Last days in BA

On Thursday 28th we went to Tigre. We caught the underground to the Retiro train station, from where we caught a train to Tigre station, about 50 minutes from BA. There were houses/apartments all along the way.

Tigre is a town near the mouth of the River Plate. The area is a large delta (estuary) with lots of islands joined by navigable waterways. All the islands are covered with houses, in varying states of repair. All services and materials have to be brought in by boat. We saw supermarket boats and the police and construction boats, as well as taxi boats.

We took a one hour boat trip around the delta. It was interesting to see all the people on holiday, some swimming in the brown water. The water is full of sediment, so it is supposedly safe to swim in....

We wandered around the local market and had lunch at the end of one of the piers. It was too hot to be out for too long in the sun, so we headed back on the train about 3pm. When we got back to the main train station the subway line was closed - of course we didn´t know why - and there was chaos outside as it is the subway line which crosses the city and links to all the other lines. Therefore we took a taxi back to the hotel and had a shower and cooled off in our airconditioned room. We have enjoyed having the aircon over the past few nights!!

We walked to a local restaurant, Gigon, at the intersection of San Jose and Chile streets, took a few extra blocks to get there so we were a bit hot and sticky by the time we arrived. Our city tour guide had recommended it, as it is a true local eatery, not where tourists go. So we celebrated the end of our tour with fine Argentinian steaks (no need to have red meat for ages, as we must have stored lots of iron while here) accompanied by local champagne. In keeping with local custom, we arrived about 8.30pm and left about 10.30 - more locals were just arriving.

One of the less pleasant sights we saw on returning to the hotel was people scavenging through other people´s rubbish, looking for recycalabes and even eating some of the food. There was even a mother with her baby in a pushchair. The rubbish is pulled out of the plastic bags and strewn around the footpath... There were plenty of police around, one on every block, so it felt safe.

It is now 9.45am on Friday morning and we are about to take a taxi to La Boca to do some last minute shopping. We are returning about 2pm to freshen up and finish packing, then head to the airport. We will miss out on Saturday 30th, and arrive in Auckland at 4am on Sunday 31st. Fog permitting we will be back in Wellington at 8am, and home soon after.

This has been a tour of contrasts, lots of kilometers (about 8000) with lots of steppe country to cover, and few towns and cities. Chile and Argentina have lovely mountains, and the desert, although sometime monotonous, has a beauty of its own. Despite the roughness of the road we enjoyed travelling up Route 40, and some of the allure of that route will be lost when it is all completely sealed.

Till next time, signing off -

Liz & John

27th January Buenos Aires

Yesterday was spent wandering the shops, not very successfully. Lots of toursit shops and far to hot to be very focussed on the task. We joined a colleague Steve from the UK at 5pm and had a cold beer together before retiring to our room for a cold shower and rest before the Tango evening.

This was just a walk down the road and was very enjoyable - a 2 hour show where the whole group attended. The place we went to is the oldest Tango show in BA, opened in 1858. Then on to a famous steak house for dinner, starting at about 11.30pm - we finally got to bed at 2.00am. The steaks were delicious but far too large for one. Liz and I shared one which must have weighed 500g.

Today we farewelled colleages on Cindy the truck as they headed north to Rio. We then changed to an airconditioned room, lovely. This afternoon we wandered the streets and then took the tube out to Palermo Soho to look at clothes and have dinner. It´s now 10.30 at night and the hotel is next door. Just returned on the the underground.

Dinner was nice, and we got to eat vegetables, the 1st time in South America.

26th in Buenos Aires

Yesterday we had a relaxing start to the day organising our laundry and updating the blog site. Then off to see how the underground works and a trip out to the botanical gardens. It looked like a storm had been through recently with many trees down. It was a bit neglected but a very interesting collection of plants.

Then on to the adjacent zoo where John managed to get photos of some of the birds and animals that had eluded him in the wild. It even had a tuatara with chicks hatching out of eggs. We got ripped off buying lunch at a Macdonalds type place, the only place to eat, at 25 pesos each for a buger, fries and a cold drink = no other choice of food. Very hot at about 36 degrees, so we had to keep buying bottled water.

Then on to the Japanese Gardens for a stroll before meeting two people off the other Dragoman truck and a taxi back to town.

We went for a cold beer at a cafe on the corner down from the hotel a 6.00pm and had a snack, then back to the room for a cold shower and a freshen up before joining the rest of our team for a drumming show across town at about 8.30. The group were a bunch of Brazillians who do a show every Monday, about 12 of them on bongo and kettle drums etc. They are supposed to be one of the best groups in South America. It was very hot, but they sold ice cold beer in one litre cups!

The show was loud and very fast paced. I reckon there were 2000 young people there, mostly foreign tourists by the look of them - as well as a few oldies like us. Then a taxi back to town for dinner starting at 11.30pm - looks like we are catching on to the Argentinian habit of eating late. In bed by 12.30 this morning for a well earned sleep.

25 January 2010 Buenos Aires

Since our last post we have travelled 1500ks to BA.
On 22nd we packed up camp and left at 6.30am. We stopped on Puerto Madryn to drop off 8 of our colleagues as they were catching a plane to BA so they could attrend a concert by Metallica that night.
There were 11 of us left, and so we had 2 seats each on the truck. We had breakfast on the road - meusli bars, yoghurt and banana. So we drove 750ks that day, with a short stop to have a picnic lunch, and a couple of stops at petrol stations. Only hiccup was when part of the exhaust fell off the truck. Riki repaired it that night, until then we sounded a bit like a steam train.
As the day went on it got warmer and warmer. Sights along the way - we started to see the first agriculture, around Viedma. Until then it had all been desert steppe country. Still very few houses and nothing in between.

Camp that night was on the coast at a large camping ground, in the middle of nowhere. Lovely spot, with a much appreciated swimming pool. People from Argentine, Chile and Brazil all seem to go camping for their holidays, in very small tents with all the family in together. They are all up till late at night, South American fashion.

Next morning (23rd) we had breakfast and left at 7am. 550ks to go! It was a scorcher of a day (nearly 40 degrees, the hotteswt on BA on record). It was now through agricultural land, evidence of a higher rainfall environment. Mostly flat all the way.

The road finally became 2 lanes each way, there were lots of trucks on the road and overtaking was necessary as they travel at 80 or 90ks, so when it became 2 lanes that was much easier. Then we hit 4 lanes, and heading into BA 6 lanes.
The houses (apartments) began about 25ks out. We arrived at 4pm. Our hotel is in the centre of the city, John and I have them penthouse suite....well, we have a large (for here) room at the top of the hotel. It is hot, as only has a fan, no aircon.

That night we went with a large group of us to a restaurant on the Docks, a big steakhouse. The Docks were the original port buildings and have all been beautifully refurbished as restautants and offices and apartments.

The city is surprisingly attractive, many old European style buildings. Lots iof Plazas and trees on the streets.

Yesterday, 24th, we wandered around the central city in the morning, and went to a large market. Being Sunday all the shops were shut and it was fairly quiet. In the afternoon we went on a tour of the city highlights. First to La Boca, where the area is fanous for its coloured buildings made from surplus port materials 120 years ago by the new immigrants. They used iron and timber, and painted the houses with leftover boat paint.

We also went to see Evita´s tomb in the famous Recolleta cemetery. This cemetery was full of amazing mausoleums, all laid out like in a city on little streets.
The guide explained the history of the city, and talked about the many statues and monuments. We caught the underground back for the last 1.5ks, the original carriges (refurbished) on what was the first underground in the Southern Hemisphere.

On the evening we took a taxi with Charles and Pat to La Boca for dinner in a local restaurant. Lovely meal. Finally got to bed about 1am.

21st January, Puetro Madryn

Yesterday, after doing our last update, we had lunch then walked along the beach back to the camp. It was about 40 degrees, and a 5km walk along the beach. There was a very strong wind all afternoon and into the night. Before dinner everyone appeared in their penguin outfits, some looked really good.

We had a party after dinner to celebrate Snell´s birthday. During the night, at about 2am, there was a terrific wind - probably as a result of the extreme heat of the day. The sand was blowing into our tent and over us, through the mesh and fly. Fortunately the tents all stayed in place.
The campground was really full, with tents everywhere. There is always a queue for the showers, until about 1am and starting again at 6.30am. Liz got up at 6.15 this morning to have a shower, as she was on breakfast duty.

We left camp at 8.30am and headed for the Wildlife Reserve. It was an hour´s drive to the start, and then we drove on a gravel road for another hour to the place where we could view penguins. Since these were the same as those we saw at Camerones we did not stay long there, but carried on to the next spot where we saw elephant seals. There were not many on the beach. While we were there though a couple of orcas swam past. We were about to leave, so we were already on the truck. However Liz managed to see the fin of one as they headed off. Some of our group saw them up close to the shore and were very impressed - great big animals.

We then drove for an hour to a more northern spot where we saw hundreds of sea lions. There were males, females and new pups, one was born while we were there. Noisy, writhing, smelly...lots of fighting and posturing. We hoped the orcas might make another appearance as it was high tide, but it was not to be.

Drove back to the city, 2 hours, half of it on gravel. Sonce we were quite late (6pm) we have all stopped to eat in town, rather than cook at the camp. Tomorrow we will leave at 6.30am with two long days drive to get to BA:

So next update will be from there in a few days!

20th Jauary - Peurto Madryn

We left El Chanten on 17th Jan. It was raining when we left the town, but cleared up as we left the mountain area. We drove, and drove, and drove - long stretched on Route 40 on gravel roads. There were no towns or settlements. We saw a couple of guanaco herds, 2 herds of horses, a dead armadillo and not much more!

About 4.30 we arrived at a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was the Caves of the Hands, where about 9000 years ago the locals blew colouring over their hands and left negative prints on the rocks.

From there we drove until about 8pm when we arrived at a camping site. So it was tents up, dinner to cook, and bed. The stars were very bright there as there were no lights at all. The electricity generator was turned off at 11pm.

Next morning, 18th, we drove some more through yet more pampas lands. Still on Route 40. We drove through a horrid little town, where we stopped at the supermarket to get what we could. The town was all gravel, and very dusty.

All these days there was a consistent 40-50kph wind blowing off the Andes - lots of dust.

We drove on to Camerones, as there was no camping spot to be found before then. Passed through Comodore Rivadivia, a port city servicing the oil industry, which is on the Atlantic coast.

It was 10pm and dark when we got to Coamerones, but we were a day ahead of schedule. Again, tents up, scrambled eggs for dinner as too late to cook.

Next morning was sunny and warm. We packed up camp and at 10am collected our guide and drove into the National Park for 26ks to a penguin colony. There are 26000 breeding pairs of Magellenic (sp?) Penguins there, and you can walk through the colony on a board walk.

Leaving the National Park we rode on the open top deck of the truck to the main road, lots of fun but very windy and dusty. Saw a live armadillo.

Left Camerones and headed along Route 3 to Puerto Madryn where we arrived about 8pm. We passed the scene of a fatal car accident on the way. The road is very narrow by our standards, well sealed and in good condition though. We are a night ahead of schedule so have three nights here instead of 2.

Peurto Madryn is a port and beach settlement. There were thousands of people on the beach when we drove through to the camp site last night. The camp is on a hill beside the beach. It is again hot and sunny! 32 degrees. The thermals have all been put away!
Today we have a free day and so finally get to the internet and catch up on things again. Tomorrow we are spending the day going to a wildlife reserve to see sea lions, etc. Then two long driving days to BA.

It is one of our groups birthday today, so we are having a special dinner and a Penguin Party - dressing as penguins - tonight. The camp will be busy as there are 4 other overland trucks expected today, all heading to BA.

16th January El Chalten

Yesterday John did a 22k walk with mates, and Liz did a glacier walk.

Today we had a sleep in. Breakfast was at 9 am, then we went out about 11am and had coffee. Tyhen we went  to a Condor lookout. There were no condors to be seen - I think it meant a bird,s eye view of the town! However there was a great clear view of Mt. Fitzroy and surrounding peaks. 

We wandered back slowly into the little town. Had a siesta, then went to a closeby waffle restaurant for their Waffle 2004, a waffle with apples, cinnamon, run and icecream.

The next few hours were spent chatting to fireind in the bar. Dinbner was a chicken steak, very nice and huge - we shared one between us.

Tomorrow we have a 7am breakfast, then hit the road. We are bushcamping for the next few nights, so won{t be updating. Only 6 nights until we reach Buenos Aires.

Weather has been great- for here! Fine, sunny but windy as.

 

 

 

15th in El chalten

El Chalten

Today John joined Lisa and John and walked the 22km up to Cerre Torres. There were beautiful views of the surrounding peaks. The walk was quite hot, with no wind and quite a bit of climbing involved. The end of the walk was at a glacier lake with views of Mt Fitzroy, at 3600 odd meters.

 

Liz went on a glacier walk. This involved a ½ hour bus trip and one hour  trip by ferry to the Viedma Glacier, then walking on the glacier, walks through ice caves, wearing of crampons etc. The trip ended with Baileys on ice – a liqueur for those not familiar with the experience.

 

Tonight we went to local eatery and had steaks, lamb ragout and fine Argentinean vino. The weather was beautifully fine and warm with lots of opportunity for great photos

15th January - To El Chalten

We left El Calafayte on a fine summer morning, not needing our jackets! The trip to El Chalten was 185kms through more Patagonian Steppe as before.

This is a new tourist town, growing in a topsy turvey manner. Some streets are newly paved, others have gravel spilling out over the main roads. Many houses under construction. Currently about 1300 residents, most of the town closes down over the winter.

We are in a hostel, very nice and clean, Good cooking area, nice meals, pity about the lack of ventilaition - there are no opening windows anywhere and the heaters are all on full. Made for a very hot, stuffy night in our 4 person bunkroom which we are sharing with John & Lisa.

We ahd dinner at the hostel, after a walk around town. The crumbed schnitzel was the sixe of a dinner plate, and the steak was delicious.

Today Liz is going out onto a glacier, John is walking a local walkway with some of the others. It is fine and sunny, though cloudy. Seems like it is always windy here!

Internet is very slow, a sattelite connection which is also expensive.

 

Update, 13th January

We last update this from the Refugio on 10th January.

 

That night was very cold, but we were snug in our sleeping bags, and the tent did not leak!

 

On 11th we took the ferry back at 10am across Lake Pehoe. Riki, our driver (from Dunedin) was there to pick us up in Cindy (our truck), and took the 8 of us who returned back to our next camp at Lake Pehoe. So we re-erected our tents and had a late breakfast! Did our washing and went for a short stroll. Then just relaxed....had a sing-along around the camp fire in the evening.

 

Next morning we were up and ready to leave by 8.30. We drove 40 mins, to a point where we were picked up by a smaller bus for the sum of 2,500 pesos one way, and driven over a very narrow bridge (ie only centimeters to spare with the mirrors turned in!) and then another 7 ks to the start of our walk.

 

This was a 9km climb up 2500 feet to a stunning view of the Torres del Paine. We started on a good track, climbing steeply in places, before heading through forest on an undulating track. THEN the last 45 minutes was scrambling over boulders up a track. It was steep and a very loose surface. At the top it was snowing lightly, and there was a 50kph wind blowing, so it was very cold. You will have to see the photos to see the view, which was amazing. It took 3 hours 45 minutes for us to climb up.

 

The downhill was easy! We were back to the bus transfer in two hours! All in all a very tough but satisfying day. In the evening we had a half lamb, which one of our group butchered into suitable cuts to barbeque (he is a trained butcher) over an open fire. Liz was on cook group, and helped prepare the fried potatoes, onions and coleslaw. A very much enjoyed meal.

 

Today we were up at 6.30. It was raining, but fortunately our tent was under a shelter. Liz was cooking breakfast - sausages, tomatoes and scrambled eggs - so John packed up the tent. We left at 8.30 and drove back to Puerto Natales to drop of gear which some people had hired. Then we headed for the border and went back through into Argentina.

 

We have now had 6 Chilean stamps in our passports! We drove down Highway 5 and the famous Route 40 back to El Calafayte. Lunch was crackers and pate while driving. We are staying for one night in the same hostel we were in for New Year´s Eve. Tomorrow we are off to El Chalten where we will be staying for three nights at a hostel. There we will be ice walking on a glacier....after that we will head back into summer weather!

10 January - Torres del Paine

We are unsure of the date but think it is correct!

We arrived at the Torres del Paine National Park and took a catamaran over the lake to the Park Refugio. We set up our tent, had a shower (welcome after bushcamping) and went for dinner in the Refugio. >Dinner was a 3 course meal which cost 10,000 Pesos (US$25) each. Prices are very expensive here as everything has to be brought in.

After dinner we went to our tent and had a good night´s sleep. There was a bit of rain in the night. In the morning it was cold and wet, at about 9.15 we set off with Lisa and John to walk to Glacier Grey. The walk right up to the Glacier was about 4 hours each way... We climbed up about for about 2 hours through bush and then over rockier terrain. We could see the Glacier, and the icebergs in the lake which had broken off it. However it was very cold, wet, sleety and about a 50kph head wind, so we decided to return to base.

Spent the afternoon in the Refugio reading and having a drink with our friends. The day actually cleared and it was quite pleasant outside.

This morning we set off in fine, overcast conditions for the French Valley. This was a hike of about 4 hours each way. The first two hours was through scrubby forest and around a lake edge, and was quite easy going. Then we went up the valley. We climbed about 2000 feet up the side of a lateral moraine, and there was some scrambling over large rocks and boulders. The view was stunnings, 2600m mountains up close, with huge glaciers all over them. There were frequently bits of the ends of the glaciers falling off, with loud banging to be heard, all quite spectacular!

John took hundreds of photos of the landscape - kept holding us up!

We had lunch and then descended back to camp. All showered and clean and ready to relax for the evening.

We are staying tonight, then going back on the catamaran to camp for two nights at another spot in the National Park. The following day we intend to walk up to see the Torres del Paine, three granite peaks each of about 2800m.

Friday 8 January

Yesterday we spent the day driving. Left the hostel at 6am and headed north from Ushuaia along the main state highway north. We recrosses the border back into Chile and returned to the mainland on the ferry.
The border guards decided to scan our bags this time and to check the vehicle for forbidden fruit. A fairly cursory inspection.

So we drove all day through steppe land, coercing about 700ks in all. Lunch was a pasta dish on the roadside. Camp long bushcamp along a sideroad. It was a beautiful spot with a view
over a lake. A lovely calm evening. We were very warm in our tent.
This morning we set out at 8.30 and drove till about 10 30 when we reached Puerto Natalis. This is an inland seaport, town of about 18000, which services the teeming industry in the nearby national park. Along the way we saw a fox, rheas, guanacos, (llamas), some cattle and lots of sheep.
We have been to the supermarket and stocked up with food for the next five days treking. Not easy as they don't have the range we have at home.
Now we are having lunch at a cafe with wifi so using the iPhone to write this.
Soon we depart for the National Park. We are going camping Ans treking there for five nights and will do the "W" walk. A Google search of Torres del Paine should give you an idea of the
landscape.
Weather is overcast and cool but it is currently fine.

6th January / Ushuaia

Despite problems with computers being like an abacus for speed we have today got online. Went to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park today and spent an enjoyable 5 hours with a guide showing us the local wild life and beaver dams.

He described how the new migrants sorted out the local indigenous people in the 1860's, they shot them all and cut off their ears and made necklaces out of them......

The park is only about 10km from town. It's along a dry dusty road. Mountains about the height of those inland from Hokitika, with lakes full of trout I'm sure Denis Pfahlert would love to chase. The southern most post office in the world was paid a visit, and Liz bought some stamps there. We also visited the end of the Pan American highway, which starts in Alaska and is 17886km long. Its about 3000km from here to Buenos Aires.

John went shopping for dinner tomorrow night with his cook group. Because we are crossing the border into Chile tomorrow we have to cook a meal without meat and veges / as you can't take fresh food over the border.

Tomorrow we drive back to the ferry crossing to the mainland about 500km away, into Chile. May be offline for a few days. We are visiting the Torres del Paine National Park for 5 days and doing some treking.

Beagle Channel / 5th January

This morning we went on a trip on the Beagle Channel. This is the stretch of water which joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is the border between Chile and Argentina. It was a lovely morning, 8 degrees. We went out round the lighthouse and past islands where sea lions and cormorants live. We also went onto a Sub-Antartic island and looked at all the vegetation there... There are no trees - too windy - but many little shrubs and hardy flowers and grasses.

The city is ringed by mountains. Lovely views from the channel back toward the city. When we arrived back we wandered over to the old prison which operated here from 1896 to 1947 / clearly a joke by some official in the capital back then who had the task of deciding what bleak part of the landscape to keep prisioners.

Have just had lunch in a little cafe on the one main street here. It has started to rain but is clearing again. We've just sent a few family and friends some post cards. Now back at the hostel and about to deal with our laundry / an essential matter when travelling on the road.

Rio Grande to Usuhaia

A short drive today to the southern most city in the world. I should mention the tides before we leave though. They can rise 15 meters at the equinox. It absolutley roared into the river when it finally came in, very impressive.

The drive to Usuhaia was finally through forested country with wonderful alpine scenery. We are staying at a hostel here for 3 nights. Nothing too pre/possessing about this place either. Everything about it seems run down . It is geared up for tourists wanting to go south to Antarctica or cruise boats visiting for a day or two.

There is an airport and quite a busy port through which presumably all freight gets to Terra Del Fuego. Tomorrow we are to have a trip out onto the Beagle Channel.

Rio Grande

3rd January / El Calafate to Rio Grande.
Today we set off at 7.30am on the first leg of our trip south to Usuhaia. We have had to retrace our steps to the Atlantic coast and then head south from there. Again the trip has been acoss very arid country with little sign of habitation. What towns there are are very industrial looking with lots of power and telephone poles, broken footpaths and concrete roads.

There can't be a building code in Argentina, since the huge variety of run down looking houses suggests you just get on and build what you like.

We crossed the boarder twice today between Argentina and Chile. Finally we reached the straits of Magellan and crossed into Tierra del Fuego on a ferry. About a 20 minute journey with dolphins putting on a display near the bow of the ferry.

The next 160km were on a rough gravel road through Chile, then back across the border and sealed roads in Argentina. Finally decided to stop in the "camp ground" at Rio Grande, a coastal city of 58,000. A truly ghastly town if I ever saw one. The camp ground was beside the river mouth and was sufficiently bad that some went back into town to find a hotel. Liz and I quite enjoyed it though. We are well kitted out with warm gear and had a good warm sleep in our tent.

The camp also had a communal room where we all cooked dinner and sat around chatting. The sun set was lovely and went down about 10.30.

2nd January Moreno Glacier

2nd January
Today we went to the world's 5th largest glacier / the Mereno. It's 257 square kilometers, 30km long and about 5 or so wide. The glacier was about 70km from El Calafate along a good sealed road with spectacular vies of the surrounding mountains and lakes.

The place was overrun with tourists, but all very effecient at the site, as the officials had built metal boardwalks all through the area. We could stsnd about 100m from the ice face and watch as hugh hunks fell off into the lake with cracks like gunshots going off as pieces detached.

We had a boat trip up to about 75m from the ice face in the lake. The face is 50/60m high and about 4 km across.

In the evening Liz and I went into Calafate and dined at a very good local restaurant with a younger English couple. The truck has turned up all fixed again, so fingers crossed it stays that way.We leave again in the morning for Usuhaia, a two day trip of 1000km.

Off to a glacier

Update for tomorrow. We are going to head off at 8am to the Moreno glacier. It is the largest advancing glacier in the world. We have therefore been out to get food and water for the day. It has been raining a little but should be fine again tomorrow.

New Years Day / El Calafate

After 22 hours on a luxury coach we arrived at El Calafate at about 10pm New Years Eve. Left El Bolson at 11pm after much waiting / 17 hours after we had actually got up that morning. We drove down the route 40 and then on to route 20 via Sarmiento to Comodoro Rivadavia on the South Atlantic. Stopped there for 20 minutes to refuel and then south down Route 3 to Rio Gallegos and then noth west to El Calafate.

Total distance was 1630km in 22 or so hours. Some of this was on gravel but mostly good sealed road. The countryside was fairly bleak, just desert / pampas most of the way. Little evidence of any livestock, the odd sheep here and there. There were the odd estancias, or sheep farms. Quite a few lamas and ostrich type birds. While it was rolling countryside in places, most of it for hundreds of kilometers at a stretch was just flat pampas.

The oil industry is quite well developed with dozens of "nodding neddys" pumping oil, with all the associated infrastructure. There were virtually no towns or any obvious habitation most of the way. There was very little traffic, but we did spot two hardy cyclists about 150km south of Comodoro Rivadavia.

The coach was very comfortable with recliner chairs, on board TV and because there were only 21 on a 42 seat bus we all had a spare seat each. There was an onboard toilet and two drivers.

We all had a shower and change of clothes when we arrived and then went down and had a shared new year celebration at the hostel we are staying in. Liz and I are sharing a room in the dorm with John and Lisa, a younger English couple on their honeymoon......

The hostel is nice and quite. Slept in this morning and then wandered in to town for a brunch. The weather here is warm, about 20 degrees and partly overcast. El Calafate is another tourist town. I suspect most tourists arive by plane!! Being New Year's Day nothing was open until around mid day. The town has only been developed in the last few years because of demand by tourists to see the Perito Moreno Glacier. It is a bit like Tekapo landscape wise.

Tomorrow we are going to the Glacier, which is one of the largest advancing glaciers in the world.