Glaciers, snow, hats, and gloves—not exactly what you picture when you think of South America, is it? I spent my mid-semester break in Patagonia, the southernmost region of Argentina (there's also Chilean Patagonia, but unfortunately we didn't have time to cross the border). To give you an idea of how different it is from the sunny weather we usually associate with South America, I walked on a glacier one day and hiked through a foot of snow on several others. My friends and I (there were 12 of us total!) spent eight days between two small towns: El Calafate and El Chalten. It was a huge change from living in Buenos Aires! We spent the majority of days hiking, and although I don't consider myself a particularly outdoorsy person, I really enjoyed it. Everywhere we went had amazing views. The seasons down here are opposite what they are in Rochester, so right now it's the end of fall/beginning of winter. This is considered the off-season to visit Patagonia, since it's colder than many people like, but to me it was perfect—all the leaves were beautiful colors, and higher up on the mountains there was snow (not so fun to hike in, but beautiful to look at!). It was chilly, but after Rochester, I was totally prepared for the cold; my host mom was shocked that all I wore was a long-sleeved shirt, a fleece, and a rain coat.
Patagonia is one of the most interesting places I've ever visited. In addition to all the gorgeous views, I really liked how untouched it felt. The water was clear and we were able to drink from the glacier and streams, and the tap water tasted like bottled water! Everyone in the region makes a big effort to be sustainable—you have to bring your own bags to the grocery stores because they don't have any. It's hard to describe the whole week in one short blog post, but here are some of the highlights!
Above: Perito Moreno glacier in El Calafate
Above: Hiking on the glacier!
Above: We saw flamingos!
Above: The herd of wild cows we came across while hiking
Above: A view of El Chalten from above
This trip really confirmed my belief that Argentina is (a) amazing and (b) unbelievably geographically diverse. How many countries have tropical waterfalls, glaciers, salt flats, mountains, wine country, and a major world city? It's such an interesting place to call home, if only for four months. There's nowhere else I'd rather study abroad!