December 27, 2007 - Trelew, Argentina
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I had a leisurely breakfast close to 9:30 AM. The breakfast was buffet style and was (again) the best thus far. Even more monogrammed items on display! I had cereal plus croissants. Post breakfast I decided to wander around the town of Trelew.
Trelew was settled by the Welsh who were given land by the Argentine government provided they could butcher the natives. The Welsh who were supposedly ´persecuted´for their religious beliefs in England had no hang-ups (after coming to a foreign land) in persecuting the locals so they could be ´lords and masters´!
TRELEW has many historic buildings dating back to the 1800s. Some of them even have signs in the vowel-free Welsh language.
The most interesting place I visited was the Paleontological Museum which has an excellent dinosaur exhibit showcasing bones and skeletons from Dinosaur species I had not heard of before (AMARGASAURUS, CARNOTAURUS, PIATNIZKYSAURUS etc.). The museum is a place I would strongly recommend anyone to stop by even for an hour.
I visited the Hotel Touring Club that had period Photographs and had a colonial ambience and Uniformed waiters. I had a fanta there just for the heck of it. I got back to the hotel and spent an hour on the Internet. The cheapest by far - ARP 2 (US$ 0.65) per hour.
I headed to the Bus station and reached the place by 3:10 PM. There was a local bus to GAIMAN at 3:30. I paid the fare of ARP 2.75 (less than US$ 1) and waited for the bus to depart. Talk about cheap public transportation. GAIMAN is another Welsh settlement - that supposedly retains the small town charm still.
We reached GAIMAN about 30 minutes later. I visited the local tourist office and the young chap out there was extremely helpful. We conversed in Spanish and Sign language, of course!
I hiked up a small hill that provided a good vantage point of the entire town. GAIMAN is much smaller than TRELEW or Puerto Madryn. GAIMAN is also famous for its TEA houses that serve Welsh Teas.
I visited the Oldest Tea House and was served a pot of Tea (which can be refilled of course) and 10 different pastries. I was in heaven. The fact that I could not eat all of them was disappointing both to me and the waitress. The cost for the Welsh Tea was ARP 25 (US$ 8 approx.). Not bad at all. I felt like I was back in CMYRU (if you have to ask, look it up!). The Tea served as a very late lunch as well. Post tea I walked around the plaza and took pictures in other parts of the town as well.
I took a bus back to Trelew around 6 PM and blogged for 3 hours (until 9:30 or so). I received a shock when I discovered that Bank of America charged me close to US$6 as service charges for a US$95 withdrawal! Despite this, it worked out to a better exchange rate I got for my Traveler´s checks at Buenos Aires airport.
Being a town with a lot of Argentines, I knew that restaurants will stay open late. I went to a restaurant called BODEGUITA - recommended by my guidebook. Being single I was able to get a seat quickly. The restaurant was packed by 10:15 PM. I had a Potato Gnocchi along with a Don Valentin Bianchi which was light bodied with a short finish. It went extremely well with the Potato Gnocchi and tomato sauce with cream. Dinner cost me ARP 40 (US$ 13) with tip. In Chile, PROPINA (tip) is usually 10% and will be included in the bill. The customer can decline to pay the tip and that is fine. I usually paid up. In Argentina, no tip is included in the bill. Not sure whether Tipping is a custom here or not. I am following the Chilean example and tip 10% in restaurants.
Potato Gnocchi is like Potato Kozakattai without the shell. Only the South Indian Brahmans will get this reference :) I have been having Ice cream every night for the past week or so.
There was a family of 5 people including 2 late teens seated at the next table. While the gentleman and the two elderly ladies were having a civilized conversation, the girls were text messaging non stop! It was quite disgusting. People should be given an IQ test before being allowed to purchase Cell Phones. Anyone scoring below 150 should be denied a cell phone for 5 years after which they can take the IQ test again! What could be so important than a family dinner over the Christmas holidays especially since the gentleman had waited more than an hour to get the table before the ladies waltzed in. Feed them to the ORCAS! The Seal Pups are cuter then these retards.
I was also reminiscing about the top 3 meals I have had during all my Travels. Here they are:
(1) The QUINOA in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (2007)
(2) Indian food - Perhaps Malai Kofta - in Wellington, New Zealand (2001)
(3) A Traditional South Indian Meal served on a Banana Leaf - Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2005)
A very honourable mention:
Jalapeno Poppers in Darwin, Australia (2000) - The Aussies pronounce the J like it is and called it JA-LA-PENO.
I returned to the hotel and watched the BBC news for a bit before turning in. Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated. What a cursed country that is. Then again I am hard pressed to come up with any country that has acted as an American puppet and and is successful afterwards.
I have been glimpsing the local papers from time to time. Maradona is still GOD in Argentina. The papers still constantly devote space to his sayings and doings.
December 28, 2007 - Trelew, Argentina
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I was up and ready by 6:15 AM. As breakfast starts at 6 AM, I left the luggage in the lobby while I filled myself up. Not sure when and how my next meal will be!
I went up to the front desk to request a Taxi to the airport. A lady who had already requested a taxi was willing to share it and we rode to the airport together. The 15-minute ride to the airport cost us ARP 12 - 6 Pesos per person. And to think I paid 2.50 pesos more for an hour´s ride from Puerto Madryn to Trelew!
My bag - as always - weighed in a little over 20 Kilos. The check-in agent ignored it. My investment of US$10 in a small bag (in Santiago) had paid off well. After today´s plane ride I will not take a plane for another 4 weeks. As I would have finished my tour of all the cold weather places by then, I will perhaps ship all my winter gear to the US. We shall see.
The lady (with whom I shared a cab) was Italian. Although she had planned this trip with her husband, she was travelling alone for 5 weeks, as her husband suffered a torn tendon before the start of the trip. While her husband was given some refund (Airfares, hotels etc.) due to his injury, the lady would have stood to lose the entire amount if she had stayed back with her husband. Hence she was travelling by herself and providing frequent updates to her convalescing spouse.
She had done some travelling in Chile and was currently touring Argentina. It looked like we were both seeing (or will be seeing) the same places in these two countries. She was a Gynaecologist and her husband a dermatologist, her older son a rugby player for the Italian national team and her younger son a journalist.
I seem to get a lot more information from people than I give out about myself. Maybe, people just love to talk to me :)
As she would be staying in El Calafate for a few days, our paths will perhaps cross again during some of the tours we may do at El Calafate.
Argentina levies a departure tax at some airports. I had to pay ARP 6.05 (US$ 2) and show the receipt before I was allowed to board the aircraft.
Apart from having a cup of water to drink, I dozed during the 2-hour flight to El Calafate. From time to time my reverie was disturbed by snivelling from the seat behind me.
That´s the odd thing I have noticed in Argentina. Children, when scolded, break down into tears (boys and girls). I have seen this is all the places I have seen in Argentina (so far) to treat it as a coincidence. Maybe the kids here are quite emotional. I remember seeing even Soccer players break down after a big loss. During high school in Chennai (Madras), corporal punishment was the norm! To even display an expression of pain (as you were caned for some infraction or the other) was to be considered weak in the eyes of your classmates. Just imagine if someone had bawled their hearts out during such a punishment :)
December 28, 2007 - El Calafate, Argentina
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On arrival at El Calafate, there were 2 transport options to town (20 Kilometres away). A private taxi costing 50 pesos or a shuttle bus (which would also drop you in front of your hotel) for 18 pesos. No prizes for guessing which option I went with!
The drive to the town took about 30 minutes. We saw Lago Argentino and snow covered peaks all along the drive. When you first come upon El Calafate, it looks like a large shantytown set in a valley. It look like some wandering folks found some reasonably flat land and decided to pitch their tents there. Hosteria Sir Thomas is located 2 blocks from the main street.
The bathroom was even tinier than the one at Hostel Viajeros at Puerto Madryn. NYC architects should visit some of these places, before they design their next building in the city. They can gouge more from folks who absolutely want properties ONLY in Manhattan. Perhaps even an apartment the size of these bathrooms for US$ 1 MM :)
The room had 2 bunk beds. I plan to sleep on each of those for 2 nights during my 4 night stay here. Nestor (the owner) explained the various tour options in his rapid fire Spanish. After seeing my eyes glaze over quite a few times, Nestor took paints to re-iterate his point. The payment for the hostel as well as for most tours is strictly cash. The banks in El Calafate do not change Traveler´s checks!
I found a BANELCO ATM and withdrew 300 pesos 3 times during the same transaction for a total of 900 pesos.My grand assumption that I would ONLY be charged ONE service charge of US $6 was put to rest the next time I checked my bank account. Bank of America (or their Argentine Counterpart to be exact) had charged US$ 18 in transaction fees! Given that Credit cards were not being accepted and travelers checks cannot be changed, there was little choice at this point.
I have to pay Nestor 120 pesos (US$ 40) for each night´s stay for a total of 480 pesos (US$ 160). The tours to the different glaciers run about 300 pesos (US$100) each.
I found (rather stumbled across) a small restaurant on my return from the ATM. I had 2 corn empanadas for lunch. It will definitely keep me going until dinner time. Internet here (dial up ONLY) is very expensive - 6 to 9 pesos an hour - US$ 2 to 3. I miss TRELEW already.
The temperature is not too hot in El Calafate. Perhaps because of logo Argentino.
I visited Heilo Adventures (a tour company) to book myself on one of their tours. I booked myself on their mini-trekking tour to the Perito Moreno glacier. As they accepted credit cards, I saved myself some cash - for later spending. The mini-trekking would involve a 1-hour hike on the glacier and the company would provide the crampons.
As always most places were closed for siesta. I rested a bit at the hotel and visited the offices of Fernandez Campbell (another tour company) to book myself on their tours of the Upsala, Speggazini and Onelli glaciers. This company accepted only CASH. I spent around 270 pesos (US$ 90) for the tour. As always, I will pay the entrance fees to the parks to the authorities directly when we visit these parks. All these parks are part of what is known as ´Parque Nacional Los Glaciares´.
I visited the bus station to inquire about bus schedules and prices to Puerto Natales where I would travel to next. The company had just 1 bus per day that departed at 8:30 AM and reached Puerto Natales around 1:30 PM. The 5-hour ride costs ARP 50 (US$ 17). Book it right away (Cash) as I was travelling on January 1, 2008 and did not want the bus to be booked full by then.
I have tours for Saturday (Upsala / Speggazini) and Sunday (Perito Moreno). I need to find something to do on Monday (apart from laundry)! I got back to the hostel, took a shower and wrote my diary. I paid up for my 4-night stay and chatted a bit with Nestor and his wife (who spoke a bit of English) on the options for Monday.
I headed to a local super Mercado to purchase some fruit bars. Wound up with some fruit bread instead! From here I headed out in search of a restaurant called PURA VIDA (Pure Life) that had been highly recommended by my guide. While the town map showed proper street names, the streets themselves had no names! Trelew and Puerto Madryn were terrific in this respect. Streets were clearly marked for all the blind tourists to see.
I wandered here and there and finally found myself on the shores of lago argentino. I took pictures. Upon deciding to return to the city centre, I stumbled upon the elusive restaurant. Sadly, they did not have a table with a view. I decided to have dinner here anyway, as the walk back to the city centre was too long and I was hungry now. I ordered a baked pumpkin filled with corn, cheese and some other vegetables. It was huge and I could not finish it.
I headed back to the city centre. The highly recommended Ice cream place was packed with hoi polloi. I went to a cafe and had a coffee instead. For the first time in over a week, I am not having ice-cream after dinner. All streaks must end :)
While window shopping I noticed a hilarious t-shirt. It showed the evolution of man from Cro-Magnon to Homo Sapien. The next evolutionary stage from Homo Sapien was MARADONA! As I have said before, he is still a hero here.
There is still a lot of daylight even at 10:30 PM. Around 11 PM is when one can start observing a bit of darkness. Nights are a bit chilly here and a light jacket is a must. I have seen extended daylight like this only in 2 places - Alaska in June and London in the Summer months.
I head to see Upsala, Speggazini and Onelli glaciers tomorrow.
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