Patagonia's Los Glaciares
This is Fitz Roy Chalten mountain and its surrounding peaks.
We had been traveling for several hours in our two buses crossing the high desert plains east of the southern Andes. It's not much to look at, but then in the far horizon we began to see Fitz Roy. After driving another 30 miles we had this impressive view taken from the moving bus.
This was our first stop to photograph Fitz Roy from the highway as we were driving to El Chalten. Julie is in the light blue jacket.
We traveled another 5 miles and stopped again to photograph Fitz Roy. Our guide told us that this was an unusual sight because the mountain is usually covered in clouds.
We drove a bit farther and the mountain became even clearer. We pulled over again and I raced up a small embankment to make this shot with the sheep in the foreground.
Back in the bus and on toward El Chalten, but we soon stopped again as the view of Fitz Roy just kept getting better and better.
The tall peak in the center is called Torre, and the peaks to its right in consecutive order are Egger, Herron, and Standhardt. Torre is 10,175 feet high.
Fitz Roy Chalten, as it is officially named, is 11,168 feet high. The peak to its left is Poincenot, standing at 9847 feet. How lucky we were to arrive on such a clear day to view these spectacular mountains.
Although our attention was nearly totally devoted to Fitz Roy, when we turned to look in the other direction we saw these cirrostratus clouds streaking from the small mountain range to the west.
From El Chalten we drove a few miles to a place called Chorrillo del Salto to see a waterfall. This expansive beech tree caught my eye as we were hiking in to the falls.
In the distance you can see Chorrillo del Salto. The weather was gorgeous and the fall colors were resplendent.
A closer view of Chorrillo del Salto.
And even closer.
I paused for a moment to listen -- the cascading falls, the water rippling through the rocks, the beech trees whispering from a breeze.
After a little rock hopping I was able to get this view of the falls.
Just a short distance down stream from the falls was this colorful scene.
Rippling water, brilliant fall colors, and snowcapped mountains in the background -- wow!
Simply picturesque.
One afternoon we visited Rio Serrano Estancia to have this gaucho, his horse, and eager dog demonstrate the horsemanship that Argentinians are so rightfully proud.
Gauchos herd horses and cattle year around and are equivalent to the North American cowboy.
Gauchos are cultural icons of Argentina, renowned in folklore and literature.
Over three centuries gauchos evolved from independent nomads to freedom fighters to ordinary ranch hands.
Today gauchos are national symbols of bravery and self reliance.
Several mornings we arose well before dawn to drive back to the location where we photographed Fitz Roy Chalten when we first arrived. We sat on the bus for about 30 minutes waiting for the light. It was bitterly cold and windy, but then this soft pink began to appear over the mountain and we hustled out of the bus with our tripod-mounted cameras to capture this scene.
The sun cast its warm glow on the clouds above Fitz Roy. It was magical.
Then the light began to hit the mountain directly. Poincenot, the peak to the left of Fitz Roy, began to glow.
As a ribbon of pink light danced across the face of the mountains I knew instantly that this was a special moment.
The wonderful light began to soften and quickly dissipated, the whole brilliant view lasting only a few minutes.
We stayed at the site for another hour hoping for another burst of sunlight on the mountains, but the clouds only grew thicker. So, with the clouds creating soft, even light, I made this monochromatic photo.
We returned to the valley where we photographed the waterfall to photograph more of the fall scenery.
We came across this small meandering waterfall.
Looking upward from the valley floor.
Deep into the valley near the end of the road we came to Salto Argentino, a beautiful stream and waterfall.
Using a slow shutter speed the previous photo makes the water look silky. In this photo you get a better sense of the speed with which the water flowed.
The two heads of Salto Argentino.
With Salto Argentino in the background the stream steps its way down the valley.
More of the river torrent.
Looking upstream.
Upon our return from Salto Argentino we had one more view of Fitz Roy from a different perspective.
