Patagonia is sometimes incorrectly known as a different state or republic, or it is called the Patagonian republic or banana republic to express something that will not be far away, to belittle something that is unattainable, extraordinarily strange, and rare by making a comparison.

Geographically, Patagonia is located below the 33rd latitude zone of South America, just above Antarctica, within the territory of Chile and Argentina, to the north of the Strait of Magellan, which is not an independent state as it is thought, and is a wide area between the Rio Colorado river on the Argentine side and the Bio Bio rivers on the Chilean side. It is the name given to a region with land.

According to rumors, sailor Ferdinand Magellan, who set out to prove that the world was round, encountered some natives in the region he would later name Patagonia during his exploration of the Strait of Magellan. The natives are a primitive tribe and look like monsters called ‘patagons’ because of the paint on their faces and their clothes. Magellan calls this region, where locals resembling the Patagonian monster live, ‘Patagonia’.

It is accepted that approximately 1 million people live in the Patagonia region, meaning that its population is quite small, which means 2 people per square kilometer.

The part of Patagonia belonging to Chile is called Chilean Patagonia. This place is covered with glaciers and has an Antarctic climate, and is the second largest glacial area in the world. The region under the influence of Valdivia Forests is very rainy and cold.

Argentine Patagonia consists of four different regions according to geographical situation. Glacier Patagonia is the region of land glaciers in and around El Calafate in the south-central region of the region. Lakes Patagonia is the region of Boriloche and surrounding areas in the central-west region of the region, a region with wonderful landscapes of woodlands and lakes. Oceania Patagonia is the central eastern part of the region, around Penisula Valdes and Puerto Mandryn, and Deserts Patagonia is the southernmost part of the region, Ushuaia and its surroundings, the coldest, dryest, completely desertified region. The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and the 7th largest desert in the world, with an area of 673,000 km2. A large part of the desert is located within the borders of Argentina, and a small part is in the territory of Chile.

It was mentioned above, there is also the phrase “Banana Republic” that we use a lot. If we look at where it came from, in 1855, when Honduras, a Central American country, was one of the countries that grew the most bananas, American companies came here to buy bananas and then they started growing bananas in large areas here. When almost all of Honduras’ trade started to be about bananas, it started to be called “banana republic” in many places, especially in America. Today, the two largest banana producers in the world are two American companies in Honduras, where there are no rules and laws are not followed. It is the expression used for states.

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EL CALAFATE

Early in the morning we go to El Calafate in the Glacier Patagonia region in the south of Argentina. The average temperature in Buenos Aires is 28 degrees, the destination is very cold, we are going to the glaciers. When viewed from the plane, it is clearly a flat, cold place with a vast steppe character. It’s December, it’s summer in the southern hemisphere, and we shouldn’t think about what the winter season would be like here!

El Calafate is a very beautiful and charming city with a population of 16,000, located in the southwest of Argentina, Patagonia, in the province of Santa Cruz, on the southern shores of the Lago Argentino lake, at latitude 50 degrees south.

There are more hotel and motel accommodation than I expected, which means it is a place with tourism potential. Our hotel is on Flamingo street, very close to the center. The rooms are very nice, the view is wonderful, there seem to be a lot of tourists, but the locals are also around, they are civilized and sane people.

You can eat the best meat in the world in South America, Argentina and Brazil. I’m not big on meat, but meat is always eaten around here. The animals are very beautiful.

In some places, they cook lamb differently. They cut the animal from its stomach, stretch it as if crucifying it, and cook it around a burning fire in the middle. However, it did not seem too dry and nice, the grill is okay for this job.

We wanted to eat meat in the evening, we visited a few restaurants, there was no room, they were all full, we settled this evening in a beer hall, it was very enjoyable.

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We are in the south of Argentine Patagonia. In the morning, we take buses to Lake Argentina, the third largest lake in Argentina, and from there, we take boats first to the Upsala glacier and then through narrow gorges to the Spegzzini glacier. A magnificent glacier flowing through the mountains towards the lake.

Unlike sea glaciers, land glaciers grow gradually and flow like a river from the valley between the mountains where they form, towards the sea or lake, at a speed of approximately one meter per day. During the movement of the incredibly large glacier mass, sounds like thunder are heard. In other words, you don’t see the movement of that huge mass, but you hear its sound. After a while, a huge mass weighing tens of thousands of tons breaks off from the very edge of the glacier and falls down. If you are lucky, you will come across that moment, it is the most beautiful natural event you will ever see or hear. We weren’t that lucky here, we were able to see small pieces falling off. We still have a way to go, let’s see if we can witness this magnificent show of nature.

The boats are very nice, but if you go on deck it is seriously cold and strong frost. These are the conditions, if you want to take photos you have to tolerate them, and that’s what we do. The wind and the cold take some energy away, and after a while we go inside.

Spegazzini glacier, the largest of the large glaciers in Los Glaciares National Park, is extremely impressive with its wall height reaching up to 135 meters. The lake is sometimes very huge, filled with pieces of ice broken off from glaciers. After breaking away from the main mass and falling into the lake, it melts, albeit very slowly, as a result of this melting, creating very beautiful and interesting shapes that everyone compares to the hero or object of their dreams.

We spent a lot of cash, we don’t realize it, but the cold is starting to make itself felt. We go to a small piece of land and have a late lunch in an unexpected organization and order. Everything was perfect

We want to eat meat in a nice place in El Calafate in the evening, we are organized, okay.

This is the other side of the world, you would think that life is cheap here, but when you look at the prices, it is not so.

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Perito Moreno glacier;

Early in the morning, we go to the Perito Moreno glacier, also known as the Blue Glacier, which is on the Unesco World Heritage list, one of the most important glaciers in the world, approximately 150 km away from El Calafate. After a while, it started to appear, and as it got closer, it started to become more obvious. It was a truly magnificent and incredible mass. The surrounding area has been declared as Los Glaciares National Park. We got off the vehicles in a hilly place and looked at it from above. The closer we get, the more beautiful it gets. There is the Peroto Moreno Glacier in all its glory. We descend closer and closer, as we get closer, it becomes more fascinating with every step.

Peroto Moreno Glacier is a glacier formed in the area where the width of Lago Argentino Lake is at its narrowest. In some periods, the glacier grows so much that it merges between the two sides of the lake, becoming a large mass and dividing the lake in half. Thus, the water level in this branch of the southern part fed by rivers rises rapidly. In this case, since there is no flow, there are differences in water level on both sides of the lake. In other words, the lake is closed to boat passages. As the weather begins to warm up, the entire front part of the ice mass weighing millions of tons on the lake breaks apart after a while and pours into the lake with a great noise, and the two sides of the lake come together again and become whole. It is not known how many people have witnessed this unique and magnificent show of nature, which is unknown when it will happen, but if there are, it must be one of the most magnificent events to be seen. This unpredictable phenomenon is one of the world’s most spectacular natural spectacles, which is why it attracts many tourists and documentary filmmakers. The last shows of the glacier took place in 1988, March 2004 and finally in March 2006.

Can you imagine, a glacier mass weighing millions of tons is breaking apart with a crackling sound that resembles thunder so loud that it can be heard from far away, and you witness it.

Once again, we bow with respect to the incredible power of nature.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is an extension of Patagonia’s Campo de Hielo Sur glacier, located in southwestern Argentina, just 1500 m above sea level. It was named after Patagonia researcher Francisco Pascasio Moreno. It is one of the few known glaciers outside Antarctica and Greenland and is one of the rare glaciers that grows continuously. The reason for this is that clouds coming from the Pacific Ocean drop very heavy rainfall on the Andes Mountains.

This movement of the Perito Moreno glacier, which is one of the 48 glaciers in this region and drifts forward approximately 1 m per day, creates constant crackling and breaking noises in the massive mass. 250 km2 in size, 5 km. Large pieces of the glacier, which is 74 meters wide above water and 170 meters deep under water, regularly break off at the front and this causes swollen waves in the lake.

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BARILOCHE

Today, we are going to Bariloche in the Patoganya Lakes region by plane early in the morning.

San Carlos de Bariloche is a popular tourist destination located in the Rio Negro province of Argentina’s Patagonia region. The city’s magnificent natural beauty, turquoise lakes, stunning mountain views and many outdoor activities have made this place very popular.

Bariloche is located in Argentina’s Lake Patagonia and is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. It is the place where Germans who escaped during the Hitler period came and settled. As such, the difference compared to other regions in terms of cleanliness, order and urbanism is immediately noticeable. It is a very popular and touristic place with its lakes and milder climate in summer and winter sports ski centers in high snowy mountains in winter. The fact that there are nice shops, restaurants, cafes and many hotels shows that tourism is good.

We wander around the city center and enjoy it. After eating the grilled tenderloin recommended by the chef for dinner, we finish the day at our hotel with a wonderful view of Huapi lake.

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Today will be an exciting day, we are going to Villa Llao Pjnto Panaramico, chosen by National Geography as the most beautiful view in the world. There are five large lakes and a delta in Bariloche, we will only be able to see three of them. In the first week of January, it is summer in the southern hemisphere and the weather is seriously hot. We continue by Lake Huapi. Don’t just call it a lake, it is like a sea with an average length of 100 km, width of 12 km, depth of 450 meters, the opposite shores are not visible. We go to the top of the mountain by cable car, oh my God, the magnificent panoramic view of three lakes together. It is truly magnificent, it is impossible not to be impressed. I took hundreds of photos, it’s a fascinating view.

Around us, the snowy Andes mountains form the border between Chile and Argentina. The Andes, which are geologically the youngest mountain ranges, extend from North America to South America and are passable in very few places. It snows heavily in Bariloche and the surrounding mountains in winter, and that’s the expectation. Snowfall is important for winter tourism, but more importantly, Argentina’s five largest dams, fed by the melting snow in spring, are here and produce 56% of the country’s electricity.

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Germans who escaped from Medieval Europe between 1400 and 1700 came and settled here. When Hitler was defeated after World War II, Hitlerites also came and settled here, so Bariloche was accepted as a German colony. According to rumors, the Israeli secret agency identified Hitler supporters here and came here and executed them.

There are other colonies outside the German colonial zone in the Patagonia region. Swedes who escaped from medieval Europe in similar periods initially settled in Chile, and when the Argentine government started distributing free land in the 1800s, they immigrated here from Chile. We are going to Swiss Village, where the Swiss live. When so many tourists came here, it became a place to eat and drink, like a fair. The most popular dish is “curanto”, a meat dish similar to our well kebab, traditionally cooked in a well covered with leaves and branches.

After a pleasant meal, we return to our hotel with small visits to the surrounding area.

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Today, we are going to the top of another mountain by cable car to see the magnificent beauties from the top. It’s really beautiful. Green lakes with small islands in them.

When it is summer, people swim in the beaches and lakes, the surroundings are lush, green, shops and shops make it a beautiful holiday destination. If you come to Bariloche just to see Patagonia, you will come to a very wrong conclusion. Only Lakes Patagonia is in such a climate zone due to the influence of the Andes mountain range. Other parts of Patagonia are not similar, you will encounter very different climates there.

We decided to spend some time in the city. Although cocoa does not grow here, there are an incredible number of chocolate shops. We decided to try it in a few places, the result is not bad but edible. And there are so many ice cream shops, there are queues in front of them all. We also took advantage of the wonderful opportunities for ice cream.

There are valid numbers for that area on the bus lips. If you want to use a bus for transportation, just know the number of your destination. For example, you will give directions to your friend, take the arriving bus number 50, get off at 26.

Since credit card commissions for purchases are very high, daily transactions are done in cash. The inflation rate is also high, prices change frequently, and people walk around with tens of thousands of pesos since the largest Argentine Peso denomination in use is 1000. Pockets and bags full of money. For example, if you pay 50 dollars, you need to count approximately 50 thousand pesos, and the seller or waiter also counts. People around constantly counting money!

It was the same with us before six zeros were removed from our money in 2005, it seems that our situation will be like this soon!

 

Best regards

Hayrettin Kagnici

December 2023

www.hayrettinkagnici.com