Pheeleeps, Pheeleeps, the man at the gate is calling our name, we are the last to board, the flight is ready to leave! Guy who has been busy at the airport writing pages for the blog, is looking a little dishevelled, his hat is sitting at a cocked angle, he is wearing a rain jacket, on top of four other layers of clothing, he is carrying a backpack, and two further bags…as he arrives at the entrance to the plane the Captain is standing ready to greet him “come on in, he says” Guy seeing that this fellow has a definite sense of humour replies, “well it would be a bit cold if I stayed on the outside of this plane”, we are off to a good start. We are traveling to El Calafate, an hour and a half flight. Somehow we knew this would be a little different and it was. Firstly just after take off, the Captain (with the door of the cockpit still open) announces that he hopes we wont mind but that he would like to increase our journey by ten minutes in order to fly us all at a lower than normal level (I suspect) over the beautiful lakes of Bariloche, as he does so in Spanish and English we have a commentary on what is below us. It was spontaneous and beautiful and at the end of the lake as we rose higher in the sky, everyone clapped. This was Aerolineas Argentinas, the national airline and what a refreshing way to treat passengers. Not for this Captain the anonymity of just being the voice behind the face. Good for them.

We arrive at El Calafate and transfer to a small bus, just six passengers, an American in his twenties who was chatting to an English guy about his age. A young couple, Guy and I. We are cold from waiting outside but soon are very hot in the bus as the driver has the heat on max. The young couple fall asleep, the guys talk, comparing notes as men do! Guy and I play cards for about an hour and a half. The scenery never changes, it becomes very monotonous, the journey will take three hours. Guy is concerned that the driver (who has already done the trip one way) is rubbing his eyes,and asks for a few minutes break to stretch his legs. This the driver agrees to and I notice that he has a quick cigarette at the front of the bus, we are hoping that this will keep him awake. Guy at this time moves up to sit beside him and the rest of the journey continues without event.

We arrive in El Chaten before dark. This mountain town described as a “beautiful mountain village” seems far from it when we arrive. The population is 1,000 at the height of the season. It is pouring with rain and the place looks desolate, this is autumn and the season is at an end. There are many buildings half finished and there seems no warmth or soul about the place. Already we are wondering why we have spent three hours in a bus (and will spend three hours going back) to see this place. We find somewhere for dinner and then go back to our hotel room. A knock on the door, there the receptionist stands with a note. Apparently our guide will collect us at 8.30am and take us for a hike….yikes, that is not only a bit early but the bumf says we can have a short walk or a long walk, I think we had already chosen the former. I asked her politely how long the walk would be and without hesitation she said about nine hours!!!! I knew immediately that this would have to be changed and spent the next half an hour setting about doing just that.

We changed the guide to 9.30am, we then discussed with him that we are not really hikers, probably the only reason that people come here! In fact 85% of the people who do come here are from outside Argentina, all in search of a challenge to climb or hike. We came because it seemed to be a part of Patagonia that was on our list of places to see and was recommended by someone (not sure who). He assesses how we look (I think) and decides to give us several options. We can walk for two hours to the “saddle” and then see how things are going but he is sure we will be fine. The scenery got more interesting and dramatic and beautiful as we climbed higher, we heard and saw some birds, the sun came out and I began to wonder why it is that when someone suggests a walk I seem to baulk. I was thinking about this a lot on the walk (which lasted in total about four hours). It seems that as a child we didn’t go for walks. Most of the walking that I have done in my life has been as a young mother. It was always a part of family life to go for long walks and at the end of it everyone felt refreshed and envigorated. So what is the attraction? First and foremost, for me, it is the fresh air. It must be that this takes precedent over every other reason. Why? Well unless one is walking with complete security that there are no hazards underfoot we normally spend 95% of the walk looking at our feet. Is it just me? No it is not and today was proof of that. When I was not looking at my feet or stopping to view the magnificent scenery I glanced firstly at our guide Andreas who was definitely looking at his feet and secondly at Guy behind who was doing the same. So do we miss an awful lot doing this? Yes I am sure that we do which brings me back to my first point. It is really the fresh air, sunshine and the feeling of just being outdoors that is important. So do I need to walk. Well my mother walked every day of her life for at least half an hour and didn’t miss a day, rain or shine. She lived to be 99 so I guess there is my answer…….