Pama Linda, Tonador glaciers, Cathedral mountain, and soggy marines ... a tour in the pouring rain

The weather forecast today is for rain but undeterred the 4 amigos are off to explore Tronoador.
I picked up my companions from their accommodation at the Cathedral mountain hotel - what a view! A ski resort in the winter with cable cars but in the summer a quieter place with  a few hikers, and long term residents like my friends. A 5 min drive from a supermarket and beautiful lakes on the doorstep - its a fabulous place to be basses. 

We headed along Route 40 and then onto the back stone roads with the ubiquitous plank bridges, my friends shouting 'Rout-a, Sarah, Rout-a! ' when i strayed too far the the right  with a precipice at the side

It took for ever to get to Pampa Linda where we stoped for a coffee - the hostel/ auberge was packed with campers and hikers, the veranda was festooned with socks and waterproofs and the big stove in the main room was covered with drying clothes - steam in the air, and lots of happy campers, chatting, playing cards and passing the time until the rain eased.  
We got coffees and got chatting to some soggy marines; they were having a reunion hike through Patagonia, camping in the 'refuges', we would call them bothies ,dotted across the mountains. They had been hiking an camping for 15 days - hard core!! #one of them showed me a picture of his boots, army issue, which he had had to abandoned as they had disintegrated , he was now hiking in nikes!!

Our tour took in an amazing  black glacier (from volcanic deposits) which breaks off into a green lake 
leaving icebergs floating in the lake
I have added here a video of  one the bridges I had to drive over!!! This was quite a good one 3+ planks makes it good in my book!! Still pretty nerve wracking though!!


























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