Fort argentino
A few kilometers away from the beaches of Las Grutas (“the caves” in Spanish), there is a special place, meant to experience an enigmatic adventure. Its landscape, history, and mystic captivate the tourists that visit Patagonia.
Fuerte Argentino (Argentine Fort) is a natural place of incredible beauty. It is part of the Gulf of San Matias. You can go there on a unique excursion that combines adventure, mystery and fun amidst the landscape.
This outing covers the 42 km that separate Las Grutas from the Fort. To get there you must go along the “baby octopus road”, going through saltpeter areas, dunes and paths. On the way, you will discover an imposing beautiful landscape, including Piedras Coloradas (Red stones), El Sótano (The basement) and the Cañadón de las Ostras (Oysters ravine).
The splendid natural scenery of Fuerte Argentino encourages visitors to engage in several sport activities, such as snorkeling, fishing, crossbow shooting, boomerang, and sand board.
There are some places in Patagonia, like this Fort, that dazzle the visitor because of the deep contact with the surrounding area, including lakes and warm deep pools, a nourished fauna, and a variety of thorny bushes that define the region’s vegetation and serve as shelter for reptiles and birds. Besides, tourists can watch the fishermen, looking for octopus in the natural park.
As you walk up the hillside of the Fort towards the summit, you can get a wide perspective of the gulf’s coast.
History and mystery
Fuerte Argentino is like a great balcony overlooking the Gulf of San Matias. The local people tell the stories that have been transmitted since their forefathers’ times about this plateau, where there used to be a Spanish Fort with cannons aiming at the sea.
The Fort was occupied by Indians, Spanish colonists, armies, scientists, travelers and it was also frequented by pirates.
In the 50s, the waters of the gulf were used for war exercises. Meanwhile, an operational center was set at the top of the fort since it had an strategic location and altitude. From there, the entrance and exit of ships into and out of the gulf could be controlled.
Apart from all the stories and mysteries that one can discover in this beautiful place, all those who visit Fuerte Argentino and manage to climb up some 100 meters will easily imagine stories about Indians, pirates and medieval knights.
Among myths and legends
Fuerte Argentino is an ideal place to enjoy an enigmatic adventure, shrouded in mystic and stories. The special features of the scenery make it possible to imagine huge myths. Limestones dye the upper part of this natural plateau and the presence of fossil remains and mollusk shells synthesize the intense geological past of the coast.
According to the studies of the Esoteric Research Group called “Delphos”, it is likely that the Holy Grail was brought to this area of Patagonia to be protected in a secret place. These claims are based on History and are supported by old medieval navigation charts, which showed many coincidences with Patagonian geography.
In their stories, it is stated that after Christ’s crucifixion, the sacred chalice was carried by Apostle Philip, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea to the south of France. Later, the relics were taken to a settlement located in the west of the British Islands.
“Delphos” assures that several centuries later, “knight Parsifal”, a direct descendent of Joseph of Arimathea, after a maritime fight and several days of aimless sailing, mysteriously got to an unknown coast where he saw a sort of fort or castle. At dawn, the crew of the ship found themselves over a totally dry place, as the tide had unexpectedly gone out (as it happens in the Fort’s coasts).
Once with the locals, Parsifal heard the order of going back to his land to get the chalice and hide it in this mysterious fort. Several years later, he complied with the order and took the relic to the Patagonian coasts.
After visiting Fuerte Argentino, the tourists aware of this legend believe that at some point of history, the Holy Grail was in this Patagonian spot.