Try, try, try

CG and I tried everything to get into Chile.  We tried begging our rental car company.  We tried threatening the rental car company.  They basically couldn't give us insurnace because they do not have a license in Chile.  So, we tried to buy our own insurance.... no go.  We tried to rent another car so we could just drive in for a few days and then return to Argentina.  It was going to costs hundreds of dollars a day.  We even tried to see if we could book bus tickets but it was one of those "you can't get there from here" kind of situations.  Chile = fail.

So, after trying nearly all day, we made our way further into Parque Nacional de los Glaciers and drowned our selves in a gorgeous little campsite at the side of Lago Argentina and surrounded by snow capped mountains.  CG raced off to climb up Cerro Crystales before it got too dark.  I doubted I could keep up with his pace, so I stayed behind and just gawked at the scenery.  There were only 3-4 other campers in this huge area, so it felt like we were alone.  It was clear and quiet.  If all of the bad luck I have experienced since starting this trip two weeks ago were conspiring to make this moment, it was just about worth it.  Perfect.

Tuesday we intended to enter the national park and see more glaciers.  But then we found ourselves with a flat tire and it took most of the afternoon to fix it (everything is closed between 12 and 3 pm).  We decided to skip the close up views of Petit Moreno and drive 220 kms on to the more hiking-oriented El Chalten.  El Chalten is a tiny village of approximately 1000 full time residents.  It sits amongst gorgeous peaks and is a favorite with ice climbers.  El Chalten is expanding as fast it possibly can-- every free piece of land is under construction and the tourists keep coming!

It's cold here compared to any other place we've been.  I am going to need to buy some more warm clothes.  Today we hiked up to a glacial lake.  I just kept moving and managed to avoid freezing.  Tomorrow we'll probably go on one more hike before moving further north.  Chile be damned!