Note : I wrote this article 14 days ago, but as I was stuck in self-isolation with no internet, I couldn’t share. I now have WIFI, so here is my last but not least article about Patagonia !
It was a little more than a month spent in Patagonia and what an adventure… I’ve been in need of a few days to realize what really happened there and how we all had to separate in only 48 hours. But, despite all the lessons this COVID-19 is teaching us at the moment, I really wanted to take a break from it and share with you the hundreds of photos and stories I still have from the last dreamy Argentinian weeks. In my last blog article, I was talking about the two first weeks of hiking and climbing but what did happen next ? Well, we went 4 days exploring one of the valley next door, we did our second climbing module, we started being guides for ourselves, we passed our Wilderness First Aid course and we finished with a stunning and famous 4-day hike in the national park.
So, whether it’s been days or weeks that we left, El Chalten town, the people I met there and these 6 weeks experience defitinively are part of these travels that changed my life. Do you want a virtual ride there ? Let’s go..
WEEK 3 – 4-DAY HIKE
During our second hiking module, we went in the valley next door to explore new areas and learn all the basics to guide a group on different types of terrain. This time, we were responsible of guiding one day, in group of 3 persons. I was part of the first group. We started in the rain and the cold through the Patagonian forest in direction of our first campsite : Piedra del Fraile.
In the beginning, the idea was to arrive for lunch, set up the camp, drop our big bags and gear and go for a day hike to, apparently, one of the most beautiful peak and view from the area. But despite our huge desire to take our little group up there, sometimes, you have to change your plans for security reasons. It was really interesting for us, because we had to analyse the situation and take a decision as guides. We had to convince the group, listen to each other and try as much as we could to explain why, to us, it would have been a bad idea to keep going and risks were not worth it. “Well, the viewpoint will be for another time !”
We spent the afternoon in the refuge, that was, totally unexpected and incredible. We were camping outside but the keepers have let us using the little cafe all day long. A good opportunity too for Logan, our instructor, to teach us some more skills and to play some board games.
The next two days, we switched leaders and went further down the valley. We explored new areas and crossed stunning views of Fitz Roy, the mountain that we can now consider our 13th team member (well, he is always with us!). We slept on the beach at the amazing Playita campsite, close by El Lago Electrico. Diamond blue waters, rocky mountains, far from any kind of civilization, almost lost in the middle of nowhere…
We checked our map reading skills with Logan at the bottom of beautiful mountains, we learned how to cross (many) rivers safely as a group, how to correctly pack our bags, how to hike on a track with rock avalanche risks nearby, how to brief the group on rocky terrain, … And we went for some cold therapy baths. We knew how good it can be for the body and the mind and going as a team definitely made the decision easier. I can’t really explain how good you feel after swimming in a glacial lake but it is like your whole body starts fighting the world for you. It makes you feel strong, powerful, resilient. And it is so much fun especially when you share it!
Last day, big day. We had to come back all the way to El Chalten with a 25-km-hike. If some of us were getting a little bit tired, the others were just pulling the group forward, acting as a team. That was really cool to see.
If you had asked us what would be the first thing we would do once back in town, some would have said a shower. But for me, Ronnie and Logan, this was Ice-cream time. As dirty as we were, backpacks on, we went straight to the best ice-cream maker in town for the local incredible dulce de leche…
WEEK 4 – CLIMBING WEEK.
The following week was time for our second climbing module. I couldn’t wait for it and I was really surprised to see how everyone was so excited to be back on the rock.
For most of us, the objective of the week was to pass the assessments with Logan and Manuel and be signed off to go climbing on our own when we are off. Once again, we’ve been very lucky with the weather as we had no rain and we spent the full week outside. We also started leading some parts of the day, with our team mates as guinea pigs. It was so good to try it out and see if we enjoyed being a climbing guide or not. Personally, I loved it… An other proof that I need to keep pushing myself in things I would first think that are not for me ! I was sure so far that I would hate being a climbing guide as it is a lot of responsibility. But, because I love it so much for my self, I love sharing it too ! even if this means learning how to be patient because when you teach, you don’t climb ! But you could let me up there, sharing my passion for rocks with new people everyday…
WEEK 5 – WAFA – Wilderness First Aid Course.
WAFA means Wilderness Advanced First aid. I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a hard week for me, I’ve never been able to take fast decisions when I know that someone’s life is in between my hands… And my dad’s death didn’t help me out. When I was in Norway last year, I had the case of a guy who just drowned not far from me. When someone ran to me asking if I could call the ambulance, I just panicked… The only thing I could do was to run to another person and beg them to call instead of me.
So this first aid course, I really was waiting for it... Also because I know that the best ways to deal with our fear is to face them ! I already had done a basic one when I was 18, but this one was, first, up to date, and second way more complete !
The objective is to make us as autonomous as possible, as guides, in the wait of better help. It goes from a small cut on the hand or a sprained ankle to a hole in the chest or a head injury ! And when you’re in the wild, the emergency team can take a few minutes or a few days to arrive… For example, in El Chalten, it’s impossible to send an helicopter because of the permanent strong wind. So all the rescue comes from walking…
After these 5 days, I felt more qualified but my lack of confidence kept its own place… I’m probably one of the only one who spent her time asking “but what if in the panic, I don’t really know what to do anymore, am I gonna be taken to court for it ?” Might be my french culture popping out there but I feel more scared of doing wrong than trying it. Well, if I want to be a guide, I might need at some point to volunteer somewhere with a rescue team, to just get used to it !
OUR LITTLE HOLIDAY – OUR 5-DAY BREAK
Between week 5 and week 6, we had a 5-day break to just breathe and relax. At the beginning, with Ronnie, we wanted to go on a little road trip. But at the end, the idea of staying in El Chalten and go climbing sounded WAY BETTER.
And, as you know my love for “meeting the locals” we decided that would be the perfect time for it. We ended up spending 5 days discovering more of the local culture than in the 5 last weeks ! That was just amazing… We went to “La Peña”, our favourite place to dance the “Chacadera” til the morning… We spent one night at our new Argentinian mate’s place and just participated to an improvised jam session. I went to a Farewell Asado, (Argentinian BBQ) for one of the guy that was leaving. We spent the night around the fire, with instrumental music and dancing… That was magic. I went climbing with my friends and finally did a multi-pitch section on the wall.. And that was the best thing ever ever ever. It was like hiking for 3 hours but just climbing up and up and up !
And even more ! This was the 5 most intense days of the program in terms of local life and they really gave me the desire to go back to Argentina one day !!!
WEEK 6 – HIKING – EL CIRCUITO HUEMUL
On week number 6, we went to do the famous hiking loop called “Huemul”.
That was one of the highlight we were all waiting for and without even knowing it, it would have been our last week all together. It’s 60 km through breathtaking landscapes until this ice sea that cover most of Patagonia (Chile and Argentinia)
That was so … Wow.
FIRST DAY
The first day, we crossed similar landscapes to what we’ve been used to around. I mean, it wad beautiful but less spectacular than the days following. That was quite amazing because we were sharing so much with the team, compare to the last hikes together. I guess we were just getting comfortable with our guiding skills and we were just letting more time to have fun too. Once arrived to the campsite, some took care of preparing the dinner while others were exploring the area. One first night of rest before the second day, one of the hardest of the hike, and of course, my day to guide haha.
DAY 2.
We started a small activity with the group just to wake up everyone and warm our body up for the big day that was waiting for us. When I said I was guiding the second day to my local friends (who were guides too) they just told me : “Why ?!! that’s the hardest to guide !”. Well, lucky pick aye… After 45 minutes walking, we had to face our first challenge : river crossing ! We knew about it, so we just looked around, found the best place for us to cross, briefed our mates and made sure everyone would be safe. Lucky day for us, the level of the water was pretty low, despite the large surface of the river and the cold temperature of the water… The first seconds are easy to bear. The rest of it, is just a question of mental strengh… The good thing about crossing as a chain, is that we go for it, ALL TOGETHER. The ones who would want to leave the boat earlier than expected are “carried” by the ones who just keep going. I’m not gonna lie, after a few secons I couldn’t even feel my feet, I had no idea if I was walking on sharpy rocks or not ! And the pain… I couldn’t describe it but this was provoking so much uncontrolled laughs, tears and silences. We were one out there and stronger than ever. Once on the other side, we broke the chain to run and try to warm up individually. We became individuals again but we knew, just with one look at each other, that if one of us would need anything right now, we would be there…
It might sound stupid, but the river crossings are for me one of my best memories of the whole program. The team spirit and the physical challenge, this idea that if one of us is taking a small decision, it will impact the whole chain, it’s the best picture of what we had to learn out there. We are all connected. All of our small decisions in our daily life, impact others at a bigger scale. And all together, we are stronger…
Second challenge of the day : glacier crossing. That was pretty unexpected as we thought we would just take the trail that goes around. But well, it’s quicker this way ! I ended up being the leader at the front, trying to figure out a safe way to keep moving forward and with the help of Valeria, our official guide, I made it ! That was so magical…
Third step, the ascension to reach “El Paso del Viento”, the highest point of the hike.
You’ve read about my sparrow breath in the last articles so it’s not surprising if I tell you that I was really anxious about my struggle going up there with our heavy backpack. I was just scared of slowing down the group and I didn’t want to face my demons again… But well, sometimes you need also to let your demons on the side and push yourself up there… I ended up guiding the group of the middle and wasn’t really slowling down anyone… Everything is in the head they say… First, I’ve been lucky that my team mates accepted taking a little bit of my weight to help me out. That was priceless… Second, once I knew the team was on my side, because they agreed on helping me out, I didn’t see myself as a burden anymore and I forgot about my breath… I just kept moving up !
Once the mountain pass reached, I first thought it was a lake. Then the sea. But no, this white-blue was just one small part of the big glacier that covers all Patagonia. And yet, it’s been getting way smaller than it was the past hundreds years !
That was so crazy… We just stayed a few minutes up there, taking pictures, but the wind (that’s where the name Paso del Viento comes from…) made us move.
Once arrived at the campsite, it was time for us to have a talk about the day, to prepare dinner and go to bed because day 3 would also be a long day !
DAY 3
the descent. After all this altitude gain, we needed to start going down to join the lake, on the other side of the Paso del Huemul. After 4 long hours of walking on a pretty “flat” terrain, we just needed a break. No better view for a lunch aye ?! One more step up to the mountain pass and we’ll finally be getting down ! Well, we had heard about the rough terrain on the other side but we didn’t expected that… This part looked like an obstacle course on a slippery and steep trail down ! This finally became a game for some of us, counting how many times they would end up on their bottom while descending.
Once at the campsite, surprise !! From the tent we could observe one of the arm of the glacier, diving straight into the lake. Without talking about the small little icebergs that ended up on this side of the lake… Magical..
DAY 4
Last day. Early wake up with a beautiful sunrise. A good way to capture one last time our small little family in photo. The day kept going with an easy walk through dry fields, beaches and valley with one highlight, an other river crossing ! But this time, with a tirolienne or “zeep line”. A good last laugh all together before joing the carpark where our shuttle would wait for us to take us “home.”
On the road back, I took this photo of Fitz Roy which would have been without knowing it, the very last one of it. We were all so amazed by what we just saw. We had no idea what was going on out there, in the real world. We had no idea how bad was the Coronavirus situation. We had no idea that 48 hours later we would all be looking for plane tickets to go “home”…
Despite the fatigue, we came back to the hostal, had our usual little debrief about the hike and ran into our favorite ice-cream shop for the traditional after-hike dulce de leche treat. But, when we finally connected our phones to the internet, Ronnie, Annie and I were speechless. What happened to this world in 4days ???
You already know the rest of the storie, 5 days later, I landed in New Zealand… We just went from « We’ll be fine, we stay here » to « go home as soon as you can”.
While waiting for the last decision, we still went climbing one last time with Annie and Ronnie. One last in memory of all of this…
AND SO, NOW THAT THIS IS OVER, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT ALL OF IT ?
EL CHALTEN AND LOCAL LIFE
It’s funny, because when I first pictured El Chalten in my head, I was so scared of getting bored, stuck in this little town. I thought we were gonna always stay in the same national park, exploring the same climbing walls and the same streets ! But in fact, it has been the total opposite ! The idea to explore the same neighbourhood and to make the most of it, like a local and not like a tourist, made me happy every single day. I think, that’s exactly what I like when I’m living abroad. Acting like a local, not like a traveler. I just love this feeling of being part of one lifestyle, one community, even if it’s temporary. You could say, well, that’s what happened to you in Voss, in Norway, but yet you hated it ? Yes true… But I think the mountains of El Chalten were not as big as the one in Voss. And El Chalten was just my little climbing paradise… With a town life, restaurants, bars, terrasses… with people chilling out when the sun was out. All the activities there, were the kind of activities that just fit me.
So, my life in El Chalten, as short as it has been, it’s a new experience I had with pleasure on my list of all the places that made me realize what I do need in my life and what I don’t.
I fell in love with this little place out of the world, but also of this local culture, of their really late dinners, of their chill lifestyle, of their passion for music and for the arts in general, of their amazing landscapes, of their sharing culture. It reminded me a lot of New Zealand. And I’m sure, there are even more things that I needed to discover !
THE PROGRAM
As for my Yoga Teacher Training, being able to learn something new and totally different made me feel good every single day. This student posture is the best. It’s really with a heavy heart that we had to accept to end this and to not obtain any certificates. But I laughed a lot, I shared a lot and I learned a lot, about climbing, hiking, first aid of course, but also about myself. I spent more time observing myself evolving in the group to understand me better. Seeing the roles I took and the ones I didn’t want to take. Seeing me as a leader, this role that I had left since my Parisian life, and that naturally fitted me sometimes. But this role that I also hate and that I’ve been abandoning sometimes, a little bit selfishly, to protect myself of the group’s arguments rebounds. And then my enthusiasm to share my passions and to teach yoga to my adventure buddies ! This whole experience just gave me the desire to live at the bottom of a climbing wall. Sharing with close friends passions and just going out to climb, do yoga and write everyday. Sharing a beer and a few meals, playing music, doing some art, eating nice food. I don’t really need more to be happy. I had this funny story too in my mind all along, about me being a guide. When I used to work in event management, I was also moking these compagnies that were doing some “young camp activities” for adults. I used to say we could do more creative activites that would fit better the identity of any company. We spent 6 weeks doing exactly that. Games, songs, everyday. To build a team spirit. To get to know ourselves better. To build trust. Playing games is actually something we should do way more often, even after 30 years old !!! This has been creating our little family and that’s one of my biggest life lesson of these 6 weeks. Keep your mind open. Always. Because what you thought one day about one situation might not be the same for another situation, on an other day !!!
This brings me back to the same kind of conclusions I had after every single “lives” I had abroad. If it’s still something I have to be aware of, I am so glad today to be able to notice these little preconceived ideas I still have from my other life. I am so happy to be able to deal with situation I would have judged badly before, with a fresh new spirit everyday. To try things before saying no to them. To say YES.
Because most of the time, this little voice inside of me is wrong. And behind every country I’ve been living in, every activity I tried, every person I judged before knowing them, I discovered many life lessons about this world, about this life, and about me. And without this open-mind I force myself to cultivate every day, I would have missed so many amazing persons I met and that have been so far, changing my life.
There is a legend in Patagonia that says that anyone who eats the famous Calafate Berry will return to Patagonia one day. Well, considering my blue lips every single hike we did, you can guess that one day, I’ll be back there…
Love.
Co.
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