A pilgrimage is any long journey, especially one undertaken as a quest or for a votive purpose, as to pay homage.
It sounds silly, but going to Patagonia felt like a pilgrimage. I use the term loosely, as I only spent two weeks in the southern reaches of South America, but certainly felt like I was paying tribute to the majesty of nature. There's a mysticism when you think of Patagonia. Geographically, most of the actual region called Patagonia consists of wide arid steppes in addition to a full spectrum of coasts, lakes, fjords, ice fields, and the omnipresent Andes mountain range running down the West. But to me, Patagonia defies definition. It's not just a physical landscape. There's something spiritual- it pulls you and invokes wonder.
I debated whether to include photos in this post. The finite dimensions of a camera lens don't capture the limitlessness of the vistas or the depth of the amazement. Then I thought about what a snob I sound like and thought better of it.
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Our first stop was the city of El Calafate, a tourist town so quaint we had no choice but to dub it the 'Aspen of Patagonia'. The main attraction is the Perito Moreno Glacier. To make a universally comprehensible analogy, going to the glacier was probably the closest I'll get to seeing The Wall in The Game of Thrones, which is unfortunately not even close to real.
When I first saw the glacier, I started crying. True, I'm overemotional, but it was mostly because I was staring at the glacier in awe, which is pretty much the equivalent of staring at the sun. I'd never seen such a brilliant and pure sky blue than the color of the ice. Combined with the water, mountains, clouds, and sky, the dizzying display of blue was nothing short of stunning.
The park designers deserve a lot of credit. The boardwalk around the glacier was well-maintained, afforded wide-ranging views, brought visitors close to the ice, and melded surprising well with the surroundings considering it was largely metal. The only thing missing was a horde of White Walkers.
The next stop was El Chalten, the hiking capital of Argentina which sits at the base of two of the world's most famous and technically-challenging peaks for climbing.
It was cloudy at Lake Torre the day we hiked up, but we did get some ominous shots of Mount Torre. I wouldn't have been surprised if a colony of flesh-eating bats had flown out of that peak. Mystical.
Fun fact, the iconic Patagonia clothing logo is based on Mount Fitz Roy. The hike was an adventure, and the logo on my rain jacket felt well-deserved. The weather was erratic and the final ascent makes you earn the view. So when I climbed over the last hill, I felt like a hero in an epic fantasy novel. The wind was whipping, the lake was frozen over, and mist was swirling around the peak. Unforgettable.
One of the things that makes Patagonia so awe-inspiring is rounding the corner or cresting the hill and having your breath taken away. A short hour walk from the town turned out to be one of my favorite examples. For 99% of the walk, the highlights largely consisted of shrubs. The non-botanists can all agree that would be an objectively boring hike. We weren't even aware we had passed the last rise when we audibly 'wow'ed to see an endless plain stretching out before us. It completely surprised us- we just looked at each other and laughed!
To finish my trip, I traveled north to the 'Switzerland-in-Argentina' town of Bariloche to relax and partake in some shorter hikes (i.e. half day and only 1k meters elevation gain). The town snakes around the Nahuel Huapi Lake. On one side, you get pockets of dark blue water framing lush, forested mountains. On the other side lie picturesque, snow-covered mountains. In other words, there's not a bad view in town. The street of eye-candy chocolate shops was the cherry on top.
Shoutouts (and photo credits):
- To old friends Jenny and Johnny for making the journey from the states, pushing through aches and pains, and sharing in the literal highs.
- To new friends Sai and Noah for a memorable day hiking, flying drones, and savoring Argentinian barbeque.
- To the countless Patagonian lambs we enjoyed.
There's no end destination for this particular pilgrimage. There's no checking off Patagonia from a bucket list. There's much more to explore, and I'll undoubtedly be back soon.