USHUAIA

4x4 Tour – Guide Marcelo. A good guide, lively, partner, talks a lot, explaining everything that was asked of him.

Interesting tour. Visiting Fagnano and Escondido lakes and kayaking on the latter, where the water is close to zero degrees, was a unique and fun experience. Seeing the beaver and its dams and “damage” caused by it, such as knocking down trees, was very interesting. Having a grilled meat lunch prepared by Marcelo in a cabin in the middle of the forest, by Fagnano lake, was also fantastic. It was a very well-spent day.

The next day we went to Tierra del Fuego National Park. The tour provided beautiful photos. We couldn’t do many hikes due to the rain, but it was still worth it. It was a beautiful tour. In the afternoon, we were able to change our boat ticket for the Beagle Channel and went on another boat to the Penguin Colony, where we managed to photograph 3 species of penguins. It was a thrilling tour, as the sea became very rough on the return trip, causing most passengers to experience nausea, seasickness, etc. Fortunately, Rita and I remained unaffected.

Hotel Alto Andino – Very good, excellent service, good breakfast, and the internet worked well in the room we stayed in. In the afternoon, there were cookies and a coffee machine available for us to help ourselves to, at no cost.

EL CALAFATE

The mini-trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier is simply unmissable. Walking with crampons on our shoes was a fun experience. Drinking water collected from the glacier and, at the end, having whiskey with ice taken from the glacier also had its fun side. Very good, even though a light drizzle accompanied us for almost the entire trek. But it didn’t stop us from taking great photos of the location.

The tour at Estancia Cristina, with navigation on Lake Argentino, up to the vicinity of the Upsala Glacier, is also a must-do tour. It yields beautiful photos. Having lunch at E. Cristina is very enjoyable, with excellent food, visiting the Estancia with a guide explaining its history, and then taking a 4x4 drive along a mountain road to get very close to the Upsala Glacier and the lake formed by it is another very cool and unmissable tour.

Hotel – Patagonia Queen – A reasonable hotel. Good breakfast. Since we stayed at this hotel three times (we left twice and returned), we were in two different rooms. In both, the internet didn’t work, there was no signal. Terrible, as Rita had to stay in touch with her company every day. In one room, water from the shower leaked from the corners of the shower box and flooded the room. Terrible. One window (in both rooms) didn’t have a blackout curtain. So, at 4:30 am, the room started to get light. Terrible. We would not recommend this hotel.

EL CHALTÉN

Navigating on Lake Desierto and hiking to Monte Fitz Roy in heavy rain was an unforgettable adventure. Rita and I decided to take the "medium trail" with two travelers from Florianópolis, whom we met during the tour, despite the heavy rain. Everything went well, we were fine, and it resulted in good photos, but we were lucky to stay in El Chaltén because the 2.5-hour return trip to El Calafate would have been a torture, as it was very cold. Being as wet as we were, we wouldn’t have been able to make it back to El Calafate.

The next day, we did the trail to Laguna Capri. Another must-do tour. Too bad we didn’t leave earlier, as we would have had time to go to Laguna de Los Tres. They advised us not to do this tour because our bus back to El Calafate would leave at 6:00 pm, and the trail to Laguna de Los Tres takes 8 hours (round trip). However, we saw that we walked much faster than indicated on the trails. This 8-hour trail, we would have completed in 6 hours for sure. So, it will be for next time.

Hotel – Hosteria Pudu – Good hotel, but on the first night, the heating system didn’t work. Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold. They fixed it the next day. Good breakfast, but the fruits were only in syrup. There were no fresh fruits.

TORRES DEL PAINE

This was the best part of the trip. For the natural beauty, the trails, lakes, mountains, and the great place where we stayed – Vila Rio Serrano and Hotel Rio Serrano. This is an excellent hotel, but the dinner is very expensive (but excellent). The Mirador Ferrer trail (with 800 meters of altitude – a steep trail) left us exhausted and sore the next day. But it’s unmissable, and we would do it again. The view from up there, of the valley, with the lakes and the Grey Glacier in the background, is incredible and beautiful.

Hotel – Very good. Spacious room with “double” walls, which makes it so that no sounds from outside can be heard. The problem was that we were placed in a room in front of where the night shift hotel staff stayed, which caused some noise. This part wasn’t great. When booking the room, it’s worth asking for a quiet and peaceful location.