Day 9 … getting from Point A to Point B

Today one of those very necessary transit days on any adventure, when you just need to get from where you are to where you want to be. Sadly, today we had to say goodbye to Buenos Aires which has to rate as one of my favourite places in the world. We have loved every minute we have been here. The atmosphere, the people, the architecture and the food … absolutely fabulous. But today we must leave and catch a plane to head south … down to Patagonia and El Calafate.

We were met by Sandra (our guide from two days ago) just after 9.00 having packed, eaten breakfast and in Ian’s case … finished a little bit of work. She was full of energy and happy to see us again, and keen to hear about our day yesterday without her. Our driver today was Carlos (Robert’s brother!) another capable driver, willing to drive slower if I wanted a final photo, and even popped the window down for a better view. Ian had asked Sandra if we could make a slight detour to the statue of Christopher Colon (Columbus) which stands in front of the airport looking out over the river.

The statue used to stand at the Casa Rosada but because Columbus is a controversial figure in Argentina it was moved to the river in 2017 and replaced by a statue of an even more controversial figure … a revolutionary army leader during the war of independence. Whilst the statue of Azurduy was being constructed poor Columbus lay in pieces on the ground until he was eventually moved. 

The view of the river is interesting … a deep murky brown with a decided whiff (but not as bad as at La Boca). Fisherman line the edge with their poles in the water, drinking their mate. Sandra joked that the only fish they catch are have two mouths and four eyes … because of the pollution! She pointed out the large Caracara, a local bird of prey introduced from Patagonia to get rid of the pigeons.

 

We headed back to Carlos and across the road to the airport. Sandra went with us the entire way, helping us check in, scoring us some exit row seats, escorting us to security where we then bid her a fond farewell. She has been amazing. So willing to go above and beyond, a wealth of information, easy going and friendly.

 

And so we were airside with a bit of time to kill and with very few chairs at the departure gates we decided to head to the Hard Rock Cafe for a drink and some fries. Our plane was marked as delayed so we actually had more time. A lovely coffee, a sparkling water and a 7 Up with a plate of fries filled the time before we headed down to our gate. The boarding process was SLOW … but I think this may be the Argentinian way … no rush, no fuss but eventually we were on board, comfortable in our exit row.

 

A 3 and a half hour flight … a Pepsi and a packet of small biscuits … and then we were flying into El Calafate. Sandra had made sure I had a window seat … so plenty of opportunity to snap the odd photo or two. The view coming in was nothing short of spectacular. Snow capped mountains, dry barren land and turquoise lakes. It was breathtaking and a promise of what our next two days will bring.

 

We were met at the arrivals gate by our driver Chris and taken out to the vehicle that would transfer us to our hotel … a 40 seater bus! And we were the only ones on it! He handed Ian an envelope that contains all of the details of our days here in El Calafate. We have no specific guide for this leg of the tour but have two guided tours (group tours) so the paperwork indicated what time we needed to be ready and roughly when we would be back each day.

We arrived at our hotel … Design Suite Calafate, checked in, booked a table for dinner and headed up to our room with eager anticipation. Only to discover that we had a room overlooking the car park! A quick (think 3 second) conversation and Ian headed back down to reception to see about a lake view room. We paid an extra US$10 per night but boy was it worth it. We have a glorious room overlooking the lake … the views are spectacular.

 

Luggage dumped (and air conditioner put on … the rooms are soooooo hot) … we headed out to explore. 

Ian here. With the sun setting at 8.30pm (although we'll probably lose it behind the Andes about 7.30) we decided a little before 6.00 to take a walk down to the lakefront. There is no path, just tracks through sandy dunes, but after about 10 minutes we were sitting on the concrete wall beside the lower roadway looking across Lake Argentino. Blue skies, white clouds, distant white glaciers, barren grey mountains, turquoise waters. It was lovely ... until the chill wind kicked in and it was time to walk back up the hill. (J here … Ian was in short sleeves!)

We ended our day with dinner in the restaurant at our hotel. We shared and enjoyed: a lovely bread basket; 4 empanadas  - beef, lamb, cheese and onion, bacon and cheese; and Milanese with mashed potato. We shared a dessert ... Chocolate Volcano - a chocolate fondant cake, icecream and berries. Our meal was lovely and the view of the sun setting over the lake and mountains spectacular.