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I can honestly say the journey up from Ushuaia is not one that I would care to repeat.
After a wake up call at 4am Sharon and I both dressed and picked up our bags and head in the snow to the bus “depot” (depot being a rough patch of ground on the promenade). A bus rolled up at 4.45am and by 4.50am we were on our way 10 minutes early however with large concern that we were on the wrong bus as most people were going to Punto Arenas. Anyway after 3 hours we arrived in Rio Grande whereby we all had to change buses. This was done willingly as the bus we had left Ushuaia on was very cramped and on par with National Express (not a standard we have become used to). Anyway a change of bus and we were on our way to Rio Gallegos.
Tierra del Fuego is split between Argentina and Chile and in order to get back onto mainland South America we had to cross through Chile. We reached San Sabastian and the border and this is where the fun began. The bus had approximately 20 passengers of which there were 4
foreigners (Sharon and I, a girl from Greece and a guy from France). The bus conductor sorted out his paperwork and then asked us all to disembark and go through immigration and once we had done this we had to go and collect our bags from the bus and pass through customs. It took us over an hour to go through immigration as for some unknown reason they were having computer difficulties with the foreign passports and whilst they had stamped us out of Argentina they wouldn't hand our passports back. We eventually got them back and thankfully the customs guys didn't want to search our bags too thoroughly (I think they were bored by the time they got to us). He literally only felt over Sharons bag and opened the 3 external pockets to my bag (I think the dirty underwear put a stop to him searching my bag any further - ha ha!!). Next stop was Chilean immigration and this took us less than 5 minutes.
The landscape in Chile was a stark contrast to what we were used to as it was flat, brown, blatantly arid and no tarmac roads only compacted stones. After a few
hours the cMagallanes channel that we had to cross came into sight and I could see the sea wall and expected the bus to turn and drive along to a ferry port but instead it just drove straight on. My first thought was that they haven't invented buses that turn into water buses the second thought was what is the driver doing!! Anyway it transpired that we drove straight onto a car ferry and within two minutes we set off. We were able to stay on the bus or get off so Sharon and I decided to brave the elements and stretch our legs - the wind certainly blew the cobwebs away!! Once on the other side we knew we were close to immigration and customs however thankfully both leaving Chile and entering back into Argentina was painless just a few more stamps.
On arrival at Rio Gallegos we had a lay over of four hours before getting our next bus to El Calafate, Sharon walked into the bus station cafe and saw that they were showing the Manchester Utd v Barcelona game and it had only just started so that was us entertained for the next few hours.
The next bus journey passed by with out comment.
We arrived in El Calafate just before midnight and so jumped straight into a taxi for the hostel and I think it is safe to say that it was one of the nicer hostels we have stayed at. Shoes had to be left at the front door to prevent too much dirt being taken through the hostel however to combat any complaints they had underfloor heating which was an absolute dream and we were put in a four bed en suite dorm. The first night we were sharing with another girl so for the first time Sharon and I had to share a bunk - I took the top bed as once again there were no ladders and Sharon is the one who is most likely to get up in the night. However Sharon was soon to remember how much I fidget when that night I was tossing and turning as I couldn't sleep having slept too much on the bus.
The next morning we both woke and were still tired as the early start the day before and the 19 hours travelling was a killer. We decided that
we would have a relaxing day so after breakfast we headed into the town. At this juncture it has to be said that there are a lot of dogs in South America and whilst they are well looked after many of them wander the streets during the day but we have never had any problems with them. After walking 250m from the hostel we picked up a manky looking black dog that insisted on following us. We walked around the town with the dog following us, we into the bank to get some cash and the dog sat outside and waited and we then made our way to the bus station to book our tickets back out of El Calafate. Thinking that he would have left we walked ot the same door we had come in however he was still outside so in order to shake him off we had to go back into the bus station and out of the other side and walk the long way around back into town. We stopped off in a cafe/bookshop and did some people watching over some true hot chocolate (hot chocolate that is thick and more melted chocolate consistency than milk!)
The face of the glacier
The face of the glacier is 5km long!!We returned to the hostel and chilled for the afternoon and then mid afternoon we decided to get a closer look to Lago Argentino which the hostel over looked. Once again within 250m of the hostel (this time we walked the opposite way to town) we picked up a dog who accompanied us for our 2 hour walk and part way he also found a friend who joined us!! Both dogs were friendly enough and didn't want any true attention they just wanted to walk with us regardless of us telling them to go away and other such polite terms.
That night I decided to have the hostel parrilla (Argentinian BBQ) and it transpired I was the only one having it (Sharons stomach was still slightly delicate so decided to avoid it). At long last I was able to satisfy my vegetable craving and along with my 20cm x 15cm x 5cm steak and the sausage I was able to enjoy corn on the cob, roasted squash and courgette, tomatoes, salad and fried potatoes covered in salt and herbs. Needless to say I had a second helping of veg!!
The next morning we had booked ourselves on
a tour to go and see the Perito Moreno Glacier in the Los Glaciers National Park (another UNESCO heritage site!). We were collected from the hostel and had an hours drive to the park however we were accompanied by a tour guide who explained the local countryside to use as we drove through the Patagonian Steppe with the Torres Del Paine/Andes in the background. We saw a number of eagles sat on the fences at the side of the road waiting for some road kill to feast on.
On arrival at the park we got our first sighting of the glacier and amazing it was. The Perito Moreno Glacier is the third largest in the park however it is the most well known due to its accessibility. The glacier is 257km² which means that it is just slightly larger than the city of Buenos Aires! This glacier is also one of very few that is still advancing and it advances approximately 2m per day although it also loses about this much into Lago Argentino. Of the glacier 70m of it can be seen above the water however it is as deep as 180m underwater.
Sharon and I decided
to do the boat tour so we could get closer to the glacier and this was well worth its money. Having got off the boat we were driven to the main centre of the park and given three hours to wander the balconies that overlook the glacier and live in hope that we would see some of it shearing off and falling into Lago Argentino. Thankfully we were able to see some pieces falling into the lake and I even caught a big piece falling on camera.
Having been the only one to have the parilla the night before and also determining that I need to try and preserve some of my budget late that afternoon I headed off to the supermarket in search of some dinner. For the grand total of £2.60 I bought some steak, ready made salad, mayonnaise and a 2ltr bottle of water! When I bought the steak I knew it was large however hadn't realised how large ntil I took it out of the packet and it filled the whole pan!!! I stood laughing and anothergirl cooking in the kitchen also laughed and commented on its size. Having called Sharon into the kitchen she
stood and shook her head at which point I offered her some. Basically the steak was 18cm x 18cm x 4cm but I have to say that even though it only cost me £1.24 it was some of the nicest steak and it fed Sharon and I that night and also made a sandwich on Saturday!
Saturday was our day for moving and we weren't due to catch or bus till 2pm so we bought some provisions for our journey and then returned to the hostel where by Sharon sat and watched the FA cup final on my netbook and I researched some information for future parts of my travels (I am now all excited about my 6 weeks in South Africa and Swaziland although as Sharon did point out I don't get there for another 5 months and I should concentrate on my next continent, Oceania!. In my defence however I did research car hire for that part of my trip and I also have a semi formed plan of my trip in my head...... hmmmmmm I may have to get the New Zealand lonely planet guide out as my next book to read)
The next blog
will be from Puerto Madryn and hopefully we will have seen the Whales!!!!
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Dawn Smallwood
El Calafate
Hi Andrea, Enjoying your blogs! Great photos of the glaciers! I can't wait for El Calafate! Happy travels, Dawn