FEB 11, 2016 – From Buenos Aires, my brother and I flew to El Calafate in the south of Argentina. This touristy little town was our base for the following two weeks: We first spent a night there on our way to Torres del Paine, then another two nights before going to El Chaltén, and a last night after that. We stayed at the “America del Sur” hostel every time and were happy with the helpful staff and good food there – including a “Parrilla Libre” dinner option (BBQ with all-you-can-eat buffet). Transit options to Puerto Natales were limited, so we ended up taking a bus to Rio Turbio and a taxi to the border and hitchhiking the rest of the way from there. My offline map suggested there would be a campground in Natales, but that turned out to be defunct, so we camped in the backyard of hostel Rio Tindal instead to test our equipment. Having bought gas and food already in El Calafate, we only needed to stock up on produce – which Chile doesn’t allow across its borders – before starting our week-long hike in Torres del Paine.

Photos of this part of the trip taken with Roman’s Canon PowerShot G16.