Day 8 - La Angostura - El Calafate
3rd Straight Day on Gravel Roads
Total distance: 320 Km (200 miles)
Sunrise on the La Angostura ranch was spectacular. The wide open plains were bathed in striking shades of red and purple, giving the few of us who were already awake a spectacular display of nature's unadulterated beauty.
Nine o'clock arrived quickly after a hearty breakfast of small toast squares, sweet pastry and good, strong, gaucho coffee. We then set off for our destination of El Calafate, a small but growing settlement of 17,000 residents on the shores of Lake Argentina.
The drive was truly uneventful. Again, although the landscape was monotonous, it was consistently amazing in its aridness and lack of significant vegetation. We saw large birds, cows, horses, sheep, and the native guanacos. I counted no more than 8 cars that were coming towards us today, and only 2 or 3 that passed us.
After about 7 hours of driving, with a break for a snack of savory empanadas (a tasty turnover of sorts with meat inside) at a small gas station just outside the town of Tres Lagos ("Three Lakes"), we arrived at approximately 4 p.m. Our hotel in the town of "El Calafate" is perched on a hill overlooking the small town, and we are just 900 yards walking distance from the center of town, comprising a small shopping district, though when I walked into town for the first time I must have taken a wrong turn, because it ended up being a 45-minute walk.
It is nice to reach this small city, as we will be staying here two nights, and this is the first time I am sleeping in the same bed two nights in a row in 10 days. Tomorrow we will sightsee a little around this area, but I don't want to give any secrets away of what is coming, so I won't write any more right now. At the right I have included a picture of the entry into the town, which is the Argentine glacier capital.
Keep on reading, and feel free to e-mail me if you are enjoying following my travels.
Until next time,
- Bob
Total distance: 320 Km (200 miles)
Sunrise on the La Angostura ranch was spectacular. The wide open plains were bathed in striking shades of red and purple, giving the few of us who were already awake a spectacular display of nature's unadulterated beauty.Nine o'clock arrived quickly after a hearty breakfast of small toast squares, sweet pastry and good, strong, gaucho coffee. We then set off for our destination of El Calafate, a small but growing settlement of 17,000 residents on the shores of Lake Argentina.
The drive was truly uneventful. Again, although the landscape was monotonous, it was consistently amazing in its aridness and lack of significant vegetation. We saw large birds, cows, horses, sheep, and the native guanacos. I counted no more than 8 cars that were coming towards us today, and only 2 or 3 that passed us.
After about 7 hours of driving, with a break for a snack of savory empanadas (a tasty turnover of sorts with meat inside) at a small gas station just outside the town of Tres Lagos ("Three Lakes"), we arrived at approximately 4 p.m. Our hotel in the town of "El Calafate" is perched on a hill overlooking the small town, and we are just 900 yards walking distance from the center of town, comprising a small shopping district, though when I walked into town for the first time I must have taken a wrong turn, because it ended up being a 45-minute walk.
It is nice to reach this small city, as we will be staying here two nights, and this is the first time I am sleeping in the same bed two nights in a row in 10 days. Tomorrow we will sightsee a little around this area, but I don't want to give any secrets away of what is coming, so I won't write any more right now. At the right I have included a picture of the entry into the town, which is the Argentine glacier capital.Keep on reading, and feel free to e-mail me if you are enjoying following my travels.
Until next time,
- Bob
posted by Robert Sette at 9:15 PM
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