Las Malvinas son Argentinas!

Graffiti, Garibaldi Pass, Tierra del Fuego

On our return from Chile after a few days on the Carretera Austral (see previous post) the first thing we saw when entering Argentina was a huge map of the Falkland Islands with the words underneath “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (the Falklands are Argentine).

All of the towns we’ve passed have such maps and a monument or a street called Islas Malvinas or Malvinas Argentinas. Maps produced in Argentina include the islands as national territory. Many cars have corresponding bumper stickers.

Over 25 years have passed since the British-Argentine war over the islands but the issue is still omnipresent in the minds of the Argentines. A BBC report cites Malvinas veteran Edgardo Esteban who wrote about his experiences in a book called “Illuminated by Fire”:

When you talk about Argentina you talk about Eva Peron, Gardel, Maradona and tango. For us the Malvinas are part of that identity, it is a symbol, we learn about it at school from a very young age.”

One of my favourite writers, Jorge Luis Borges, once described the war as “two bald men fighting over a comb”.

Another “anonymous writer” has expressed his feelings (English = Pirates) on a wall at a touristy viewpoint in Tierra del Fuego, much to the surprise of my English wife Lisa.

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Capilla de Marmól

Capilla de Marmól, Lago General Carrera, Región XI (Aisén), Chile

To avoid having further problems with the unstable fuel situation in southern Patagonia (see post No fuel!) we decided to cross over to Chile and to drive a bit on Chile’s counterpart of the southern ruta 40, the Carretera Austral (I hope the ruta 40 fanatics will forgive us). 

We had no guide book and hence didn’t know what to expect.

We stopped at a grocery store in a small settlement to buy some fruit (you’re not allowed to import fruit to Chile as we learned the hard way while travelling to Ushuaia, fine included) and the friendly shop owners not only told us their life story but also explained about some nice caverns that could be visited by boat from a place called Puerto Rio Tranquilo. And yes, we had to tell them our life story as well.

The caverns called Capilla de Marmól (Marble Chapel) turned out to be more than nice, they were incredibly beautiful. What a great place to stumble upon by chance.

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La Cueva de las Manos

La Cueva de las Manos, near Bajo Caracoles, Santa Cruz Province

Very close to Bajo Caracoles (in other words in no man’s land) there’s an interesting site indeed, listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site since 1999: La Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands).

Here an excerpt of UNESCO’s brief description:

The Cueva de las Manos contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, executed between 13′000 and 9′500 years ago. It takes its name from the stencilled outlines of human hands, but there are also many depictions of animals, such as guanacos, as well as hunting scenes. [...] The prehistoric rock art bears witness to the culture of the earliest human societies of South America.

Knowing that some (not all) of the photo printer inks are good for maybe 100 years (that’s what the suppliers tell you) I was amazed to see the quality of the depictions after so many years. Our guide reassured us that no restoration had been performed.

Highly recommended.

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No fuel!

Fuel station, Bajo Caracoles, Santa Cruz Province

We received many advices regarding the travel on the ruta 40. You need a 4×4, make sure to have 2 spare tires and necessary repair equipment, bring water, bring oil, take additional fuel with you and always fill up when you’ve got the chance, on the ripio (gravel) don’t brake abruptly and don’t drive over 65 km/h and most importantly, sheep and guanacos always have the right of way.

Well, we followed most but not all advices.

The one about taking additional fuel (in our case diesel) we purposedly didn’t follow due to safety reasons (hey, I’m highly trained in EHS matters). This nearly got us stuck for several days in the village (or let’s say settlement) of Bajo Caracoles.

Fuel station after fuel station on our way north along the ruta 40 had run out of diesel as a road blockage (commercial trucks only) by striking fruit pickers had prevented the supply tankers to travel to this area.

The fuel station /restaurant / bar / hotel / grocery store / tourist information (all in one) became quite a busy place with stuck travellers and we had quite an entertaining evening.

The next day we got told that another fuel station some 75 km west towards the Chilenian border had some diesel left. That was it for Bajo Caracoles, we could continue our journey for a bit longer.

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Fitz Roy

Cerro Fitz Roy at sunrise, Santa Cruz Province

We spend another few days trekking around some spectacular mountain scenery. Our shape is slowly improving, the backpacks with tent, sleeping bags and food do not seem so heavy anymore and Lisa’s new knee supports and hiking poles have helped her considerably. The trekking here was more pleasure and less survival fight compared to our treks in Torres del Paine (see post Las Torres).

The Fitz Roy Massif is a climbers paradise. Everywhere you look you see Granite walls that seem impossible to conquer. Just what the climbers need.

The problem is usually the weather. When we arrived they hadn’t seen Cerro Fitz Roy (the chunky tower in the middle) for weeks. But fortunately their luck turned when we arrived at the base camp as mighty Fitz Roy decided to show himself. Must be Lisa’s guardian angel.

The picture shows why the native Tehuelches were calling the mountain Chaltén, which means smoking mountain. They believed the mountain to be a volcano due to the clouds that often form at the top.

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Glacier Perito Moreno

Glacier Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz Province

This is the most famous glacier of Argentina. It’s located in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares close to the city of El Calafate. Our first side trip while on the Ruta 40 (see previous post).

We already heard about it at the Argentinian Embassy in Bern while getting our work visas. The Argentinians are defenitely proud of their Perito Moreno Glacier. And so they should. It’s simply magnificent.

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