3rd-17th October 2024
Fitz Roy and the Silence Between Chapters
I went back to El Chaltén for the second time. Only six months had passed since my first trip to Patagonia, but I still had those places on my mind so much... and I didn't want to leave South America without seeing them again.
This time, I went alone. And it wasn’t just the landscape that felt different, I was different. I was going through a strange, inward season of change. This trip marked the end of a chapter in my life. It was the last one before returning to Rio… and after that, I would be moving out of Brazil... leaving South America entirely and heading back to Europe.
There were so many unknowns ahead of me. So much uncertainty. Being alone in the wild beauty of Patagonia helped me face all of it. I had time to be with myself, and to feel both the weight and the openness of everything in front of me.
The nature was stunning. I hiked, I wandered, I admired Fitz Roy again and again. One afternoon, I stopped by a well-known waterfall near Laguna Capri, and luckily, no one else was there. I was exhausted. I had been sick with a cold, coughing through sleepless nights, and I remember just lying on a rock, watching the clouds rush past Fitz Roy’s peak. They moved fast, shifting into strange and beautiful shapes, dissolving and forming again. I kept watching, eyes half-closed, until at some point, sleep took over. I spent around two hours lying there, and when I woke up, Fitz Roy was still there. Calm, silent, unmoved.
An experience I will remember was a night hike to Laguna Torre. I hesitated at first.. because I didn’t feel I have the right clothes for the cold (I even rented one extra jacket), and part of me was nervous about walking alone at night, since I had actually seen a puma near El Chaltén once before, on a night hike with friends. But my motivation to capture the stars over Torre Peak pulled me forward. The wind in Patagonia was giving me anxiety... it was strong and restless but that night I was lucky. It was cold, but the usual wind had gone silent. I followed the trail quietly, and I made it to the lake just before the sky started to lighten. I only had time for a few stars shots, and then the sunrise's colors started to appear.. it was breathtaking.
On this trip to El Chaltén, I gave myself permission to slow down, to lie back and admire the nature, to pause. Not just to hike and take photos, but to feel and rest. And even though my mind wasn’t always as calm as I wanted, with so many changes ahead, those quiet moments in nature helped me breathe a little deeper. They reminded me it was okay not to have all the answers yet.
This time, I went alone. And it wasn’t just the landscape that felt different, I was different. I was going through a strange, inward season of change. This trip marked the end of a chapter in my life. It was the last one before returning to Rio… and after that, I would be moving out of Brazil... leaving South America entirely and heading back to Europe.
There were so many unknowns ahead of me. So much uncertainty. Being alone in the wild beauty of Patagonia helped me face all of it. I had time to be with myself, and to feel both the weight and the openness of everything in front of me.
The nature was stunning. I hiked, I wandered, I admired Fitz Roy again and again. One afternoon, I stopped by a well-known waterfall near Laguna Capri, and luckily, no one else was there. I was exhausted. I had been sick with a cold, coughing through sleepless nights, and I remember just lying on a rock, watching the clouds rush past Fitz Roy’s peak. They moved fast, shifting into strange and beautiful shapes, dissolving and forming again. I kept watching, eyes half-closed, until at some point, sleep took over. I spent around two hours lying there, and when I woke up, Fitz Roy was still there. Calm, silent, unmoved.
An experience I will remember was a night hike to Laguna Torre. I hesitated at first.. because I didn’t feel I have the right clothes for the cold (I even rented one extra jacket), and part of me was nervous about walking alone at night, since I had actually seen a puma near El Chaltén once before, on a night hike with friends. But my motivation to capture the stars over Torre Peak pulled me forward. The wind in Patagonia was giving me anxiety... it was strong and restless but that night I was lucky. It was cold, but the usual wind had gone silent. I followed the trail quietly, and I made it to the lake just before the sky started to lighten. I only had time for a few stars shots, and then the sunrise's colors started to appear.. it was breathtaking.
On this trip to El Chaltén, I gave myself permission to slow down, to lie back and admire the nature, to pause. Not just to hike and take photos, but to feel and rest. And even though my mind wasn’t always as calm as I wanted, with so many changes ahead, those quiet moments in nature helped me breathe a little deeper. They reminded me it was okay not to have all the answers yet.
