Arriving at Lago Desiertes from the single track we have to officially enter Argentina at the border post. The lake runs north/south and at the end of it is Fitz Roy. Our tent is on the lake shore facing south.

We spend an extra day in the area taking a (long) hike up to a fabulous (luckily) view point over the Chico Glacier which drains the Southern Ice Cap. It is the swirly darker glacier that we saw from our glacier cruise.The day and the views were moody but well worth the effort.

The sunrise the next morning was a pearler, watching Fitz Roy change colour from the lake shore was great. At lunchtime we took the boat to the start of the road into El Chalten, and possibly one of the last unsealed roads we will have – but don’t quote me. We had hoped for 2hrs into El Chalten but the road deteriorated and slowed us up to 3 hrs.

El Chalten is a relatively new town set up primarily as trekking/climbing central for the National Park. The visitor centre was a mine of information (esp. if you read Spanish!) especially concerning the history of mountaineering on the famous Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy.