll, salad tub with tomato/lettuce/grated carrot, mayo/mustard/vinaigrette, apple, muffin, nuts and a choc-muesli bar. Apart from Ian dropping his salad tub while trying to construct a ham, cheese and salad roll we ate very well.

Ian here for the after lunch shift. On our way again we wound our way through narrow paths between massive boulders perched on pillars of clay. Which given that the annual post winter ice melting washes away at the clay suggests the perching is not forever. Then to a sandy area (think sand dunes) home to lots of grasses and small shrubs, some with small vibrantly coloured flowers - red, yellow and orange. And still lots of petrified tree trunks to amaze us.

Then it was time to work our way out of the moonscape. First a stop at a selection of different rock types including a slab of iron dug out of the ground. Down a clay slope with a knotted rope to stop us from falling. Past the emergency stretcher that is not sufficiently well hidden from view. Across a little wooden bridge at the lowest point of our walk. And up the final rocky slope. It probably only took about 15 minutes, zigging and zagging, with some zigs and zags less than 10m long. But all relentlessly up. Two stops to catch our breath. And then a final 60m upslope to the canyon rim. Happy to admit I had my second moment of "petrification" near the end as the "track" narrowed to little more than 20cm wide, but Pol's firm grip on my hand got me to the last few steps. All together again overlooking the site there was both a sense of amazement and accomplishment. From me - thank you Pol, and of course thanks to the rock of my life that gently encouraged me the whole way.

We left the forest area around 2.30. But hadn't gone more than 200m before we realised we could see Chalten (Mt Fitz Roy) off in the distance. It's distinctive spires are usually shrouded in cloud so we did well to get a clear view, even looking into the sun haze. Back to Parador La Leona for a refreshing soft drink, and then a long but fast drive home to El Calafate with a few stops to watch a juvenile condor, solo-living stag guanacos and once again the stunning vista and colour of Lake Argentino.

As we hadn't yet spent any time in town we got Pol and Jaime to drop us at the far end of the main street, from which we walked about 1km back through town exploring shops, parks, street art and all things curious. Three major stops of note. 1. Ice cream shop - with flavours containing cookies, bonbons and caramels. 2. Back street - only 2 blocks off the main street and it's not half as tourist focused, and the pavement was a trip hazard. 3. Supermarket - our go to place in most cities to see how local people live, and apart from long shelves of Malbec wine and Dulce de Leche sweet it was a lot like Australian supermarkets.

Our final stop for the day was Punto Panoramico - a viewpoint near our hotel with views overlooking El Calafate township and the lake. We grabbed a taxi from the stand in town and with the driver's Spanish and our English we managed to be heading to our hotel. But as it approached mutual hand signalling got us 100m past the hotel, turning left and a further 200m to the viewing spot. With the late afternoon sun shining on us we looked down and out and back on another wonderful day.

And so for our final dinner served by our lovely, friendly and cheery wait staff Julieta and Morena. They have been delightful and the food delicious.