Blogs from El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 6

Feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready to go after our bus ride down from El Bolson we were keen to make the most of our time in El Calafate, all of the two days we had. The first day was almost a write off after arriving into the town at 1.30pm, then getting to the hostel, sorting out our things and of course showering. It left us a few hours in the afternoon to do a couple of things. First and foremost to do our very routine scan around the town to see what was is on offer and have a look in the abundance of expensive outdoor shops, including a very tempting sale at a Patagonia store. The chocolatiers carried on in El Calafate too, the main difference was that this chocolate tasted amazing! We spent ... read more

Today we went ziplining (flying fox). It was Emiliano's idea, as it was his last day of his holiday, and we had booked it the night before. Unfortunately, he has come down with the cold that has been making its way through all of us, and has bailed out. Just leaving Jo, Mike and myself to do it on another beautiful day. We drive about an hour out of El Calafate to a private farm, where they do eco tours. The zipline circuit for us is 2.5km's over 5 individual lines, weaving its way down a small mountain. After getting up the mountain in a 4x4 we are greeted with the first line, 544 metres in length and 60 metres high. We have tremendous views over towards Torres Del Paine, 450km away, and can actually make ... read more

We arrived at our next destination El Calafate by plane which was a nice change from getting an exhausting overnight bus journey. We had been told that it was pretty cold in El Calafate and as soon as we stepped outside the airport me and Jon both looked at each other and laughed as the freezing weather hit us immediately. We had acclimatised to the hot and humid weather of Brazil so 5 degrees was quite a shock to our bodies! We began joking on how Jon was probably going to freeze to death due to only having one jumper with him and no coat! After coming out of the airport we jumped on the shuttle bus and made our way to our hostel huddled together. It was around 10pm at night and completely pitch black. ... read more

Il est temps de quitter El Chalten et le Fitz Roy a été sympa d’être là pour mon départ, il était même visible depuis l’embranchement avec le route 40 à 50 km de là ! Retour vers El Calafate donc avant de reprendre un autre bus pour Bariloche. Pour ceux qui lisent ce blog et qui sont passés dans le coin, je sais, ce n’est pas logique, il y avait d’autres solutions mais c’est le seul trajet que j’avais trouvé pour utiliser mon bus pass. Encore moins logique quand on se rendra compte à la fin de la journée que le bus va redescendre jusqu’à Rio Gallegos avant de remonter, l’hallu ! Faire 27 heures de bus n’est déjà pas très agréable, mais alors la sensation de rebrousser chemin, de reculer au lieu d’avancer l’est encore ... read more

Finalement la facilité et un calcul rapide nous a fait prendre l’excursion de l’auberge pour aller voir le glacier du Perito Moreno, avec un petit détour en début de matinée par les routes adjacentes dans les montagnes et un stop dans une estancia. Il fait beau, mais je sais déjà que je n’aurai pas mes photos tant attendues du glacier avec un magnifique fond bleu, comme sur d’autres clichés que j’ai pu voir de compagnons de route (suivez mon regard…). Enfin, le but, c’est qu’il ne pleuve pas, et c’était la seule fenêtre de tir car des averses en continu sont prévues pour samedi. Donc voilà, après une petite heure en bus et la musique inattendue de Star Wars pour nous réveiller (??!!) et prêts à découvrir le lieu majestueux, nous nous arrêtons sur le bord ... read more