Plastic fantastic, Belinda Carlisle, and the return of the Wayanns Brothers

Location, location, location. Fortune surely smiles of the citizens of El Calafate. Strategically located between three pristine tourist attractions, the majestic El Chalten, Torres del Paine parque nacional, and it´s own Perito Mereno, it is a major Patagonian pit stop on the gringo trail. Unfortunately, this all comes at a cost, the plastic boardwalk is surrounded by fancy restaurants, tacky and over priced souvenirs, over zealous hotelier's greeting every bus arrival, more good old fashioned southern cone price fixing, and enough gringo´s to make you vomit in your cafe prepared Cesar salad. Stay one night, see the glacier, and hit the road.

One of the few remaining advancing glaciers in this carbon addicted world, the three hour visit of ¨just¨ a simple old glaciers is sublime. The setting is both beuatiful and peaceful in los glaciers parué nacional. The sounds of the glacier cracking under the enourmous pressure of the 60km glacier and the anticipation of witnessing the crumbling and disintegration of the edge provide for a magnificent afternoon.

Perhaps the 80´s pop star playing loudly in my sister´s room was
right.... Heaven truly is a place on earth, it´s the humble country village of El Chaltén, only slightly tainted by the trail of the gringo´s. A haven for trekkers and climbers alike, the scenery is magnificent, dotted with ample glaciers, lagoons, mountains, valleys, rivers, and waterfalls. By far not a winter desination, the populations plummets by half to 800 with the threat of six hour days and endless wind, snow, and rain. The imminent paving of the road to El Calafate threatens to reduce this town into a heartless, money hungry town, reminiscent of El Calafate.

With the sun shining and the wind at a minimum, the twenty hour days were enjoyed a minute at a time. Starting with a six hour hike, our travels provided unparalleled beauty with only a trickle of tourists. A gruelling twelve hour day of hiking, ice trekking on the glacier, and climbing ice walls rewarded a unique experience and ample views. A little sympathy, home cooked pasta, and another quality bargain basement Argentinian vino went along way to recuperating those sore and tired old joints.



Finally, our trip to Rio Gallegos was greeted by the return of a Wayanns brothers on the fantastic Tasqa bus.