Blogs from El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 39

"I have the feeling that Patagonia is the most desolate of places...a land of exiles, a place of de-territoriality" (Jean Baudrillard) was right. El Calafate is now the worst type of tourist trap. But it wasn't always that way. Mass tourism in Patagonia is a recent thing. Once upon a time it was very different. The old Patagonian Wild West was a land of Pirates, outlaws and rebels. (Maybe its their pirate past that explains the desire to empty the tourists wallets!) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were the most famous of the outlaws who made Patagonia their home. When things were getting too hot for Cassidy and Sundance they settled down for 5 years as respectable stock farmers. The neighbours had no idea that the polite gringos were criminals. But the rural retirement couldn't ... read more

Shortly after arriving in El Calafate , we were struck at the unusual clouds in the area!... read more

We caught the bus to El Calafate in Argentina, a short 6 hour journey where we planned to go to see the Perito Moreno Glacier and then move further Northern towards Santa Cruz our Christmas destination. When we arrived we went throught the usual procedures, find somewhere to stay, book tickets to leave then organise trips. El Calafate is quite a touristy little town so finding somewhere to stay was quite easy, however trying to get out on a tight time schedule proved a little more difficult. We tried to book air tickets but unless we wanted to pay about 400 pounds each for Business Class then we could forget that option till the 23rd December. We then went to find a Bus all bus journeys are at least 2/3 days with a hotel break and ... read more

From BA we flew down south to Patagonia for a week. Flights were very full so that was our time limit and we decided just to stick to El Calafate and see some glaciars and then to El Chalten for some trekking. El Calafate The first day in El Calafate we did a tour where you get in a boat and visit a whole heap of glaciars. The tour was good but long, it takes over an hour to get there then you are on this boat the whole day sailing around looking at icebergs & glaciars (there is alot in the area) and the boat can seem to be so slow at times. But it is quite cool ( I actually mean that literally as well it was FREEZING!!) Anyway you go and check out ... read more

We arrived in Bariloche after spending two days camping across the Lake in Villa La Angostura. We stayed in a nice bungalow a few miles up the Lake from the center of town. We enjoyed the great weather and enjoyed walking the steets, taking in the views, and feeling like tourists. A few relaxing days later, we decided to tackle the drive to El Calafate. We headed to El Bolson where we had lunch by a lake which straddled the Argentine- Chile border. El Bolson is located in a beautiful valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. There are much fewer tourists here and the town is humble and muy tranquillo. From there, we drove to Esquel where we camped at a small campground outside of town. That evening we invited a young German Doctor and his wife ... read more