El Calafate

Today started super early as we head to El Calafate in Patagonia which is a famous stopping point to see the Perito Moreno glacier. We woke up after 4 am as we had arranged for a cab to pick us up at 5 am. As we waited in the lobby, we saw a few folks returning from the night out including the 2 Canadians we had been eavesdropping on at the Recoleta restaurant. We chatted for a bit and learned they are headed north to visit the salt flats of Bolivia.

Our cab arrived about fifteen minutes past 5 and this driver seemed to enjoy club / dance music early morning and then switched over to a mix station of 80s and 90s music. We arrived at the airport a little before 6. We were told the ride should be an hour, but both yesterday and today were around 40 minutes due to the empty roads as it's a holiday. Upon arrival, we were a bit shocked by the massive lines. Not since Korea in the 90s have I seen such monstrous lines pre-web check-ins. We learned that self check-in would make no difference due to the baggage check-in. We were in line for over an hour.

A bit of a surprise at check-in as I learned that I had been upgraded to business class and Amanda and I wouldn't be sitting next to each other. Due to my hobby of joining loyalty award programs and tracking mileage, I enrolled in the Aerolineas Argentina club program especially in case they had some perks or discounts since they also own a tour company. Clearly they do and got upgraded on my very first flight with them. Cyn for the win!

We were delayed about an hour, but finally departed. The view from the plane of the Andes and the lakes was absolutely gorgeous. Breath-taking with snow capped mountains hovering over lakes and vast land. Again customs in El Calafate was odd as they scanned our carry ons, but not our suitcases for fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The weather in El Calafate is particularly windy or maybe it's normal for Patagonia and I'm just not use to it.

The airport is about a 20 minute ride from the town and we bumped into a couple of guys who went to Lehigh and one of them lives on the Upper East Side. Small world. Also at the time we realized Amanda's backpack shoulder strap was torn off due to airport baggage handling. Amanda's backpack not for the win.

Upon arrival at Linda Vista Hotel which was ranked #1 or #2 on TripAdvisor.com, we were greeted by very eager Korean innkeepers. I was pretty sure Koreans owned the place, because there were 3 language options on the website, but the Coreano link didn't work. I had also been conversing with a Juan Alberto Kwon in making the reservation (Kwon is very Korean). The young girl around 16 at check-in was adorable switching between her Korean, English and Argentine Spanish. She moved to Argentina at the age of 4. The mom was sweet and the father peered out of the beautiful garden. He said he heard Korean, but only could see Amanda so he came by our room when the girl was taking us there, to see the white person speaking Korean. Alas, he saw me and learned that I was the one chatting.

Our room is actually like an apt with a living room with a bed, pull out, and separate room with a queen bed. We have a kitchenette and microwave too. Wish we were staying longer!

We ventured into town for some lunch where the main street was beautifully tree-lined. There were few options as places were still closed for New Years. We did however stumble upon a crowded restaurant where we were seated in the middle of 2 other couples at a 6 person table. 1 from Canada - the man was Italian and the woman was Mexican. They have traveled through Bolivia, Chile, and will be going through Uruguay and Brazil. They were leaving today for a 24 hour bus ride to Puerto Madryn. The 2nd couple lives in London - the man was Spanish and the woman was Bulgarian and Russian. They had arrived by plane from Puerto Madryn. Both couples had flown into Santiago, Chile as it was cheaper and the 6 of us traded stories, itineraries, restaurant and sight-seeing suggestions as we all had overlapping cities. The London woman had even worked at Oliver Wyman (a Marsh sister company) for 3 years! Hence the conversation was more interesting than the two Lehigh grads who asked "what is there to do here?" And after the stark realization on my part they weren't joking, I said "the glacier of course."

After lunch, we parted ways and Amanda and I walked down to the Laguna Nimez where you can supposedly see flamingos off of the incredibly turquoise Lago Argentina. We did not see any flamingos, but we enjoyed the beautiful views and wind.

We returned to the lovely hotel and took naps starting around 5 pm. I woke up around 8 pm thinking it was around 6 pm, because it was super sunny outside - I had forgotten we would have longer days here. Ultimately it wasn't dusk until past 10 pm! We didn't feel bad for sleeping over 3 hours - it was the most consecutive sleep we had in days.

We ventured out and visited the other part of town we missed and stopped by a grocery store to pick up some waters and gatorade (it was manzana flavored or apple!) We found a great parilla and we enjoyed lamb empanada, salad, steak, Patagonian lamb, some grilled vegetables, flan and wine (Malbec of course). So South American. Yesterday's Malbec was Trapiche's Fonde de Cava and today's was called Argento. There was even a cervezeria or brewery next door where I thought of my Spanish classmate, Katie Heineken who loves beer and has an apropos last name. However, the pub was closed by midnight when we had finished our meal.

We returned to the hotel to rest and got ready for the exciting day ahead at the glacier!