Howto Escape A Tourist Trap

Hola from El Calafate. We arrived via Aerolineas Argentinas at 9:15pm last night and crashed at a Hostel. I wanted to try to get to Puerto Natales as soon as possible, so we left the hostel just after 6am to hike down to the bus station to buy a ticket. Two buses were going to Puerto Natales today and I was told that both were full very curtly by one bus line and much more patiently by the other. Needless to say we have two tickets for tomorrow morning from the second company.

We found the local campsite where you can stay for approximately $3 a night and has bathrooms and running water (the hot water has yet to materialize in any useful amount). I sleep just as well in my sleeping bag as on a strange bed, so this seemed like a good bet since hostels range from $25-30 a night and offer little more.

We've spent the majority of the day buying food and a couple of other supplies for backpacking in Torres del Paine (see link at the left). The packs will be heavy to begin with since we are packing about 10 days worth of food. Maybe as much as 40 pounds. I'm not overly concerned since the hikes do not appear to be too arduous. I suspect that we won't have to hike more than 6 hours a day unless we really want to.

El Calafate is somewhat of a tourist trap. That is, it is probably just as obnoxious to Argentinians as Vail (or a million other little such towns) in America. However, to the weary traveller who has a step up on the Argentinan peso because of a kind exchange rate, foreigners seem to agree that the small town atmosphere and clean streets (not to mention the stray dogs) are worth the extra cost. We even paid a laundrymat about $3 to wash, dry, and fold a load of our dirty clothes.

So far the most dissapointing thing (amongst the many many fun aspects) about South America is the pervasiveness of American enertainment. Argentinians watch American T.V. shows, movies, and about a quarter of the music I hear is American (or British). Sometimes they have over-dubbing on the movies and T.V., but often they just have subtitles.

So, here is the plan to escape El Calafate: we leave here at 8:30am tomorrow morning on bus for Puerto Natales (approximately a 5 hour ride). We must then scramble to get some Pesos from a Chilean bank (Puerto Natales is in Chile) before we try to catch a bus at 2:30 to the trail head of the park (that bus ride is about 2.5 hours). If we get all that done we may try to get a few hours of hiking in before camping. Otherwise, we may have to stay in Puerto Natales for the night and ride to the trail the next morning. If we get started hiking you may not hear from us in another 11-12 days or so. I told Kristine that I wanted to see a Puma before we came back. She was not impressed :)