El Quijote El Calafate

... br><br>Brief update on swine flu here; Apparently Argentina has the 3rd most deaths in the world and the government of Brazil has even told Brazilains not to enter here but Argentina is a huge country (7th biggest in world) and has so many people living here that it may be abit exagerated. We are seeing alot of peolppe though wearing masks to protect themselves-loads of taxi drivers and at airports and places like that. But so far so good for us on the swine flu!!!

... We were not happy campers. Thankfully, our cheese was let through, but it was frustrating as there is absolutely no difference between animal products on either side of this imaginary line. Those pudgy *******s must enjoy fine feasts of confiscated backpacking food on a daily basis. We eventually reached the lakefront and beautiful town of Puerto Natales and restocked on our apples and salami and even found a jar of peanut ...

... the captain seat and thus seing all the navigation instruments you also get coffee and drinks during the cruise, some alfajores (argentinian cookies with Dulce de Leche), a light lunch as well as Whisky on the rocks (with glaciar ice) and last but not least a glass of champagne towards the end of the cruise. For viewing the glaciers, there is also a seperate terrace area so you don´t have to push through the crowd to take pictures. I really ...

... the Perito Moreno Glacier. This glacier is one of the only glaciers left in the world that is not receding. It is 5 Kms wide and at its deepest is 700 meters thick. Basically it is an awesome site. We spent about 3 hrs walking around the face of the glacier, admiring it from different views. Because the glacier ...

... c*mer*, found our sungl*sses, *nd out the door we went in minutes...*ll while bickering *nd l*ughing *t how ridiculous this situ*tion w*s. The bus *rrived right on time *s we were w*lking out of our little bung*low, still stuffing things into our b*ckp*ck *nd throwing on j*ckets. Of course we couldn't find our ticket voucher to give to the driver, but th*nkfully the old m*n who owns the hostel h*ppened to be w*lking by in the office *nd helped us get * new one ...

... the past 3+ months, and when i do come back (sometime in the next 2-3 months), i will at least have the advantage of a consistent, altered perspective (I hope!) about so many things, only they are the kind of things that are not in your immediate, accessible conscience... no, these events that shift perspective occur much later, many months or years after having been exposed to different ways of doing things or approaching the world ...

... to the tourist mecca of El Calafate. This town has been purpose built to support nothing more than us eager tourists wanting to part with our cash (and they know how to do this well) to see some of the world's most famous glaciers, the most renowned being Perito Moreno. This glacier is the most visited glacier, not due to it's size, it's not the largest at only 250sq km, nor any special wow factor that sets it apart from the ...

... the day would improve...<br><br>I think that must be one of my pet hates, when you get up especially early, sacrificing precious sleep, in order to do something which you're then denied from doing through no fault of your own!<br><br>As usual, first we had to drive round town collecting other tourists and about an hour later we headed towards the National Park entrance and most importantly the world famous 'Moreno Glacier'<br><br>As a birthday treat ...

This a.m. Boo and I packed our bags (well actually it was just me that did the packing) and had breakfast at the hotel. We were then picked up for a drive of about an hour to the estancia (ranch). It was just us and a Spanish couple probably in their 50's. He teaches electronics at the University in Barcelona and she teaches fashion design. Both of them spoke English well. Upon arrival, they offered us coffee and gave us a brief ...

I realize fully now that Australia made me soft. Very soft. I apparently got used to the city life...of hopping on a flight to jump from one city to the next where I ran into and was hosted by fabulous friends....new and old. <br><br>Well I'm not there any more! I'm back in the land of 18-hour bus rides across dusty, dirt roads. I've been lucky, really, to be reintroduced to this lifestyle in Argentina where the buses are mostly new ...