An El Calafate Christmas to Remeber.

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  El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina
Friday, December 26, 2008

Apart from all the excitement for the trip and all the amazing places we knew we were going, this was the day we weren't looking forward to...spending Christmas 12,587kms from home.  We both really enjoy time spent with family, so even though we are having the adventure of our lives and seeing so many amazing places, we are missing everyone back home that we weren't able to spend the holidays with.  That is the opportunity cost of a round the world trip...
El Calafate is the closest town to the Moreno Glaciar, one of the most spectacular in the world.  Having such an amazing attraction nearby means the town itself is very touristy (read: expensive).  Our hostel is nice and clean, but the price ain't right...Bob / Drew.
Christmas Eve we cruised around the town and picked up some food for the next few days, as most stores and restaurants would be closed on Christmas and Boxing Day.  The town was buzzing and even though it was sunny and warm we felt the Christmas Cheer.
Dinner that night was, of course, Argentinean steak, wine, and salad (tomatoes, onions and avocado).  We've become quite accustomed to pan frying steak, as the quality of meat is so high that even in a pan the steak is amazingly tender and flavourful.  We shared our Christmas Eve dinner with a couple from Berlin and three ladies from the US.  At midnight we were treated to a fireworks display across the town that rivaled the Celebration of Light.  We assume the tradition is to stay up and light off fireworks as Christmas Day starts in celebration of Jesus' birth.  We decided that night we will bring the tradition to Canada, so next time you hear fireworks on Christmas Eve...

Charis Crusin Town

We awoke in the morning to find that Santa also stops in Argentina; in addition we had been a good boy and girl this Christmas.  Ole Saint Nic brought us new t-shirts, some fancy wine, chocolate and filled up our stockings (OK they were actually Arik's hiking socks but the treats warmed our hearts).
On Christmas Day we tried to re-create home; relaxation, watching Christmas movies, and talking with family on video chat via MSN (thanks Luke!).  That night we treated ourselves to a restaurant we had spotted on our first day in town.  The atmosphere was the best we've had in South America, the appetizer was cheese, olives, salmon, and wild boar, and our steaks were superb.
After writing nearly 50 blog entries and spending Christmas so far away from home, we are asking all our friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers out there to send some love our way.  The blog takes some time, we hope you enjoy it, and want to hear Merry Christmas or Happy New Year from anyone out there reading this (not to name any names but we know)!  You don't have to create an account, just use our guest account. 
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Arik and Miniture Horses (not photoshoped)	Charis and her Christmas Stocking / SocK	Santa Came!	Our Christmas Tree
Chatting with Family	Charis all Dolled Up	Fancy Christmas Dinner	Steak Again -YUM!
Church Service

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