Hi guys, I am new to the forum, this is my first post.
I was planning a guided ascent of Aconcagua in December and have been doing various bits of preparation here in the UK and also the Alps. It dawned on me in my recent trips to the Alps that whilst I absolutely loved being out and moving on the Glacier and climbing peaks etc, the downtime every day was a killer as was staying in the spartan huts (I know, not much of a mountaineer if you can't even endure a mountain hut!). I also think that I was perhaps a bit naive as to the impact of the group on my enjoyment of the trip - sharing a tent with a stranger was something I was hesitant about (but I was happy to hope for the best) and a recent trip confirmed that being exposed to overbearing people on a trip can 100% ruin it. So my current plan is to do a solo trip with a view to seeing as much of the best natural landscapes in Argentina as is reasonable in the timeframe - hiking / trekking maybe 60% of the time and the other 40% sightseeing / spotting wildlife / other cool stuff.
So I now have almost 3 weeks in Argentina to play with - arriving in Mendoza on December 13 at 13.30 and departing for the UK from Mendoza at 17.30 PM - if I could fly into BA I would but I booked the non changeable flight into Mendoza specifically with Aconcagua in mind so I must start and end there. I know that Mendoza is one of the hotspots in the country due to the vineyards. This would have been high on my list at one point in my life but I quit drinking a few years back and so this side of Mendoza holds no real appeal. That being said, I have quickly glanced at the logistics of getting from A to B in Argentina and it seems that getting ANYWHERE from Mendoza (bar BA) is the bones of a full day undertaking. Also, I can't come to Argentina and not give one of the best cities (BA) in the world its due. So I am currently planning to spend my first 4 nights in Mendoza (just so I can relax a bit and not deal with travel again for a few days after spending nearly 24 hours getting there) and my last 5 nights in Buenos Aires. This gives me 11 nights in Patagonia in the middle - so 10 days as that first day will be a travel write off.
I had looked at things that appealed from a natural world perspective and the Ibera wetlands looked awesome (I enjoy bird watching but wouldn't call myself a twitcher!) but it looked like a ballache to get to and so I dismissed it. I also really wanted to find a way to see penguins and the Valdes Peninsula seems to be the best place but again presents logistics difficulties.
Ideally I would like to be able to do day hikes of between 5 and 20 miles but to then come back to a comfortable base hotel in the evening. I want to see as much variety as I possibly can whilst not moving from pillar to post - I am happy to have 2 bases in Patagonia and maybe even 3. I know there are various trails (W trail and O trail?) but I don't necessarily need to complete the entirity of any of these, merely expose myself to the best parts of them and move on. I think it might be a waist to hike in very similar landscapes for several days in a row.
A few questions:
- Is Mendoza worth it anymore given my criteria? If the hiking is better in Patagonia and the City parts are better in BA should I just get out of dodge straight away? Or is my current plan wise as there would be sufficiently cool and different natural things to see there to warrant 3 full days.
- How should I structure my Patagonia trip and is there an efficient way of doing this to incorporate the penguins either in the Valdes peninsula or elsewhere?
- Am I ignoring any glorious natural parts of Argentina that are spectacular / must sees and, if so, how do I incorporate them into my trip?
I consider myself a hiker who likes a bit of scrambling but don't see myself doing anything requiring a climbing partner / ropes / harness etc on this trip. Too much faff and not core to what I love doing in the mountains.
Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated and I'd be happy to clarify any of the above. I'm also throwing a lot of stuff out there as at the moment I just don't know enough to be able to frame things better - I'm hoping to get some advice here that can help me narrow things down.
