my bus from bariloche arrived in el calafate after noon...i was greeted with a lovely view of mountains all around, and great weather...awesome...
i found a place to stay, figured out what i wanted to do, and went back to the bus station to buy tickets...el calafate is down the road from parque nacional los glaciares, too far to walk...plus, the parque is rather big, it isn't possible to walk around on my own and see everything...
the buses to/from the parque were more expensive than i expected, i also bought tickets to my next two destinations...there are discounts if you book more than one set of tickets :)
i spent the next couple hours walking around el calafate, which was rather dead...apparently there is a siesta time, because nearly everything was closed until 1500 or so...i saw souvenir shops, travel agencies, restaurants, hotels, etc...nothing "local"...this town is totally dedicated to tourism...which makes sense i suppose, as it is a dry area, with gorgeous landscapes all around...i found an open ice cream shop and tried the local specialty, an ice cream made from the calafate berry...nothing wonderful, i wouldn't bother with that again...i wonder if other flavours were any good...
the next morning my bus left while it was still dark...i was not thrilled when the bus only drove a few streets, then told us all to get out and into a minivan...that was not explained when i bought my tickets...argh...what was explained is that this bus ride doesn't include anything other than transport...people on the bus still have to pay for the boat ride, and bring their own food or buy it in the cafeteria...there is a tourist spiel while everyone is on the bus, i tuned it out for the most part, since it was in spanish...the guide recognized that i didn't understand a lot of what she was saying, so she did occasionally translate a bit for me...
the bus stopped at a couple places along the way so everyone could take photos...if i had been in my own transport there were even more places i would've stopped to take photos, but hey, i'll take what i can get...i liked that the company recognizes that people want to take photos when they see something, and doing it through the window of a moving minivan just doesn't cut it...
once we entered the entrance to the parque the minivan drove a bit further, then pulled off into a parking lot...this was where we had the opportunity to take a boat tour up to the face of the glacier...
it looks big and all from just about anywhere, but as with any glacier you don't realize exactly how big it is until you get up close and personal...it's HUGE...and it moves something like 2m every day, so you can see/hear bits of ice falling off...it's impressive...and cold...and windy...everyone on the boat was taking heaps and heaps and heaps of photos...
i'm glad i had a hat with me, it was really windy and my hair went everywhere...
(i think there were a couple people on the minivan who didn't take this tour, i have no idea what they did during this time...the carpark was in the shade, so no matter what i bet they were cold)
the next stop of the bus was at the cafeteria/trail heads...i looked into the cafeteria to see if they had anything i just HAD to have, they didn't...i had thought ahead enough to bring food of my own so i didn't have to pay extortionate prices...i started off down the trails, my camera at the ready...i got to see a large piece of ice fall, and the ripples in the water...it's amazing loud, almost booming...and though i'm sure the ice is moving fast, it looks slow because it's so large...
i walked on every trail i could find...i wish i'd had another day to explore other parts of this area of the park...there are tours that allow you to go cramponing on the glacier, which would've been nifty, but i don't know if it would be worth it...maybe another time?
it wasn't terribly crowded, since the middle of winter is not high season for this area of the country...
dinner that night was at a steak restaurant, and it was awesome...cooked perfectly...i was underdressed compared to the decor and other guests, but i didn't much care...
the next morning i caught a bus to my next stop, el chalten...
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