Argentina: El Niño Brujado and Gaucho Shoes

After hiking to the Laguna de los Tres in El Chalten, our plan was to make our way to Bariloche. In order to catch our flight, we had to take a bus to the airport in El Calafate, where we were just 3 days earlier. Our flight was not until 5:30pm but our bus dropped us off in El Calafate at 1pm. This meant we had a few hours to kill before our flight. We called the hotel that we had stayed at previously in El Calafate, the Hospedaje del Norte, and the lovely manager agreed to hold our bags at the hotel while we grabbed lunch in town. 

After arriving at the bus station in El Calafate, we got a taxi to the Hospedaje del Norte. As we pulled up, I noticed a little boy, probably about 8 years old, standing behind the fence at the side of the hotel. He wore a blue-and-red striped shirt and a solemn look as we pulled up. He never looked away from our taxi. I snapped a picture of him. (I snap pictures of anything and everything. If you’ve traveled with me before, this is not new information.)

I knew from our previous stay that the manager lived in a little apartment on the side of the hotel with a man who I thought was her husband, as he sometimes sat at the reception desk during the day. I assumed this little boy was their son. It occurred to me that even though we had stayed at the Hosteria del Norte for 4 days earlier in the week, we never saw the little boy once during that time. 

We got out of the taxi and started unloading our bags. He watched us from behind the fence the entire time. The taxi pulled away and we were about to head inside when he opened the gate and walked toward us. He looked pale, almost gaunt, like he stayed indoors a lot. Viv says he had sunken eyes. 

As he approached, we greeted him with smiles. “Hola!” He did not smile, nor did he greet us back. He got close and whispered something. All we could make out was the word “brujado.” Haunted.

I snapped a couple more pictures.

“¿Que?,” Vivan asked. What?

“Este lugar es brujado,” the boy replied. This place is haunted.

We all laughed nervously. What a little jokester. Days later, we all admitted to thinking the same thing, “Dude, were we living with a ghost?” 

He promptly ran away, down the street, out of sight. We went inside, stored our bags and went into town for lunch. We caught our flight later that day and arrived in Bariloche that night. We didn’t give him another thought, he was just a kid being a kid.

In Bariloche a couple of days later, we were all hanging out by the pool at our hotel. I was scrolling through some of the pictures I had taken while in El Calafate and El Chalten. I came across the ones I had taken of the little boy the day we stored our luggage at the Hospedaje del Norte. I yelled for Viv and Ant to come take a look at the pictures:

“That is creepy AF,” Ant said. 

Below is a sketch that Viv did of El Niño Brujado. In my opinion, it’s pretty realistic.

Here’s one that Ant did. I think it looks like El Niño Brujado if you squint with one eye closed and a bag over your head.

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Do you remember when you found out that Santa Claus doesn’t exist? 

Or when you discovered that 8 cassettes for the price of S&H only was too good to be true? #damnyou #ColumbiaHouse 

Or when you realized that Sam Malone’s glorious coif was just a hairpiece glued to the top of Ted Danson’s bald head? 

I had a similar feeling when I found out that TOMS, the popular canvas shoe worn by many people I know and love (including myself), is just a copycat of a shoe long worn by Argentinians. If you already knew this fact, good for you. 

Photo credit: AP

In Argentina, these canvas shoes are known as alpargatas, a kind of sandal or espadrille. It is believed that the alpargata is a descendent of the Egyptian sandal. Romans later modified the sandal by adding an upper for protection. The alpargata was then taken to Spain, where it took its current shape. In the 15th century, it was taken to the Americas by Spanish colonizers, soldiers and missionaries. 

Alpargatas were originally made as a poor man’s shoe, and they were loved by rural workers for their comfort and versatility. The gauchos of Argentina helped to spread the popularity of the shoe. Alpargatas eventually became a popular and important part of the city wardrobe and spread to Buenos Aires and other cities. The alpargata became the everyday shoe for Argentina. 

I first noticed the shoes on the gauchos at Estancia Don Silvano. The ones they wore were plain navy blue canvas with white rubber soles. 

In my ignorance, I thought that it was unusual/funny that they looked so similar to TOMS. Estancia Don Silvano even sold these in the gift shop, some with rubber soles, some with rope soles. Then I started seeing people wearing these shoes in the towns we visited and in the airports while we boarded our flights. Then it occurred to me that the TOMS logo is (deliberately?) similar to the Argentine flag.  

Photo credit: Tom's Shoes

I googled “TOMS shoes Argentina” and received an education. Basically, Tom of TOMS Shoes was inspired to found his company by the time he spent in Argentina. Whether or not you agree with Tom and support his company is a topic best left for places other than this blog. Suffice it to say that alpargatas are EVERYWHERE in Argentina. Exhibit A:

Next stop: Mendoza

El Chalten: Fitz Roy

Three backpacks.  Three ham and cheese sandwiches.  Twelve and a half miles.  Seven hours.  Us.  This mountain.

 

After four days in El Calafate, we boarded a bus headed north.  Three hours later, we were in El Chalten, a small colorful town situated next to Parc Nacional Los Glaciares (“Glaciers National Park”).  El Chalten means “peak of fire” or “smoking mountain” (due to a cloud that usually surrounds its peak) and is considered the northern gateway to the park.  El Chalten was founded in 1985 and its main attractions are its world-class hiking trails, many of which start right in town.     

 Bottom right photo is of the cabana we stayed in.  It was #totes #adorbs.

Within the park is the Fitz Roy mountain range, the de facto trekking capital of Argentina.  The Fitz Roy range is part of the Andes mountain range.  Cerro Fitz Roy is the highest peak in the Fitz Roy range, with a maximum elevation of 11,171 feet.  Cerro Fitz Roy is one of the most technically challenging mountains in the world for climbers.  Cerro Fitz Roy is also the mountain featured in the logo for the Patagonia clothing company.

Photo credit: HBO, Patagonia

Today we hiked conquered the trek leading to Laguna de los Tres.  Laguna de los Tres is a high alpine tarn (noun, mountain lake or pool formed in a hole excavated by a glacier) with breath-taking views of Cerro Fitz Roy. 

We started at the trail head at El Pilar, located 17 kilometers to the north of El Chalten.  Our plan was to hike south—first to Laguna de los Tres, then back into town.

Before we started the hike, Viv warmed up by doing some dabbing. 

 

 

Top: Viv, Bottom: Other dabbers (they were not on our hike)

Photo credit: Gokudabbing

We then started our trek through forests, enjoying lovely views of the valley, glaciers, lagoons and campgrounds.  Laguna de los Tres is the most beautiful hiking trail I’ve ever been on.  Ant agreed.

Let me count three ways: 

1. Views of Cerro Fitz Roy.  On arriving at the highest point on the trail at Laguna de lost Tres, we were rewarded by majestic views of Cerro Fitz Roy, the glacier de los Tres, and its lagoon.  
    
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
    
2. Glaciers.  I didn’t even know glaciers could exist LITERALLY IN MOUNTAIN RANGES AND NOT IN WATER.  Did they teach us this in school?!  I really felt like I was sick that day or something.  Most of these pictures are of the Piedras Blancas glacier, whose name means “white stones” in Spanish. We were able to view the PB from various viewpoints along the trail.
    
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
    
3. Diversity of terrain and vegetation.  Given that El Chalten has an unpredictable subpolar oceanic climate in which summers (which it is now) can be cool, windy and wet, the Laguna de los Tres trail was lush with trees and plants of all kinds.
    
   
    
   
   
    
   
   
   
   

Next stop: Bariloche

El Calafate: Perito Moreno Glacier Walk

A haiku inspired by the Perito Moreno Glacier:

Walking senselessly

White monsters made of blue ice

Three point five hours

El Calafate is located in the southern part of Patagonia, where nature is barren, wild and beautiful.  Patagonia is a sparsely populated region shared by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains as well as the deserts, steppes and grasslands east of this southern portion of the Andes. Patagonia has two coasts; a western one towards the Pacific Ocean and an eastern one towards the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

El Calafate is named for the berry that, once eaten, guarantees your return to Patagonia.  I have reason to believe this berry to be the gooseberry, as that was the jam that was available every day at breakfast at our hotel.  The hostess actually said “grassberry” when I inquired, but I’m good with languages.

The primary reason that El Calafate has a place on our itinerary is the Perito Moreno Glacier (affectionately dubbed “the PMG” by me) and the opportunity to walk on it.  The PMG is located 80 kilometers west of El Calafate in the Andes mountain range.  It is not Patagonia’s largest glacier, but I dare say it is Patagonia’s most stunning glacier.  The PMG is 30 kilometers long, 5 kilometers wide and 60 kilometers high.  It is a glacier in equilibrium, or a “stable” glacier, meaning that it advances and “melts” at the same rate, up to 2 meters per day.  When we were there, we definitely heard and (kind of) saw the PMG calving (melting) as chunks of ice fell off the glacier into the water below.  The sound of a glacier calving is not dissimilar to the sound of thunder.  The site of a glacier calving is like nothing I have seen before.  #youtubeit

To experience the PMG, we signed up for the Big Ice tour with an operator called Helio & Aventura.  Fun fact:  Only one operator is permitted by law to offer any particular tour in El Calafate.  This keeps crowding to a minimum (sort of), but I have a feeling it also results in higher prices.  #lawofsupplyanddemand #econmajor #gobears

The Big Ice tour started with an 80-kilometer bus ride to the national park.  We then boarded a ferry for the 20-minute ride to the trail head, where we started our 45-minute (uphill) hike along the side of the glacier.  We then casually strolled on to the PMG, where we walked.  Senselessly.  For three point five hours.  With cramp-ons.

Cramp-ons are spikes that you wrap around your shoes so that you can grip the surface of the glacier as you walk.  Interestingly, walking on a glacier is kind of like walking on a literal mountain of crushed ice.  This makes complete sense as glaciers are merely mountains of snow that have condensed into ice over millennia and under tremendous weight.

 

In my humble opinion, the glacier walk has been the highlight of the trip so far.  Words and pictures cannot justly describe the experience but let me try.  First with words:  surreal, awe-inspiring, magnificent, majestic, I feel tiny, blue, whipped egg whites.

Now with pictures:

Below are views from the platforms that face the PMG.

 

 

 

From the boat ride...

 

 

 

 

On the hike alongside the PMG:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guides, Luis and Gabriel.  Gabriel (in the hat) was our scout:

 

Our three point five hour walk:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of days later, we visited the Upsala Glacier and the Spegazzini Glacier, both located in the Andes north of the PMG.  Both are only viewable from a boat.  All three glaciers feed into Lake Argentino.

 

These glaciers were equally humbling.  First, the Upsala Glacier.

 

Now, the Spegazzini Glacier:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a beautiful blue iceberg we passed during our ride.

 

 

 

Photographers on the boat would take your picture in front of the glacier if you were so inclined, which many people were.  For a fee, of course.  We decided to pose for our own picture, borrowing a pose we’d seen a little boy strike.

Photo credit: Vivian Kim

Next stop: El Chalten