Perito Moreno Glacier

After a solid night's sleep, Amanda and I made our way to breakfast where we met another Korean family. The 2 children were grown and we learned that they live in Santiago, Chile. The woman was clear to point out she was a diplomat and her last post was Paraguay and her next post will be back in Korea. They were lovely as was the innkeeper who asked the usual questions: Were you born in Korea? How old are you? In turn when I asked him why he chose to immigrate to El. Calafate, he said he got that all the time and did not give me a straight answer.

The hotel arranged our glacier tour which was about 30 pesos less than any of the other quotes from travel companies. The hotel had lunch box options which people suggest as you're at the glacier all day. Amanda chose the ham and cheese sandwich and I picked the KIMBAP option! Staying at a Korean inn clearly increases the probability of having traditional Korean rolls which are like California rolls! So excited as this is a very common picnic treat and I have brought kimbap to my Spanish class on several. occasions.

Our tour bus picked us up at 9 when they were suppose to come by around 9:20. A surprising example of not being on Latin time. The tour bus could definitely use some WD-40 as it was super squeaky, but our guide was great. I think I liked her because her Spanish was slow enough and her annunciation very clear. We made a few stops to get a beautiful view of Lago Argentino and then at the "lookout of sighs", we took fun pics of the glacier from afar.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Everyone on the bus had an option to take a boat ride to the glacier which Amanda and I opted to do. The ride was incredibly neat and we were able to take some nice photos in front of the glacier. The glacier is the size of Buenos Aires and breathtaking. It is considered unique for its accessibility and the fact it grows and recedes at the same rate so it maintains a stable formation. Afterwards we were taken to viewing balconies where we can see different views of the glacier. We were allowed to wander the different viewing decks for about 3 hours. This was quite wonderful as we could see condors flying above and listen to the crackling of the glacier. At the right moment, we could see the glacier crumble in different spots into the lake. Amazing. The sound is so loud and the moment so fleeting.

We ended up sitting at one of the decks so we could enjoy the scenery. This is where I wrote Kim and Joe in response to their happy new years news - "we're sitting in front of a glacier." Congrats again on baby Hayes! Here, we also decided we would break out our kindles and read as we had seen all the balconies and had over an hour left before our bus departed. At this point, Amanda realized her kindle had been on all day so it was out of power. She then opted to write some postcards and her pen exploded on her. On top of her backpack problems, we realized El Calafate was not for the win for Amanda.

Subsequently, we had a delightful conversation with 2 senoras, Susanna and Edelweiss. It started when Edelweiss opened up her jacket to pose in front of the glacier and revealed a hot pink tank top - mind you she looks over 60. So I said "muy sexy!" And they got such a kick out of it and I said "un chiste" or a joke - a common thing for me to do in Spanish class. I guess in any language as I often declare my own jokes as funny. But the ladies had sass and were from Ushuaia, our next destination. One owns a hotel and the other a lawyer for air rights. The lawyer had actually participated in exchange programs in Australia in order to study English. They invited us to their hotel in Ushuaia. When I asked them how to properly pronounce Ushuaia as it is a native word and have heard different pronunciations, they asked me to pronounce Nueva York and declared it was a chiste. Clearly, lots of sass which Amanda and I can appreciate.

Today I got to try mate, the local tea, 2 different ways. At breakfast in a tea bag and again on our way to the glacier as our guide had some and was drinking it traditionally through a silver straw with a filter at the end. The tea had a nice earthy flavor to it and enjoyed that another culture had found a different method of filtering their tea.

We returned to our hotel which arranged for our cab to the airport. Our flight was delayed about 40 minutes, but we safely made it to Ushuaia and our luggage was the first to come out so we got first dibs on cabs at this very small airport. I tried my first alfajores (Argentine cookie with dulce de leche) that Jamie had suggested at the El Calafate airport. So delicious. Also when I received my juice box on the plane which was branded Cepita, I remarked to Amanda, "it sure looks like the minute maid logo" and it was indeed a minute maid product. It totally reminded me of when Mike and I spent lots of time looking for Hilton Beach in Tel Aviv and walked by the Hilton Hotel about 4 times and remarked about the Hebrew logo / sign: it sure looks like a Hilton. ;-)

After arriving in Ushuaia which is the southern most city in Argentina in Tierra del Fuego and the only Argentine city west of the Andes, we arrived at the Hostal Yakush. This is my very first hostel experience where we are sharing a 6 bunk room for about $18 per night. It's super clean and in the town. We opted to experience a hostel as we've stayed at 4 star hotels to B&B's and Tierra del Fuego is known to be very pricey. After settling in, we walked around main street, the port, and ran into some Aussies - one from Tasmania and one from Brisbane. They were adamant we not eat at the restaurant that we were about to enter as they had an awful experience. We then chose another crowded restaurant which had a lovely buffet and delicious lamb. Definitely reminded me of buffets in Nevada and wished that Liz M. was here!

So off to sleep in our hostel and to get some rest as we prepare to see "el fin de mundo" or the end of the world!