Blogs from Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 93

After spending the night at the glacier, we checked into a hostel in El Calafate. El Calafate is a tourist town in Southern Patagonia filled with shops, restaurants, and cafes. Although the Spring tourist season just recently geared up this month, the streets were packed with Euopean tourists who were here to tour the glaciers and explore the mountains. We were aware of many Germans, French, Spanish, Italians, British and Australians but noticed only a handful of Americans in El Calafete and El Chalten. By far, most of our interactions in El Calafate were with Isreali tourists who were in their early twenties and are here for 6 -12 months. At least 14 young Isreali men and women stayed in our hostel during the nights that we spent there. Hundreds of them tour South America as ... read more

The journey south from Bariloche started very badly and didn´t get much better! We left 7 hours late and as a result didn´t arrive at the town of Perito Moreno until after 3am. We didn´t stop much at all on route except at petrol stations in the middle of knowhere to fill up. The following morning we were up at 7am to go to see Cueves de los Manos which is a set in a spectacular canyon. Inside the caves there is fantastic hand painting from 9300 years ago (believed to be the oldest evidence of man anywhere in South America). Their remoteness means that very few people see them (100 per day in ´peak season´). This was by far the best bit of the trip as we got to see an Armadillo, lots of the ... read more

Having arrived in Puerto Natales and Lou´s back not fit for hiking yet, we decided to have a few rest days before heading off on the full trek into Torres del Paine. As the town is VERY quiet, we decided booked ourselves onto a day trip to see the Moreno Glacier. Neither of us had really thought about the distance that would be covered. We got on the bus at 7am and didn´t get back to the hostel until 10.30pm..having only spent 2 hours actually at the Moreno Glacier!!...but the scenary on route was amazing, so dramatic and the glacier itself was stunning...well worth the trip..but we would advise making the visit from Argentina, not from Chile! Patagonia is big country.... Off for a four day trek to Torres del Paine...see ya soon Lou & Steve ... read more

So Ushuaia just did not quite happen. I was assured I had a reserva from Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia which I found hard to believe so I was hardly surprised when I got to Rio Gallegos and was told I was not on the passenger list. The trip from Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos was entertainment itself. I was at the very front of the bus with 3 Argentines. First of all we played musical chairs so I could get the one seat where the audio was working so I could hear the English and watch the film. It was some dire film with Robert de Niro which clearly never made it to general release. Then I got to answer questions like - What do you think of Camilla? Maradonna? The Argentines? It cracks me up ... read more

Bonjour, à vous tous, de la Patagonie. Au cours des derniers jours, nous avons découvert le magnifique Lago Argentino (le plus grand d'Argentine) et le Parc national des glaciers. On a beau lire sur le sujet où avoir vu des photos de l'endroit, rien ne peut nous préparer à un spectacle aussi grandiose. Nous avons notamment passé la journée d'hier sur un bateau qui nous a conduit à trois glaciers, dont le plus grand : Upsala. À naviguer autour de ces immenses morceaux de glace qui se détachent des glaciers, mon âme de poète s'enflamme et se met à penser à... un immense verre de scotch. Devinez qui a écrit ça et gagnez une séance gratuite de visionnement de photos. Pour les amateurs de vin, on a déniché un merlot et un pinot noir qui ne ... read more