Perito Moreno

this is how the perito moreno day started off. i took this at 9:30 a.m.
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I've covered a lot of ground since I last wrote- I am now dispatching from Ushuaia, Argentina, the "end of the world". More on that later, first let me tell you about Argentina and Perito Moreno.

I bussed over to El Calafate from Puerto Natales, a mere 5 hours, to find that I was, indeed, in a different country, where they speak a whole different language! No, they do speak Spanish here in Argentina, but totally different from the Spanish that I know and the one that they speak in Chile. I love it- it makes for interesting conversations. For example, instead of saying "tu eres" they say "vos sos". Yup, just like that. And all of the double l's are pronounced "shhh". For example, I had to take a bus through Rio Gallegos, Rio Cashayo. I am learning quickly though, although I still feel wierd saying ""eja" and "caje" instead of eya and caye for ella and calle. But after a couple of days I am understanding things much better. It's just a minor adjustment, now that I have started to decode.

and now it is 10:10 a.m.
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Anyway, my first day in Argentina did not disappoint- the Argentinians are not only a very good looking group of people but so far they are incredibly nice and helpful. I stayed in the nicest hostel I have stayed in my entire trip.

I would like to take a few moments to discuss what makes a great hostel, since I hace stayed in a heck of a lot of them over the past 10 month, many good, many bad, some treacherous. First of all, I have to say it must not be easy to have an endless stream of young travellers coming through, but there are definitely ways to do it right. Hostel America del Sur in El Calafate was perfect. It was an enormous place, designed beautifully with tall ceilings and huge windows overlooking lago and the town of El Calafate. The framing and furniture was all wood, with white washed walls and HEATED tile floors. Each dorm had only 4 beds, all with crisp, clean cotton sheets and a blanket and pillow. Dorms all had backpack sized lockers and a clean toilet and hot shower, both enclosed in separate rooms, with a sink inbetween the two that was open to the room. Each bed had a small reading lamp, and the overhead light was soft, yet the bathroom mirror light was bright.

here i am w/ perito
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The staff was amazing- young, professional, nice, and helpful. I have found so many times that when staying in backpackers I am treated like an animal passing through. Many places are staffed with young kids who seem to just be hanging out and when you ask for help it is all they can do to break away from their lounging around to assist you. Here the people working were young and hip but totally attentive and professional. When I needed something done it was done right away, I was treated as I have been at nice hotels where I'm paying a LOT more than $8 per night.

view from above
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Communal areas were huge and well kept- clean and with the look that everything was pretty new- beautiful wooden furniture with big comfortable pillows that I wasn´t afraid to sit on. An optional dinner for a reasonable price was home-cooked and served every night; a simple breakfast came with the price of the room and you could also get a bag lunch for about $5. The place was great. But that's not why I went to El Calafate, it was all about Perito Moreno.

I first heard about Perito Moreno when John and I were in New Zealand on the Fox glacier. The guides were talking about how cool it would be to go- being there just weeks after I had been at Fox glacier made me really realize how lucky I am to be able to do this trip. I have seen many cool things and Perito Moreno, a massive glacier in the Patagonian ice field was one of them. 250 square kilometers (I think Fox may only be about 25 sqaure kilometers), and 60 meters high where it melts into the water.

ice.
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I was able to really understand how huge it is when we took a boat to the base of it. There (from a safe distance) you can watch the ice fall into the lake, but most impressive is hearing it. Just a small little piece falling sounds like the thing has been dynamited. The most impressive views though, were from above where you can see how much are it really covers. Wow.

I did not walk on the glacier, tours were closed for winter (good thing, they are quite expensive here), but seeing it was enough. being near something like that really makes me feel like I am just a teeny part of this planet,that I really don't matter much in the larger scheme of things.

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That was it for El Calafate, just one day there, so much to see and do here, so little time...