Shorthand Patagonia - Day 9
January 24th
12:05pm - sitting near glacier-ball sign, we break out lunch--tuna and hardboiled eggs! After lunch, we explore the other walkways, take pictures, and half-interestedly wait for the crashing sounds of calving ice. Turns out it can be kind of a let down to visit a tourist-and-fence-surrounded glacier after having perched yourself on rocky cliffs with no one else around to watch Glacier Grey in all its boat-threatening, calving glory while accompanied by chocolate. We're so jaded.
1:10pm - bored with glacier. We could go hiking, but there are no trails in this national park. Sit on log. Tours blow, but we kind of enjoy the down-time.
3:00pm - back on bus; more sleep.
4:30pm - back in El Calafate, make a few last-minute attempts at arranging plans for next few days.
6:00pm - board bus for El Chaltén several hours to the north. Father and son pair sitting in front of us.
10:20pm - El Chaltén! Commence the hostel search.
10:22pm - Rancho Grande, which doubles as the town's bus station, is completely full. Go left, they tell us.
10:34pm - So far three places have been full. Our bus company's agency asks if we have tent. Negative on the tent.
10:38pm - Back at Rancho Grande asking for suggestions, they tell us the entire town is booked. I ask if they rent tents. Yes, but they don't have any left. Try going right, they tell us.
10:47 - Three more places are full. Is it tacky to ask hostels/hotels if you can pay to sleep on their floor?
11:00pm - Wander uphill towards new hostel. New hostel full, but they tell us there's a place attached that might have room. We walk around to the side of the building and see a building-like thing that appears to be under construction. Once inside, we see that yes, it is very much under construction. We also see about a dozen people huddled around the kitchen picnic table, including a friendly Israeli guy from some earlier bus ride.
11:02pm - A 14-year-old-looking Argentine boy tells us they're full. We ask if we can sleep on his floor/if he knows of a place that would let us sleep on their floor. A few people at the picnic table look at us pathetically; 14-year-old disappears for a minute. Gras and I exchange look. We could always sleep outside--we've got sleeping bags.
11:05pm - boy comes back, says there's room. seriously?! we follow him into the room he'd disappeared into and see piles of backpacks covering the floor in any place not taken up by the 15 beds lining the walls (three-level bunk beds). Gras is assigned a level #1 bed on one side, I get a level #3 bed on the other.
Crisis #4 averted?
11:30pm - making lunch for tomorrow, we learn that the refrigerator doesn't work. We can hang the food outside, right?
11:48pm - Pair of Israeli girls come in, looking for beds.
12:00am - we have to get up in 6 hours; we should probably go to bed.
12:10am - lying in very high bed, lights on, i'm kind of scared.
12:19am - eyes pressed shut, hear about four guys come into room, they start throwing things at each other? don't want to open eyes, just listen. maybe they're kicking things.
12:27am - hear someone come into room, compare room to a prison.
12:37am - someone starts snoring.
12:45am - backpacking/hostelling isn't quite as glamorous as I'd pictured it.
6:30am – well, at least no one’s snoring anymore. Time to make breakfast and lunch.
8:15am – board bus for Perito Moreno Glacier “trekking” tour. Gras and I find ourselves surrounded by old people and Israelis.
8:27am – fall asleep on bus to Perito Moreno.
9:10am – bus stops for photo-op.
9:10:10am – Gras and I scoff at idea of bus tour photo-op, then get off bus, take picture, and immediately get back on bus. Give us a break; we’re tired and it’s cold.
9:38am – bus stops for photo-op #2. Gras and I comply after slightly less scoffing.
9:50am – arrive at “trailhead” and begin “trek.”
9:57am – trekking guide takes first break for benefit of group. Gras and I exchange look.
10:12am - first glimpse of glacier. yeah, that's pretty sweet.
10:28am - photo-op the 12th.
11:30am - end of "trek." We have about three hours to kill at the glacier's balconies which are a series of stairs and walkways that lead to various viewpoints of Perito Moreno. We descend one walkway which leads to close-up view of the glacier from the lower left-hand side. There's an animated sign showing a little man being pelted by large, flying glacier-balls, and warning against carelessness which can lead to death-by-flying glacier-balls. Apparently, 30-some people died from glacier-balls between 1968 and 1988. I take a picture of the sign.12:05pm - sitting near glacier-ball sign, we break out lunch--tuna and hardboiled eggs! After lunch, we explore the other walkways, take pictures, and half-interestedly wait for the crashing sounds of calving ice. Turns out it can be kind of a let down to visit a tourist-and-fence-surrounded glacier after having perched yourself on rocky cliffs with no one else around to watch Glacier Grey in all its boat-threatening, calving glory while accompanied by chocolate. We're so jaded.
1:10pm - bored with glacier. We could go hiking, but there are no trails in this national park. Sit on log. Tours blow, but we kind of enjoy the down-time.
3:00pm - back on bus; more sleep.
4:30pm - back in El Calafate, make a few last-minute attempts at arranging plans for next few days.
6:00pm - board bus for El Chaltén several hours to the north. Father and son pair sitting in front of us.
10:20pm - El Chaltén! Commence the hostel search.
10:22pm - Rancho Grande, which doubles as the town's bus station, is completely full. Go left, they tell us.
10:34pm - So far three places have been full. Our bus company's agency asks if we have tent. Negative on the tent.
10:38pm - Back at Rancho Grande asking for suggestions, they tell us the entire town is booked. I ask if they rent tents. Yes, but they don't have any left. Try going right, they tell us.
10:47 - Three more places are full. Is it tacky to ask hostels/hotels if you can pay to sleep on their floor?
11:00pm - Wander uphill towards new hostel. New hostel full, but they tell us there's a place attached that might have room. We walk around to the side of the building and see a building-like thing that appears to be under construction. Once inside, we see that yes, it is very much under construction. We also see about a dozen people huddled around the kitchen picnic table, including a friendly Israeli guy from some earlier bus ride.
11:02pm - A 14-year-old-looking Argentine boy tells us they're full. We ask if we can sleep on his floor/if he knows of a place that would let us sleep on their floor. A few people at the picnic table look at us pathetically; 14-year-old disappears for a minute. Gras and I exchange look. We could always sleep outside--we've got sleeping bags.
11:05pm - boy comes back, says there's room. seriously?! we follow him into the room he'd disappeared into and see piles of backpacks covering the floor in any place not taken up by the 15 beds lining the walls (three-level bunk beds). Gras is assigned a level #1 bed on one side, I get a level #3 bed on the other.
Crisis #4 averted?
11:30pm - making lunch for tomorrow, we learn that the refrigerator doesn't work. We can hang the food outside, right?
11:48pm - Pair of Israeli girls come in, looking for beds.
12:00am - we have to get up in 6 hours; we should probably go to bed.
12:10am - lying in very high bed, lights on, i'm kind of scared.
12:19am - eyes pressed shut, hear about four guys come into room, they start throwing things at each other? don't want to open eyes, just listen. maybe they're kicking things.
12:27am - hear someone come into room, compare room to a prison.
12:37am - someone starts snoring.
12:45am - backpacking/hostelling isn't quite as glamorous as I'd pictured it.
posted by Emily Schulman | 3:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home