Flight to El Calafate

Accomodations: Kosten Aike

We were up bright and early to catch our flight to El Calafate. El Calafate is named for the calafate bush and the local myth is that if you eat the berries of this plant, it will ensure that you will return one day to this beautiful place.

And what a beautiful place it is. The town is lively with a young vibe and restaurants, bars, ice cream, and chocolate shops abound. Young people are all over toting backpacks, sleeping bags, and fishing poles, as they make their way to the glacier park to camp.

There is lavender growing all over and there are roses blooming all over as well. Just gorgeous.
When you walk by, you can smell the lavender since the plants are huge. Stray dogs are roaming the streets and they are being fed by the shop owners.

Allan and I walked up and down the town and popped into the ice cream shop to enjoy a treat. I had a scoop of dulce de leche and Allan had an almond scoop as well as a pistachio one.

We found a store that was selling everything including jewelry and Allan bought me a lovely sterling silver slide with my birthstone of turquoise.

We all met at 5:30 and bussed over for dinner at a local’s home. Gabriel our host prepared a delicious repast for us. Vegetable soup, lamb stew, and of course the traditional dessert of crepes with dulce de leche. The wine flowed and we all enjoyed sitting at the table and chatting with Gabriel as well as each other.

Gabriel loves to cook and he has written a cookbook which features not only his recipes, but also his mom’s. He also loves dogs. He has eight of them. His home is very eclectic and everywhere you looked was something special to see. He said the dogs that roam the streets in town sadly are not spayed or neutered and the population of dogs is getting out of control.

He does many dinners for friends as well as for tourists, especially Overseas Adventure Travel tourists. He is busy during the season, but the winters are cold and he doesn’t have that many guests to cook for. His dogs keep him company.

We had a wonderful evening and then it was back to the hotel (which is beautiful) to get ready for our day tomorrow at Los Glaciares National Park.

By the way, I have neglected to list the hotels we’ve been staying in… so I’m listing the ones we’ve been in so far. Each one has been excellent.
Intercontinental Santiago – Santiago Taha Tai Hotel – Easter Island. Holiday Inn Aeropuerto – Santiago. Arc Recoleta Hotel – Buenos Aires