Patagonia log: Days 1 & 2
The trip officially started today, February 17th, 2023
Some have driven back to El Calafate to pick up the last arrivals and the three cars that accompanied us throughout the trip. For us who stayed in El Chalten, it was a leisurely morning, checking out of the Airbnb, checking in at the Hostel where we would stay for the following three nights and recovering from yesterday’s long trail.
I used the time to get some downtime, organize and answer a few last matters before embarking on this journey. I knew there wouldn’t be much time left to do anything else besides being immersed in the trip for the next two weeks.
Internet in El Chalten is minimal. At first, we thought the Airbnb didn’t have a proper connection, but we soon realized that the entire city had poor connectivity. If you were alone in an establishment, you were lucky to make use of it as soon as others entered no more.
It was good, though, as it forced us all to stay offline. Since the internet didn’t work anyway, we all soon put our phones aside and decided to post things after living the trip fully (thus, I’m writing here in retrospect).
In the afternoon, we were complete.
Everyone was sitting at a table outside a brewery restaurant, some having late lunches, others delighting themselves in local beer while we were all talking, exchanging experiences, and slowly meeting each other.
Before the trip, we already had a WhatsApp group where we had been exchanging in preparation for the journey together. It was great to see the faces and personally meet each of the personalities of this diverse group.
A total of 12 people. The youngest, 25, and the oldest, 39, women and men, a mix from different regions in Brazil and backgrounds. Some living photography as their profession, others as a hobby, but all share this passion equally. Each one aggregating to the group in their unique ways, bringing knowledge, experience, laughter, hugs, and so much more.
Today was officially the first of 10 days we would intensively spend together.
We all went back to the Hostel. Most of the group headed towards the sunset by the road for photographs. I wasn’t feeling at my best and decided to rest instead for the busy day that was to come.
Day 2 - camping on sight
This was one of the days that caught my attention when reading the itinerary of the trip - a trail to a camping spot where we would set our tents to get the sunset and sunrise lights by the Laguna Torre, showcasing one of the best views of the Fitz Roy.
It has been a while since I wanted to learn how to camp to integrate that travel method more often into my itineraries.
Before leaving for the hike, some preparation was first needed.
None of us had brought camping gear with us; we rented all at a multi-active sports store in El Chalten (there are quite a few of them in town) - tents, sleeping bags and isolation mats). We’ve set our bags, fuelled our tummies, made sure to stack on snacks to go and headed off to the trail.
8km with many kgs on our backs - camera, lenses, food, warm clothing and the camping gear we had rented. Felt a bit like heavy lifting in parts.
Before the trip, I was concerned I wouldn’t be fit enough for this day, but it turns out that my hiking experience in Switzerland, combined with some pre-trip strength training, properly prepared me for this.
The scenery along the hike was beautiful. It felt like walking on the edges of a dinosaur-movie valley. Occasionally, the Lion King was a movie that also came to my mind while admiring the unique view and vegetation.
We arrived at the camp, set our tents, grabbed a snack and already headed to the sunset by the lake to create. What peace of mind it gives to admire nature doing its wonders. After photographs of the landscape and of the model in our group - the girlfriend of one of the organizers joined the trip as an extra support and model for us to train more creative images with people in it - a chance to create a portfolio if we in the future want to explore working with clothing or other types of brands that cherish showcasing emotions and that “human touch”. Individuals in landscapes also create dimensions giving even more power to the setting - we headed back for a late picnic dinner by the tents.
Sharing food and stories before accommodating in our shared tents (3-4 people per tent).
Before hiding in our sleeping bags, some of us got out in the dark to fill the bottles in the river and admire the few stars and satellites that showed themselves in the cloudy sky.
