The hostel lobby is empty at 7:30am...
8:37am, on bus to El Calafate...
My shower was excellent last night. Hot and strong. But Wendy said hers wasn't. Victor and Christine had mentioned the same thing about their experiences in the mens vs womens showers. Guess I was lucky. When I came back to the room, there was a guy already sleeping in one of the lower bunks, so I tried to stay quiet. Wendy washed all our dishes, and we prepped our bags for a quick departure in the morning.
I slept great, and woke up with the 6:45am alarm to catch our 8am bus back to El Calafate. Dressed, and cooked the rest of our oats and sugar cereal supplies for breakfast (still plenty of raspberry pudding mix left, which we'll bring back). It was a good and quick breakfast. We used my stove and fuel to heat the water on a table in the lounge, as the kitchen stove was being cleaned. After washing out the dishes, we make the 5 minute walk up the wide, dirt road to the bus agency office, planning to grab seats on the right side of the bus for the best views of sunrise on the mountains as we leave town. There are plenty of extra seats, as it turns out, and we depart El Chalten under pink skies and clouds. Looks like another great day is in store.
The hostel lobby is empty at 7:30am...
Glimpses back at Fitzroy are few, as we're driving due east, but we catch some pink glows on the mountain. Now it's time for more sleep. El Chalten is a pretty spectacular locale, especially with great weather. If anyone wants to know when to visit, come the first week of March! We only had time to visit one restaurant and hostel, but the town looked cool, and full of unique small shops.
A look east, as the bus departs El Chalten prior to sunrise. Then a look back at Fitzroy as its tip starts to turn pink...
A couple more pics out the window. Our last views of Fitzroy are a rosy pink...
I'm glad we visited TDP, Chile, first, cause it was a longer, tougher trek, and we were fresh legged then. Plus the beauty of Fitzroy-Cerro with awesome weather is hard to beat. I'm very thankful for Wendy's company, as I don't think I'd have had the drive to do 10 days of backpacking alone. Being able to split camp duties has allowed us to better exploit our time and do so much each day. It's also wonderful having someone to share these memorable experiences with. Wendy's been an amazing trekking companion.
Hopefully we can book an estancia tour for tonight, with another great meal to end our Patagonia experience.
On the bus ride back, we stop at a different cafe (rest area) this time. Animals are everywhere at this much more scenic location. There's roosters and chicks walking around the stone driveway, a guanaco that walks INTO the cafe, and sits down in front of the counter, and I see a small cow trying to make it's way in a side door near the bathrooms. It's an entertaining stop, even though it broke my sleep.
Lots of farm animals roamed the yard outside this remote cafe & rest stop...
Chickens...
A cow trying to make its way into the men's room. And a guanaco parked in front of the counter inside...
After the rest stop, we arrive back in El Calafate at 11:30am, take the steps down from the bus station to main street, and walk to ChaltenTravel's office to inquire about estancias. We debate about doing the same trip Victor and Christine did (they said it had great food), versus another one, "El Galpon", that had more sheep related activities and was closer to town. There were no horseback riding options for either (V & C got to ride horses though). We choose the 5pm trip for the "El Galpon" estancia, at ~$45 each, then walk back to the hostel to unload our packs. A hint of nostalgia kicks in as we walk inside to the same place we began nearly two weeks ago then as excited, inexperienced Patagonia trekkers in a mysterious foreign land, and returning now feeling like wise experienced journeymen. Turns out checkin isn't until 3pm, so we leave our bags in the storage area, and head to town to shop and sight see.
The shops that line the walkway from the bus station are closed. Back in the lobby of our El Calafate hostel...
This is our 3rd time in El Calafate this trip, but not until now have we had a moment to relax and walk the streets without being in a hurry to buy supplies, and figure out itineraries. I soak in the surroundings, appreciating run down but colorful houses as I walk on the the gravel and dirt off the side of the road towards town. I pause at the bridge into town and admire the stream underneath. I notice a small church on the way, with open doors and soft peaceful music, and walk in for a moment to reflect and give thanks for a wonderful trip. We continue into town, stopping at sovenier and craft stores. Many places are closed, perhaps for a siesta. We hit the grocery store and buy some empenadas, ham, cheese, and bread to make a lunch, and I also buy a 1lb container of dulce de leche (the sweet stuff that was in our ice cream last night), and a bottle of Patagonian calafate berry beer. We eat lunch on a bench off of the main street, in the shade. The gourmet ham is a treat here for so cheap, and the dulce de leche proves to be a tasty spread on bread. I might need to bring back lots of dulce de leche. Unfortunately, I don't have a bottle opener and can't try my beer...
Blue skies again, as we head towards town to shop and relax. A simple, small, white church we see along the way...
Wendy shops for ham and cheese at our favorite grocery store in El Calafate. We eat lunch on some grass along the main street. My first taste of dulce de leche on bread was excellent!!!
Another look down the main street, and at some arts & crafts stores...
We reach the end of down town before heading back to our hostel. Wendy liked this red car...
We buy a magnet of Fitzroy on our way out of town as we walk back to the hostel at 3pm. We check in to our room, which is already occupied by 2 other women, who have claimed the bottom bunks (they were probably here last night). With the top bunks ours, we repack our bags, putting all our camping gear at the bottom, creating room for soveniers in Buenos Aires (and probably some dulce de leche). I finally have time to shave my beard, after 2 weeks of mountain man growth. It takes me a good 30-40 minutes, as I usually use an electric shaver, and only have a double bladed razor, and I stop by to show off to Wendy the various stages of goutees, and sideburns, etc... I send an email out to family on the computer in the lounge.
Some unglamorous pics of me before, and mid-way through shaving my 2 week beard...
We get picked up from the hostel at 5pm in a big van, and make two more stops at hostels/hotels before leaving El Calafate on a 15 minute ride, along the lake, to estancia El Galpon. The estancia is located off the lake surrounded by scenic grasslands. We find out right away that this is a very touristy event, with several buses already here, and the large dining area already packed with visitors.
Views of the teal lake as we head up the coast from El Calafate to our estancia...
Our small group is led into the dining area where there are decked out tables of gourmet jams, breads, pasteries, pies, and goodies. It's all open for the eating, and I excitedly load my plate, while Wendy is wary about eating much and spoiling her appetite for the BBQ dinner later. There's tons of great stuff. Fig jam, raspberry jam, strawberry jam, plum jam, apricot jam, marmelades with nuts... There's a "strawberry pizza"-ish cakey thing too. Plenty of breads, oh, and dulce de leche too. Mmmm.... We both eat a bunch. This is definitely an opportunity to try fancy jams and pastries that I certainly haven't had and won't have again for a long time. I relish it, and still try to hold off JUST a bit of room for later too (I'm still confident in my abilities to stuff myself later). A look around makes it obvious that we are by far the youngest two people here that weren't brought by their parents.
The jam and pastry buffet was stellar! I had to try everything on the table...
Lots of breads, spreads, and desserts. It was hard not to spoil my appetite for dinner...
Next they lead us into an adjacent barn for the sheep shearing. It will be a full sheep shearing! The guide speaks in Spanish, then an abbreviated English version. A Chinese guy in the group speaks up, and asks the guide to pause while he translates it into Mandarin for a Chinese group of people. This takes awhile for all the info be to conveyed to the masses. There are surprisingly few English speaking visitors here, maybe cause it's an older crowd. A professional sheep shearer comes out, leading a sheep from the nearby pen. He then grabs it and muscles it around, absoluting manhandling it in a display of enormous strength, spinning the sheep into odd positions, shearing the wool away in an amazingly methodical fashion such that after 5-6 minutes, there is one continuous rug of wool on the floor, and a shaved sheep. No wonder they say sheep shearers only last til they are in their late 30s, and often have back problems later in life. They pass around some of the wool, and we keep a small piece. Before leading us outside, they bring in several varieties of sheep, including a Merino sheep, explaining how some sheep have great tasting meat, and some have high quality wool, so they raise many varieties. They also have a hybrid that has a bit of both strengths.
A sheep with a full head of wool gets taken and spun around to begin the shearing process...
Our guide describes the process, as the master shearer performs a "slow" shear so that we can all watch...
Usually it only takes an expert 1-2 minutes to shear an entire sheep...
This demonstration took 6 minutes. The guy had to be incredibly strong to wrestle the sheep. Though after a couple of moves, the sheep relaxed...
I was amazed the whole thing came off in one piece. Look at that rug! Certainly a master shearer...
Some cool shots out the window of the barn, using some recently acquired camera tips from Victor. I could see a bunch of sheep being herded out the window on the right...
A merino wool sheep eats its dinner. Several other varieties of sheep were introduced as well
The weather is gorgeous outside. The evening sun is turning the yellow grass gold, and the air is pleasant, clear, and not too windy. We walk ahead to a meadow where a group of sheep are gathered, along with a couple of dogs and a master sheep herder. We watch a fascinating display of sheep herding, as the dogs round up the sheep, and force them all to cross a narrow bridge. The dogs sprint after any stray sheep and bark them back to the closely huddled pack. This sheep herding activity was a surprise, as I didn't expect it as part of the estancia package. Afterwards, the sheep herder grabbed a sheep, bent it's neck, and laid it at his feet. The sheep lays there, seemingly at total peace and calm (despite looking like a pretzel). Turns out this is an Australian discovered technique of calming a sheep, where the sheep has no muscles that can be used to undo it's position. Effectively it's like a turtle on it's back. This is a desired position to attain during the shearing. Wendy gets a pic next to the sheep.
The color of the grasslands, sky, and water was extemely picturesque...
Wendy poses on our way out to the sheep herding demonstration...
The sheep herder seemed to have the easy job, while the dogs did all the running and barking...
The sheep were led over a small bridge, and around through a gate...
Afterwards, the master sheep herder twisted an active sheep into a folded lump of immobile lamb...
Wendy gets a pic with the pretzeled lamb. Later the herder untwisted the lamb, and it ran back to the group, unharmed. A look at some horses nearby, which some visitors got to ride...
Next we walk on a trail towards the lake as our guide talks about the animals in the area. Pumas, foxes, ostriches, birds, and guanaco all live in this environment. Sheep here only live 5-7 years (much less than other parts of the world) because the Patagonian grass is much harsher and wears out the sheep's teeth. The lookout near the lake is beautiful, with golden evening sunlight. After this short hike, it's time to walk back to the ranch house for dinner. The brief exercise is nice, since we had just stuffed ourselves with pastries.
The golden sunlight managed to evade all the clouds, and give a brilliant light on the landscape...
The grass was mesmorizing in the gentle wind and golden rays...
More grass. Our guide talked about the many animals that live in this region (most of the time in Spanish)...
Gorgeous grassland, lake, sky, and clouds...
A stitched pic from the furthest point of our walk...
The estancia sits next to the lone tall trees. It's time to walk back and have dinner...
We see a solitary horse standing at a stable on our way back...
Wendy and I grab a two seated table next to a window with nice views of the ranch land, and as much privacy/quiet as possible in this giant eating hall. A very fancy salad bar is setup, which we help ourselves to. The drinks cost extra, and we just get some bottled water. We walk to the big grill, hoping for some great tasting meat, grab a plate, and choose from our options. There is lamb (steaks and ribs), beef, chicken, sausages, salt potatoes, and onions. The lamb is very good, but the beef and chicken are bland. I try an odd black sausage that is filled with a blackish cream, and grow to like it. Seems like they don't season meat here much, so it's really just the taste of pure meat. We eat 2 platefuls each. For dessert we have ice cream drizzled with a delicious calafate berry sauce, which improves our satisfaction of the meal. They definintely do ice cream well in Argentina. We still like last night's meal in El Chalten better though.
This well represented salad bar gave us the first big helping of raw green veggies in a long time, though green veggies are still hard to come by in Argentina in seems...
I work on a big plate of meat. Calafate berry ice cream was a big hit for dessert...
The view out our window, during dusk. Very peaceful and relaxing...
After dinner, a music/dance show begins on the stage. A young performer plays a classical guitar and sings songs in Spanish that feel very Argentinian. Some dancers perform tango on stage as well! There's about 5 songs, and several dances in the show, including a phenomenal horsewhip (string with a ball at the end) performance by the male dancer, who spun the whips around, smacking the floor in a percussive rythem, stamping his feet as well, to create a unique "Stomp"-like performance (I've never seen Stomp, btw). This show is very unexpected, and I'm pleased with the bonus surprise. El Galpon may be a touristy experience, but you get a lot of activities for your money. After the crowd votes for a rumba as the encore performance, the show ends at 10:30pm, and we ride the van back to town, arriving at the hostel at 11pm.
A singer/guitarist serenaded us after dinner. He was talented, and played some flamenco style at one point. Too bad all the lyrics were in Spanish though. Dancing was interspersed with songs...
The tango dancing was a surprise treat...
We have a noon flight out of El Calafate tomorrow, so we can afford to sleep in a bit in the morning, before hiring a taxi to the airport. An 8:30am alarm is the plan. I wonder when our roommates will be getting up tomorrow (usually we're the first ones up).
A look down the hall of our hostel in El Calafate. We stayed in 3 different rooms in this hall, and charged batteries on the lone sockets here...
I'm now nearly done drinking my Cerveza Austral Calafate Ale (brewed in Punta Arenas, Chile) in the hostel's dining/common room as I finish up this log. Wendy is off in the shower, after having a cup of hot water cooked on my stove. There is still plenty of fuel left, which I'll have to leave here.
Wendy and I have a toast for our last night in Patagonia. Hot water for Wendy, Calafate Ale for me. The dining room was fairly empty tonight...
This is the last night in Patagonia. Los Pioneros Hostel has been a home away from home, with this being the 4th scattered night staying here since the beginning of our trip. A great place for just ~$8 per night. I'm up to over 2000 pics on my memory card now. My camera has taken a beating, but is holding up well. Up next is Buenos Aires, which I haven't researched at all. Should be fun to take in the city for a bit.
My beer is finished, and so is this log for tonight...