Now it's Argentina's turn

We've had a termendous three days in Torres del Paine, but it's time to visit the Argentinian portion of Patagonia.  Our hotel stay in Cerro Castillo, Chile was excellent, but the bonus to staying there was that we were practically next door to the border crossing. 

Crossing the border required parking at the Chilean border station and going inside to get passports stamped.  We also had paperwork that had to be stamped as well -- a cross-border permit -- that allowed us to take our rental car from Chile into Argentina. Once we completed that, we drove about 5 miles to the Argentinan station, actually crossing the border about halfway there.  It was the same process.  All told, we completed both stations in under 45 minutes which was great.

Guanaco

The road to the border in Chile was practically brand new with concrete lanes and a nice wide shoulder.  Once we crossed the border, it was a different story. Argentina's road to the border station was gravel and let's say not quite as smooth.  Given the remote nature of this region in both countries, it is very common to have gravel roads. We drove on many in Chile, and Argentina has a lot of catching up to do in terms of how well they are maintained.

Crested Caracara

Once we left the border station, we drove Ruta 40 (Route 40) which is the historic road that travels the length of Argentinian Patagonia at over 3,100 miles. Even better, it's paved 😀. There was a "shortcut" along the way that took us on a gravel road that cut the corner and shaved an hour off the trip according to Google maps.  Let's just say we would have been better driving the extra hour to remain on pavement.  Did I mention that Chile's gravel roads are much better maintained?  Argentina really needs to get some pointers.  The one silver lining was beautiful scenery, and we saw a Gaucho and his dogs as well as guanacos and Patagonian birds.

The best part of the drive was the arrival in El Chalten.  We were greeted with stunning views of snow-capped peaks and the famous outline of Mount Fitzroy.  The logo for clothing company Patagonia is based on Fitzroy.  While we had some clouds during our arrival, it was still an awesome site to see.  I went out early today and captured this photo with clear blue skies.  Awesome indeed.