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Published: March 2nd 2007
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View across the steppe
Not setup for the tourists, honest El Calafate is the next "logical" stop from Puerto Natales on the south north gringo route. Only 5 hours away from the Chilian border in Argentina, this little town is the "hop off" for tourists who want to explore Los Glaciares National Park. So we hopped off too 😊 Even though hostelworld would alarm us that there is absolutely everything booked out in El Calafate there were numerous hostel owners/staff greeting us at the bus station. We followed the one with the cheapest option and soon found out why. The little room had only one bunk bed in and was painted in a biting green. Somebody summerised it quite well on one of the slats you could see when lying down on the bottom bed - Welcome to the green dungeon. The room was tiny with bare lightbulbs, a tiny window in the corner at the very top which could be opened from the outside as well as the in, and had prison style bunkbeds. The rest of the hostal looked accordingly so we didn´t hesitate to leave the dungeon after just one night. To get the money back from our camping equipment we decided to camp and found a hostel
with a back garden to do so. That meant for us that we were able to use all their facilities (showers, toilets, kitchen...) but had to get out to spend the night 😊 This really isn´t such a terrible thing either as you know you are spending the time sleeping in your own "bed" which only has your filth in it. Our tent setup this time was improved by the tramps favourite, cardboard. These guys know what they are talking about too, as cardboard made for both a soft and a warm night. After the big hike in Torres del Paine we got used to our new home and it was nice to know you had a clean bed waiting for you every night.
El Calafate seems to be very taken over by tourists and their requirements, e.g. restaurants, chocolate shops, outdoor wear shops and of course tour agancies. The main reason for many who come to El Calafate is the Perito Moreno Glacier. This glacier, about 2 hours bus ride away, is one of the most active glaciers in the world. That means, that with a bit of patience you can witness big chunks of ice falling off
the glacier. This spectacle is always accompanied by a great and loud sound a few seconds after the drop (as light travels faster than sound). We booked ourselves on an "alternative tour" offered by the Hostel del Glaciar and recommeded in the Lonely Planet. It tourned out to not be very "alternative" with about 44 tourists on the bus. The bus took us to the Park following a less travelled route (unpaved) than other tour agencies, I think that was about it what was "alternative", as after that, the 44 tourists joined about 300 of others. Included in the tour was a boat ride along the Perito Moreno Glacier, something we have been looking forward to and probably the main reason why we booked a tour. The boat was floting along the ice chunks for about 40 minutes and it was breathtaking to be that close to the ice masses. After that, we went for a "trek", if you can call it one 😊 Can you imagine about 40 people wading behind each other like ducks?! That´s exactly how we felt. The walk was pretty short and lame but the majority of the group were complaining of the exercsion and
Ice Texture
You can see some real texture in this 50m high wall of ice. sweating like pigs. This was nothing for us after Torres 😊 The final of the "alternative" tour was some time that we had to our own disposition on the platform. The platform being a wooden trail of bridges giving you pretty much the same close view like the boat ride. Nevermind, we learn 😊 We had our sandwiches (which were incidentaly the highlight od the day) and waited paitentially to see a wall break off. It always seemed to do it when we were not looking 😊 - our patiance payed off and we saw quite a big chunk of the wall to collapse into the milky glacier lake. Yey, mission complete!
The dinner that day, it was valentine, was a great one at La Tablita (which had turned us away the night before), where we had a very very good Lomo served with Josies favourite Chimichuri. Argentina lived up to it´s expectations again, YUM!
Our next days in El Calafate were spend by doing some research what to do from here. We knew that we had to move towards Bariloche but we did not want to go straight from El Calafate. Finally we bought bus tickets to
Dirty Ice
The black lines in the ice are rock which it has picked up on its travels from high up the valley El Chalten and further connection busses to Bariloche over the Routa 40. For anyone going to El Calafate I would advise not to spend too much time there, the place has a "fake" feel to it, as it doesn´t seem to serve any other reason than a tourist destination. The place is somewhat lacking in feel and spirit and will just end up parting you from a lot of your cash as it seems pretty expensive to us. Just hop off, get a local bus to the glacier, appartently only 60 pesos return + park entry fee (30 pesos) and have a picnic on the platform watching the glacier. AMAZING! Then grab some cash, as there are no ATMs or banks in El Chalten and make your way over there.
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haysie
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the glacier
Your recap of your glacier day was spot on. I'm off to S Amer later this year and the Moreno Glacier is one of my aims. Is it OK to go to the glacier solo and not with a group?