El Chaltén – Day 4: Rest Day Struggles
EL CHALTÉN
Day 4: Rest Day Struggles
March 23, 2023
As compliant as my body had been over the previous few days, I did have to treat it to a well-deserved break. I was sore all over, I had a few blisters on my feet and I felt pretty much like a zombie.
I met the Lithuanian boys for breakfast before they caught their flight to Buenos Aires, then spent the day walking around the town centre, writing, and hanging out at my hostel. By this point, I can’t say I was suffering from any kind of travel fatigue. In fact, I felt like I could do this pretty much for the rest of my life, were it not for my very limited financial reserves and my wanting to get back to my job as soon as it was humanly possible.
That said, the physical kind of fatigue was still very much a thing – especially after long treks and hikes. I guess if I were to do this more long-term sometime in the future, I’d need to allocate more rest days. Wanting to make the most of the little time I had left on this trip, I found myself facing yet another struggle – to rest and recover versus to go out and do more stuff. “I’ll rest when I’m old!” I used to say, but after so many adventures jam-packed into such a short time, rest wasn’t just a want, it was also kind of a need.
Change of Plans
Much like I’d said when I started this trip, this was never meant to be a holiday – the point was to explore and learn about everything the world has to offer. I felt like I’d already done one hell of a job in that regard. And, as I figured, I’d also earned the right to take a day off if I wanted to.
And thank god I did. While chilling at the hostel and going over my itinerary, I realised that my plans to dive in Chile’s Puntarenas didn’t quite fit into my schedule. I’d been planning to get my dry-suit specialisation here in the frigid waters of Patagonia and I couldn’t wait to be underwater again. Unfortunately, having had already booked a few activities and flights over the upcoming weeks, this was gonna be a no-go. I felt like a complete and total imbecile when I clocked that. Also mortified.
Oh well. That just meant I’d have something else to look forward to. Not to mention, I now found myself with a few extra days I could spend doing whatever the hell I wanted, whether that meant extra excursions or even proper rest days.