Glaciers, trekking, and wine tasting

Sitting back in our living room having just returned home, a swirl of memories surround us. We have easily identified our favourite moments of the trip but as a whole it was another resounding success. We continue to feel so lucky to add to our travel repertoire together and are proud to have completed our sixth continent together. 
Travelling Patagonia was on our list of places to go for a while, here in no specific order are some highlights:
- Trekking over the John Gardner Pass in Torres Del Paine after we quickly decided not to take the catamaran to the W and complete the circuit. Once the Grey Glacier come into view and could be seen as far as the eye could see, it was a special moment that will be etched into our memories forever
-  The French valley on the W side, including Britanico lookout being able to see the towers from the other side
- Trekking culture and meeting another group of great people to experience the trip with. It is an amazing bond and there is just something about achieving a physical feat with a group of strangers while sharing food and stories that always makes us want to get back out there again and again
- Panoramic lookout in El Chalten at the top of Pliegue Tombado, after hiking for a few hours and realizing there was still a much higher lookout, I stated "I was afraid of that" but the view took our breaths away. Ranked as one of the best day hikes we have ever done!
- Getting back on the bike to complete the circuito chico around Bariloche
- Refugio Frey complete with deep snow, make-shift ping-pong, mate culture, and our own perro to guide our out in the morning
- Wine touring on foot, in full Patagonian rain gear in the village of Maipu outside of Mendoza. Great wine and pulled off a self-guided day. Another great wine region for the books.
- Buenos Aires capped off with an incredible 10 course meal with wine pairings at Paraje Arevalo. Superb last night!

Love love love Patagonia and the people and culture of Argentina and Chile. Salud with Mate! 

Try to swirl it the other way..

Having too much fun in Mendoza touring wineries and trying lots of Malbec!
What a way to wrap up the trip. Can we stay?

This is why we travel

Today was an exceptional day. We headed out of Bariloche and rented bikes to complete the circuito chico. All the way around we had stunning views and it felt great to be back on bikes again, I think we caught a biking bug this past summer.  After the bike, we hiked to the top of the lookout called cerro campanario which revealed a huge panaoramic view of the entire area. Chad learned how to take photosphere photos and is now obsessed, this lookout provided a perfect backdrop for these shots.
We should also mention, yesterday we rented a car with some friends me met and travelled out of Bariloche on La Ruta de los Siete Lagos. The weather was not totally cooperative but we enjoyed the day long-drive including exploring two little lakeside towns called San Martin de los Andes and Villa la Angostura.
We are currently planning our next move but we are pretty sure we are going to fit in another multi-day trek before heading to Mendoza.

Liberally translates into "Chimney"

El Chalten overlooks Fitz Roy mountain which was named because it is almost always covered in a moving cloud making it like a chimney. We spent four days in the area and on the final day had a clearing to make it to the viewpoint and see the peak of the mountain. This was perhaps one of our favourite day hikes ever, surpassed perhaps only by Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand.
The unique part of El Chalten is that is is literally in the national park meaning that everday you can head out into the park and do a day hike and then return to a hot shower and evening relaxing in town. There are microbreweries and vinerias (wine lounges) and lots of little cafes in town making it a great place to unwind.
On our last day we tried "mate" a local tea that is drank through a metal straw and shared between the table.
We set off from El Chalten on a long bus ride to take us up to the lake region of Bariloche. A 25 hour and 7 minute bus ride proved "not too bad" but we are glad to be here. We are looking forward to exploring the seven lakes region, doing a day bike ride, potentially a multi-day hike and sampling the renowed chocolate in the area.

Circuit Completed

We did it! The circuit is completed. What an incredible part of the world. Here is how it transpired.
Day 1 - Los Torres to Seron campsite
Day 2 - Seron to Los Perros via Dickson
Day 3 - Los Perros over the pass to Grey
Day 4 - Grey to Italiano
Day 5 - Covered the French Valley then onto Los Cuernos
Day 6 - Los Cuernos to Torres
Day 7 - Sunrise at Torres before hiking out

The entire circuit was beautiful however our favourite part was coming over the pass and seeing the Grey glacier. Hiking alongside it for the entire day was such a unique experience. So vast and sprawling, a true natural wonder.

Along the way, we meet such great people including but not limited to: Jeff and Jay (USA), Marco (Germany), Guillermo (Ecuador), Johnnie (Germany), Steve (Wales), Ted and Kate (USA), and Declin (England).

Another successful trek experience. After we finished we headed back into Argentina and up to El Chalten, where we currently are doing day hikes from town.

Patagonia

We have arrived in Chile. As we pack our bags in Puertas Natales, we await to head out on a multi-day trek through Torres Del Paine National Park. As we landed in El Calafate and made out journey across the border we knew that our decision to come to Patagonia would be rewarded. It is so incredibly breathtaking. From the vast steppes to the Andes rising, we are giddy with excitement and awe. Over the years, we have realized that one of our favourite things to do while travelling is trek, tomorrow we get back at it. 

Buenos Aires introduction

Day 1 - Spent the day logging many kilometers in Buenos Aires on foot. We saw most of the sites and sampled some of the great cuisine, including a great steak dinner, hard to be vegetarian here.
Our favorite was the cementerio de la recolota, much to Chad's surprise. It was very impressive and a unique visit.
After a long day, we crashed, will at least I did, quickly, to get up early to get back to the airport, where we currently are, to await our flight to El Calafate. We cannot wait to get into Patagonia!

Argentina started

Arrived safely, exploring the city before flying down to Patagonia tomorrow to start trekking. Life is good.

Argentina makes Six

This week we leave for Argentina....we are looking forward to lots of hiking in Patagnonia and the lake districts. We cannot believe we will be landing on our sixth continent together. Plan to share updates with you as we go! We will be gone for the month of April!

Saddle handled

Prior to our departure on our first bike trip this past August. We wondered....could we handle to saddle? It turns out we can and we did! After almost 900 km and the successful completion or the Gaspe Peninsula on bike, we have found another way we love to travel. Biking along the rugged coast line, pushing through hill sections, camping by the ocean and discovering a part of the east coast we are lucky to have experienced, add up to one incredible trip.

Here are some pictures, including some from our few days in Quebec City at the end to reward ourselves with great food and wine.