Our 1 hour flight was scenic and turbulence-free—Stacen HATES turbulence! Needless to say, everyone was much happier to have taken the flight than the bus, which wound through the Andes for 18 grueling hours to travel the same distance. The El Calafate airport is the smallest airport possible. It has 1 gate. It´s also in the middle of the desert. After a 20 minute taxi ride we were finally in town, which is more touristy than the Outer Banks. EVERY store seems to be selling stupid, over-priced tourist trap kind of stuff. The taxi driver was hilarious. He kept trying to sell us his services for the next day, even though renting a car would have been cheaper. When we got to the hostel, he offered us a couple of rooms in his house, for a more expensive price, and seemed genuinely surprised and confused when we turned him down. We got into the hostel and soon realized that it was run by 4 girls who had no idea what they were doing. Lots of sinks were leaky, we weren´t allowed to cook in their kitchen or use their washing machine (a first), and we had a curfew! The plus-side is that everything was very clean, smelled nice, very well-decorated, and when we left, they gave us a parting gift of lavender poupori.
After getting into town, Stacen and Tomer found another Casino. Spurred by the success of Montevideo, they got bold and attempted to play roulette, promptly losing 50 pesos ($12.50) in about 5 minutes. They retreated to the slots, where about 10 minutes later Stacen hit the jackpot! He and Tomer jumped up and down shrieking like little girls as the numbers tallied up to $129 pesos ($32)!!!
We rented a Fiat (which Tomer refused to drive and which Stacen and too willingly took control of), and drove the next morning to the town´s claim to fame—the Perito Moreno Glacier. We had to drive through the desert to get to it, which seemed like an oxymoron, but it was worth it. One of the last advancing glaciers in the world, it was something like 300 square kilometers in size. It fed a huge lake, and created ice bergs every time part of it splintered off. Stacen displayed some uncharacteristic patience, and he was able to get some awesome pictures! That evening we got back and walked around the town, when the 2 lovebirds decided to go out to a romantic dinner at a little bar. They had an amazing time in El Calafate. Sidenote, translations down here are horrendous. We had a menú with a dish called “Esperanza Patagonia” which means something to the effect of “Patagonian hope”, but due to some inter-language word similarities was translated as “Patagonic wait”.
The 4 of us caught the bus early on the next morning, and made the 3 hour trip around the lake to El Chalten, nestled snugly in El Parque Nacional de los Glaciares, the backpacking capital of Argentina. The town of 500 exists solely as an outpost for backpackers stumbling in from the trail to get trekking gear and supplies. We discovered that it is very well organized and were really impressed! We were all set to go out hiking…and then the wind began. We`re talking winds that exceeded 40 mph. On top of that it started to sprinkle, so we decided to bum around the hostel all day, and purchase some supplies to go on a 4 day hike through the backcountry.
We were so excited. We had visions of backpacking glory!! But, we soon realized…. Patagonia is cold. Very cold. And sadly, although it is mind-blowing gorgeous, we had sadly missed the true time to come and spend all the time in the great outdoors (really end of December, January, and February). So the two of us realized it was time to move north to the warmth so we could truly enjoy the outdoors. We also realized that our time with Tomer and Ziv had come to end, with us heading to Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia, while they headed slowly up Argentina. The next day we said goodbye to our traveling partners, and we headed off to our first ¨real¨ hike.
El Chalten is famous for all of its trails and camping possibilities, as well as the epic Fitz Roy mountain. It is a wonderful environment because everyone there is a true nature lover, dirty, and looking for a hike. And for 25 wonderful kilometers, the two of us finally got the great nature we had been dreaming of. We hiked, we climbed, we crossed rivers. We drank glacial water. We scaled a mountain. And then… Fitz Roy. And a glacier. And the most beautiful clear blue glacial lagoon. The sun came out, warming our cold, sweaty bodies. The feeling of accomplishment to finish and climb was the biggest high. On the way back to the town, we saw a woodpecker pecking wood!! We heard horses ney!! So of course, we went out to eat in celebration: pasta, penguin wine (which came out a ceramic penguin from its beak… kinda picture a vampire penguin) and a brownie.
We headed back to our wonderful hostel, filed with ideas on what to do next. The previous night we had talked for about three hours to a super cool Aussie we shared a room with, and decided to make Colombia a priority. Also, we learned about kangaroos, wallabies, and crocodiles!!! Apparently, kangaroos (who can jump over 6 feet) are so plentiful, they are just like deer. So…. instead of ¨deer in the headlights´´ it´s ¨kangaroo in the spotlight´´!!!!! Anyway, we decided to buy a 7:30am bus back to El Calafate to figure out what do to next.
We arrived at 11am, having no idea what to do- we had completely underestimated the hugeness of Argentina. So in a rush of adventure, we wandered around the town with our backpacks, going to internet cafes, the bus station, and to eat. We felt so free! So, after a pizza, we decided to go to Bolivia. Bussing Argentina would take over a week (each leg 25 hours plus), and we would be rushing like crazy. We went to check rates and now are…. Going to PARAGUAY!!! Hee hee we are just so awesomely going with the flow. We both decided that we were ready for something different. As amazing as Argentina is, we wanted to be pushed out of our comfort zones. For the next two nights, we had not even booked a hostel, and spent about an hour finding the perfect little rundown place, where we finally had a private room that would let us snuggle to our hearts content.
So for now, we are off… adventuring, with no idea what awaits us in Paraguay…
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