I’ve been in El Chalten the last few days, doing a final spot of hiking before heading back to Buenos Aires and then home.

I had hoped to have a relaxed first day, as I was still feeling quite tired from the previous week’s trekking. But when the day dawned bright and sunny I felt obliged to take advantage of the good weather and head out to tackle the Laguna de Los Tres / Fitz Roy hike which was at the top of my to-do list.

This is a 22km out-and-back route (11k each way) – it starts in the village, is well signposted and is not technically challenging, so draws crowds. The first 10 km uphill is a gradual ascent and a really enjoyable walk – the final kilometre is another matter entirely, with 400m ascent making for a very steep slog. Then you get to do it all in reverse on the way down!

The views are worth the slog, and for those who venture up the small hillside to the left of the Laguna de Los Tres, there is an added reward of seeing another lake, Laguna Sucia – unlike Laguna de Los Tres which was heavily frozen, Laguna Sucia is a glorious blue.

Day 2, yet again there was no rest for the wicked as I headed out to do the slightly shorter (18k) but much easier hike to Laguna Torre. This is a gradual ascent pretty much the whole way up, mostly through forest, with lovely views of Fitz Roy on the way up. Sadly by the time I reached the Laguna the cloud level had dropped, so Fitz Roy and the nearby peaks were no longer in view, but I was still able to appreciate the lake with all its floating icebergs.

I was hobbling by the time I got back to my room, though! I bought a cheap and very lightweight pair of imitation Crocs in Puerto Natales which I used for wandering round the campsites on the O Trek – they have been a lifesaver in terms of giving my tired feet a rest at the end of each day, but still the accumulation of lots of long days of hiking has taken its toll.

Thankfully those were the only two hikes I was really keen to do, and my relief when I got up this morning, to find it was raining, was immense – no need to feel guilty about having a lazy day! Today has been spent putting together this and the O Trek blog, and drinking endless cups of coffee. I’m still wandering round in the Crocs and my feet are gradually recovering.

This will be my last post – the next two days will just be spent travelling back to Buenos Aires and from there back to the U.K. What an incredible trip it’s turned out to be! I’ve been extremely fortunate to have not had anything go terribly wrong – the altitude issues in Cusco were unfortunate but not entirely unexpected, and the subsequent decision to replace the Huaraz portion of the itinerary with a longer stay in Argentina led me to one of my favourite parts of the trip, the Norhern Argentina road trip. It was a shame to miss out on seeing the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls but the Brazilian side more than made up for it. And every place I visited was absolutely incredible and so different from the last. Truly an outstanding trip and one I will look back on with awe and wonder for years to come.