A'Villan Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Anyone ever been? What was your experience like? Please share. Ever since I saw the snowboarding film The Art of Flight, I have always dreamed of going there. I hear that the Argentine part is more of the tourist destination, and that it's the Chilean side that's where it's at. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 I haven’t but it’s on my list. Looks so beautiful . Wouldn’t be surprised if @tonyh has been 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 7 hours ago, mikeyp102 said: I haven’t but it’s on my list. Looks so beautiful . Wouldn’t be surprised if @tonyh has been Alas , not got there yet ... I put a trip together for that area and Chile etc as well but just haven’t put it into action 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted August 18, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 18, 2019 1 hour ago, tonyh29 said: Alas , not got there yet 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Was there for 2.5/3 weeks this year, late April to June. Stayed in the Argentinian side, started in El Calafate and went up to Bariloche in stages. Would have liked to to see the Chilean side but was on somewhat of a clock and the border crossing was a bit of a hassle, maybe another time. We were just out of tourist season so was nice and quiet but still able to get around and not unbearably cold. I'm not a very out-doorsy person but was out hiking almost every day and loved it, most beautiful place I've ever been by a distance. Perito Moreno glacier pictured was an absolutely incredible experience, was even lucky enough to witness a huge chunk off ice fall off it. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted October 6, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted October 6, 2019 Went in March 2016 - Stayed in El Calafate and like Penguin went up to Bariloche. From El Calafate we hiked across the glacier with this company. The Glacier hike was unbelievable. The isolation there is special - we also did some horse riding across endless plains. San Bariloche is sort of a time warp - a little like an Italian ski village from the 80's....It's Little odd - they also seem quite proud of the rumors of Hitler and the Nazi's escaping to the area. If you ever wanted to leave your whole life and go somewhere where no-one would ever find you then this part of Argentina would be perfect. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 @TheAuthority Great read, thanks for sharing that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted October 8, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2019 2 hours ago, A'Villan said: @TheAuthority Great read, thanks for sharing that! Also forgot that the meat down there was mind-blowing (pre vegan days!) They cook the whole animal carcass by starting a fire on the ground then they literally crucify the animal in front of the flames. Traditionally "Patagonian Lamb" is cooked outside but restaurants also do it as in the pic below. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Mountains and glaciers are a bit meh to me. Great travels bags mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I'm heading to South America next week for about a month with the wife. Will be spending a little bit of time in Patagonia - both the Argentinian and Chilean sides. Will also be passing through Santiago (just the airport), so a little worried about that in the current climate, but will see how it all goes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 10 hours ago, Ghost said: I'm heading to South America next week for about a month with the wife. Will be spending a little bit of time in Patagonia - both the Argentinian and Chilean sides. Will also be passing through Santiago (just the airport), so a little worried about that in the current climate, but will see how it all goes. Hope it turns out to be a worthwhile and enjoyable adventure. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robby b Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 (edited) On 06/10/2019 at 02:29, TheAuthority said: Went in March 2016 - Stayed in El Calafate and like Penguin went up to Bariloche. From El Calafate we hiked across the glacier with this company. The Glacier hike was unbelievable. The isolation there is special - we also did some horse riding across endless plains. San Bariloche is sort of a time warp - a little like an Italian ski village from the 80's....It's Little odd - they also seem quite proud of the rumors of Hitler and the Nazi's escaping to the area. If you ever wanted to leave your whole life and go somewhere where no-one would ever find you then this part of Argentina would be perfect. You hiked across the Perrito Moreno glacier, wow, brilliant! (Pictured at the top of this post, in Avillan's photo). I spent a day in front of it, it's amazing! But I didn't go up onto it, like you, I'd love to have done that. I went on a boat in front of it though. Frrrreezing! :s And of course I admired it from that wooden viewing platform in the photo. And I loved Bariloche, it's beautiful! Chilled out attractive town with a gorgeous lake surrounded by forest and mountains, wow. Plus great Argentinian chocolate! : ) I spent a few days there and remember that Villa won their league game during my stay, which made it an even better place, hahaha. : D (MON days, 2007). I'm planning on returning to Chile next year and want to use my tent a lot to save money. Does anyone have experience of camping in Chile? I've read campsites are generally expensive there, but actually, if possible I want to find a few places in or near the Santiago region where it's cheap or somehow maybe even free to camp. Edited August 24, 2020 by robby b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robby b Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 On 07/08/2019 at 07:20, A'Villan said: Anyone ever been? What was your experience like? Please share. Ever since I saw the snowboarding film The Art of Flight, I have always dreamed of going there. I hear that the Argentine part is more of the tourist destination, and that it's the Chilean side that's where it's at. Hi A'Villan, I was there on that wooden viewing platform one day in Feb/March 2007, wonderful! It's in the Argentinean part. I really hope you go out to Patagonia, it was one of my dreams to go there too. I had two weeks in total, on both sides (Argentina and Chile). Ushuaia was a real adventure, so far south! And I saw the tall granite 'towers' in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. I really recommend Bariloche too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robby b Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 (edited) On 23/10/2019 at 08:52, Ghost said: I'm heading to South America next week for about a month with the wife. Will be spending a little bit of time in Patagonia - both the Argentinian and Chilean sides. Will also be passing through Santiago (just the airport), so a little worried about that in the current climate, but will see how it all goes. Hi, hope you had a great time in Patagonia last year! I loved being out there, what an exciting holiday! Can't wait to get back out to South America, I may go back to the top of Patagonia in Chile, to their 'lake district'. But still worried about the political situation, absolutely disgusting what happened to a lot of protesters in the autumn/winter, so many 'rubber' bullets fired by the riot police and they hit many people in an eye. There should be prosecutions. It's so sad. And really scary. Only 20% of the material their bullets were made of was actually rubber, as is typical with 'rubber' bullets apparently. Edited August 25, 2020 by robby b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 11 hours ago, robby b said: Hi, hope you had a great time in Patagonia last year! I loved being out there, what an exciting holiday! Can't wait to get back out to South America, I may go back to the top of Patagonia in Chile, to their 'lake district'. But still worried about the political situation, absolutely disgusting what happened to a lot of protesters in the autumn/winter, so many 'rubber' bullets fired by the riot police and they hit many people in an eye. There should be prosecutions. It's so sad. And really scary. Only 20% of the material their bullets were made of was actually rubber, as is typical with 'rubber' bullets apparently. Patagonia is a truly beautiful region with awe-inspiring sights in all directions. Spent as much time as we could spare on both the Argentinian and Chilean sides. It was interesting to see the contrast of mood in countries - we were in El Calafate when the Argentinian election results were coming through, and it was a celebration of honking car horns and signing and dancing around the town and in the bars that evening, after the new President's speech. While we ended up only transiting through Santiago Airport, the other parts of Chile seemed OK in terms of safety, however there was definitely a tension in the air. In La Paz, we had to stay in our hotel due to the political unrest in Bolivia, and would hear sirens, shouting and what sounded like gun-shots going off in other parts of the city. Had to scramble to get a flight out of there after our planned bus to Uyuni was cancelled without warning. Again, the rest of the country seemed OK in terms of security. We did hear stories from other travellers that had to barricade themselves in their hostel as windows were smashed during the protests though - that sounded scary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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