El Chalten, Argentina

The Granite Appeal of Patagonia


Contemplation
Travelers admire the granite grandeur of Mount Fitz Roy.
Argentine ice
Stretch of the Viedma glacier at the foot of the Fitz Roy granite hill.
River Viedma
The Viedma heads south, fed by the melting of the homonymous glacier, near the Fitz Roy peaks.
Directions for the Path
Hikers examine the trail map around Cerro Fitzroy.
Southern Flora
Coniferous forest gives way to a meadow parched by the cold in the heart of Los Glaciares National Park.
El Chalten sign
A sign indicates the distance to the border town of El Chalten.
toothed ridge
The sharp granite top of the Fitz Roy Peaks massif.
Argentine Ice II
A small iceberg in the colors of the Argentine flag floats on the surface of Lake Viedma, at the foot of the Fitz Roy mountain range
Mother and Hija
Ecological plaque displays one of the most famous trails in the vicinity of Mount Fitz Roy.
irrigated meadow
Riacho runs from the foothills of the mountains to the wider rivers formed by the melting of snow and glaciers in the mountain range
sharp ridges
Sharp peaks of the Fitz Roy range with mist hanging over ice and granite on the southern slopes of the mountains.
after the short summer
Autumn colored foliage embellishes the coniferous forest between El Chaltén and the Fitz Roy mountain range
stone peak
The sharp summit of Monte Fitz Roy, the main elevation of Los Glaciares National Park, together with the neighboring Cerro Torre.
on foot or on horseback
A small sign indicates separate paths for walkers and horse riders in the beech forest around the Fitz Roy mountain range
Lugubrious Rail
Trail that leads from the base of the Fitz Roy hill to the base of the Cerro Torre.
Peeking the Autumn
Vegetation takes on autumnal tones in view of the ever-snowy Fitz Roy.
Two stone mountains have created a border dispute between Argentina and Chile. But these countries are not the only suitors. The Fitz Roy and Torre hills have long attracted die-hard climbers

Days passed. The somewhat epic nature of our last foray into Patagonia seemed to be confirmed.

The emotions generated by the grandiose scenarios compensated for the frigidity of the southern weather. Faithful to this guarantee, we moved to the northern reaches of the Los Glaciares National Park, in search of the solitary and unlikely coziness of El Chaltén.

The most recent village in Argentina was built in a hurry, in 1986. Buenos Aires saw the urgency to reclaim a vast undefined surrounding area before its Chilean neighbor could.

The objective was guaranteed, but the controversy associated with the partition of the territory would only be appeased 12 years later, when the two countries crossed the imaginary dividing line over the highest peak of the homonymous mountain – the indigenous people called it “smoky” in their dialect tehuelche.

Since then, the passionate interest of travelers and climbers in the region justified some investments, but the pseudo-population has changed little.

The Night Arrival to El Chalten and the Miraculous Weather in the Morning

We arrived from a long journey, almost all at night on a winding road, from crib wet and slippery to match. We found the final stop deserted, untidy, windy and dusty, like any border post lost in nothingness.

No one visits El Chaltén for its sophistication or for the beauty of its avenues and monuments. The big attraction is, and always has been, the Fitz Roy Mountains.

It makes up an imposing section of the Andes not so much because of the altitudes, just over half of Mount Aconcagua (6962 m), the roof of South America, but because the tectonic movements and erosion there have carved out some of the truly eccentric peaks on the face of the Earth .

el chalten rail plate, monte fitz roy, argentina

A sign indicates the distance to the border town of El Chalten.

“Look, they either spend a lot of time there or they'll need luck to see them,” the ominous natives of El Calafate warned us. "These mountains are only discovered 20 or 30 days a year!"

It's eleven at night. We feel like we're on our toes. An unavoidable photographic anxiety forces us to peek again through the inn's cramped window and freeze our faces once more.

We let ourselves be carried away by belief. In spite of the furious wind, we interpret the huge moon and the clear sky as signs of a worthy dawn.

When the day wakes up, some of the visitors curse the clouds and the rain having just disappeared upon their departure. We, rub our hands, celebrate the ephemeral satisfaction. We close our backpacks and head out into the yellow-green forest of slogans and southern beeches.

autumn leaves, monte fitz roy, argentina

Autumn colored foliage embellishes the coniferous forest between El Chaltén and the Fitz Roy mountain range

Trek the Trails and the Breathtaking View of Mount Fitz Roy

We have 10 hours of natural light to walk but we reach the small promontory of Loma del Pliegue Tumbado in no time.

From there, the unexpected sight of the granite spiers of Mount Fitz Roy against the blue sky takes us by surprise. It gives rise to a perplexed and lingering contemplation.

travelers contemplate, monte fitz roy, argentina

Travelers admire the granite grandeur of Mount Fitz Roy.

We continue to the base of the colossus and reach the vicinity of the Piedras Blancas Glacier.

Viedma glacier ice, mount fitz roy, argentina

Stretch of the Viedma glacier at the foot of the Fitz Roy granite hill.

We then cut to the south and cross a drenched meadow that leads us to the banks of the Lagunas Madre and Hija. Soon, we return to a dark forest and descend towards the D'Agostini camp and Laguna Torre.

At the end of this last steep stretch, we glimpse for the first time the other majestic peak of the mountain range.

Cerro Torre: Monte-Agulha Challenging and of All Controversies

Considered among climbers and climbers the most difficult in the world, Cerro Torre is the apogee of a descending sequence of four mountains: Torre Eger, Punta Herron and Cerro Stanhardt.

sharp peaks, monte fitz roy, argentina

Sharp peaks of the Fitz Roy range with mist hanging over ice and granite on the southern slopes of the mountains.

It reaches 3133 m of altitude. Nothing special, feel like finishing. But its summit juts out into a gigantic needle of rock dotted with ice. It forms a challenge that the best climbers and climbers cannot resist and that has already put an end to several lives.

The “Stone Cry” by Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog, the German director obsessed with filming obsession and madness all over the world also let himself be caught by the magic of this mountain, by its stories and myths.

A plot of greed and mystery, in particular, inspired “Stone Cry”, his 1991 film. In this masterpiece of adventure cinema, Donald Sutherland plays the role of a Machiavellian TV producer. Your character lives only concerned with the audiences.

sharp rock peak, monte fitz roy, argentina

The sharp summit of Monte Fitz Roy, the main elevation of Los Glaciares National Park, together with the neighboring Cerro Torre.

To make them climb, it broadcasts live the Herculean competition to the top of Cerro Torre between an old hermit climber who lives at the foot of it and a young world champion in climbing, trained in gyms and artificial cliffs.

The Legendary Contest for the Most Difficult Summit in Mountaineering

Thirty-two years earlier, Cesare Maestri, Cesarino Fava (Italians) and Austrian guide Toni Egger tried to reach the summit still victorious along the northeast slope.

They withstood terrible winds and snow. To the point where they felt that, more than climbing, they were playing with their lives. Already under deplorable conditions, they reached a steep nook that precedes the Col of Conquest (in the interval between Cerro Torre and Torre Eger).

autumnal vegetation, monte fitz roy, argentina

Vegetation takes on autumnal tones in view of the ever-snowy Fitz Roy.

There were still many hundreds of meters of almost vertical wall to go. At that time, Fava went back and left the challenge to his younger colleagues.

Some time later, he found Maestri at the base, almost completely buried by snow and dying. His rival helped him.

After returning to camp, the two reported that Maestri and Egger had reached the summit but that the second had been swept away by an avalanche during the descent and had died.

The duo quickly found themselves embroiled in suspicions of fraud raised by Carlo Mauri (who had failed to climb the previous year) and many other climbers.

They were pointed out to inconsistencies in the descriptions of the ascent and, mainly, the inexistence of pegs, spikes and ropes above the point where Fava gave up climbing.

Maestri and Egger's supposed feat was ultimately disregarded by the mountaineering community. Cerro Torre would only be taken over unequivocally 15 years later, in 1974.

conifera forest, monte fitz roy, argentina

Coniferous forest gives way to a meadow parched by the cold in the heart of Los Glaciares National Park.

The Dazzle by Cerro Torre that didn't even fade away

Since then, far from diminishing, the respect and fascination for the most difficult mountain to climb has strengthened.

Climbers everywhere continue to risk their lives for the reward of seeing the world from its meager, icy summit and surviving to tell it.

Less radical souls travel thousands of miles for the mere right of contemplating it with their feet firmly on the ground.

And, like us, they resist your call.

Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
Salta and Jujuy, Argentina

Through the Highlands of Deep Argentina

A tour through the provinces of Salta and Jujuy takes us to discover a country with no sign of the pampas. Vanished in the Andean vastness, these ends of the Northwest of Argentina have also been lost in time.
Ushuaia, Argentina

The Last of the Southern Cities

The capital of Tierra del Fuego marks the southern threshold of civilization. From Ushuaia depart numerous incursions to the frozen continent. None of these play and run adventures compares to life in the final city.
Beagle Channel, Argentina

Darwin and the Beagle Channel: on the Theory of the Evolution Route

In 1833, Charles Darwin sailed aboard the "Beagle" through the channels of Tierra del Fuego. His passage through these southern confines shaped the revolutionary theory he formulated of the Earth and its species
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

The Resisting Glacier

Warming is supposedly global, but not everywhere. In Patagonia, some rivers of ice resist. From time to time, the advance of the Perito Moreno causes landslides that bring Argentina to a halt.
Serengeti, Great Savannah Migration, Tanzania, wildebeest on river
Safari
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Colonial Church of San Francisco de Assis, Taos, New Mexico, USA
Architecture & Design
Taos, USA

North America Ancestor of Taos

Traveling through New Mexico, we were dazzled by the two versions of Taos, that of the indigenous adobe hamlet of Taos Pueblo, one of the towns of the USA inhabited for longer and continuously. And that of Taos city that the Spanish conquerors bequeathed to the Mexico: Mexico gave in to United States and that a creative community of native descendants and migrated artists enhance and continue to praise.
Full Dog Mushing
Adventure
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
Indigenous Crowned
Ceremonies and Festivities
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
San Juan, Old Town, Puerto Rico, Reggaeton, Flag on Gate
Cities
San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 2)

To the Rhythm of Reggaeton

Restless and inventive Puerto Ricans have made San Juan the reggaeton capital of the world. At the preferred beat of the nation, they filled their “Walled City” with other arts, color and life.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
shadow of success
Culture
Champoton, Mexico

Rodeo Under Sombreros

Champoton, in Campeche, hosts a fair honored by the Virgén de La Concepción. O rodeo Mexican under local sombreros reveals the elegance and skill of the region's cowboys.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
extraterrestrial mural, Wycliffe Wells, Australia
Traveling
Wycliffe Wells, Australia

Wycliffe Wells' Unsecret Files

Locals, UFO experts and visitors have been witnessing sightings around Wycliffe Wells for decades. Here, Roswell has never been an example and every new phenomenon is communicated to the world.
Masai Mara Reservation, Masai Land Travel, Kenya, Masai Convivial
Ethnic
Masai Mara, Kenya

A Journey Through the Masai Lands

The Mara savannah became famous for the confrontation between millions of herbivores and their predators. But, in a reckless communion with wildlife, it is the Masai humans who stand out there.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Roça Bombaim, Roça Monte Café, São Tomé island, flag
History
Center São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

From Roça to Roça, Towards the Tropical Heart of São Tomé

On the way between Trindade and Santa Clara, we come across the terrifying colonial past of Batepá. Passing through the Bombaim and Monte Café roças, the island's history seems to have been diluted in time and in the chlorophyll atmosphere of the Santomean jungle.
Savai'i, Samoa, Polynesian island. South Pacific, Safotu Church
Islands
Savai'i, Samoa

The Great Samoa

Upolu is home to the capital and much of the tourist attention. On the other side of the Apolima strait, the also volcanic Savai'i is the largest and highest island in the archipelago of Samoa and the sixth in the immense Polynesia. Samoans praise her authenticity so much that they consider her the soul of the nation.
Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Winter White
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain (España)

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
Asparagus, Sal Island, Cape Verde
Nature
island of salt, Cape Verde

The Salt of the Island of Sal

At the approach of the XNUMXth century, Sal remained lacking in drinking water and practically uninhabited. Until the extraction and export of the abundant salt there encouraged a progressive population. Today, salt and salt pans add another flavor to the most visited island in Cape Verde.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Dunes of Bazaruto Island, Mozambique
Natural Parks
bazaruto, Mozambique

The Inverted Mirage of Mozambique

Just 30km off the East African coast, an unlikely but imposing erg rises out of the translucent sea. Bazaruto it houses landscapes and people who have lived apart for a long time. Whoever lands on this lush, sandy island soon finds himself in a storm of awe.
Matukituki River, New Zealand
UNESCO World Heritage
Wanaka, New Zealand

The Antipodes Great Outdoors

If New Zealand is known for its tranquility and intimacy with Nature, Wanaka exceeds any imagination. Located in an idyllic setting between the homonymous lake and the mystic Mount Aspiring, it became a place of worship. Many kiwis aspire to change their lives there.
Couple visiting Mikhaylovskoe, village where writer Alexander Pushkin had a home
Characters
Saint Petersburg e Mikhaylovkoe, Russia

The Writer Who Succumbed to His Own Plot

Alexander Pushkin is hailed by many as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. But Pushkin also dictated an almost tragicomic epilogue to his prolific life.
Glass Bottom Boats, Kabira Bay, Ishigaki
Beaches
Ishigaki, Japan

The Exotic Japanese Tropics

Ishigaki is one of the last islands in the stepping stone that stretches between Honshu and Taiwan. Ishigakijima is home to some of the most amazing beaches and coastal scenery in these parts of the Pacific Ocean. More and more Japanese who visit them enjoy them with little or no bathing.
Peasant woman, Majuli, Assam, India
Religion
Majuli Island, India

An Island in Countdown

Majuli is the largest river island in India and would still be one of the largest on Earth were it not for the erosion of the river Bramaputra that has been making it diminish for centuries. If, as feared, it is submerged within twenty years, more than an island, a truly mystical cultural and landscape stronghold of the Subcontinent will disappear.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
4th of July Fireworks-Seward, Alaska, United States
Society
Seward, Alaska

The Longest 4th of July

The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.
the projectionist
Daily life
Sainte-Luce, Martinique

The Nostalgic Projectionist

From 1954 to 1983, Gérard Pierre screened many of the famous films arriving in Martinique. 30 years after the closing of the room in which he worked, it was still difficult for this nostalgic native to change his reel.
Sheep and hikers in Mykines, Faroe Islands
Wildlife
Mykines, Faroe Islands

In the Faeroes FarWest

Mykines establishes the western threshold of the Faroe archipelago. It housed 179 people but the harshness of the retreat got the better of it. Today, only nine souls survive there. When we visit it, we find the island given over to its thousand sheep and the restless colonies of puffins.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.