Nine Perfect Days in Patagonia...Day 5

Day 5 takes you out of El Chalten and back towards Calafate. There are basically two places to get gas in this area. There is (or was) a small gas station outside of El Chalten and then there are a couple in Calafate.

When we left on the morning of Day 5 the gas station in El Chalten had no gas until "insert shrug here" so off we went to Calafate, hoping that our car had enough gas to make another 3 hour drive.

Oh, did it have enough gas.

I looked for a pic of the car to show you, and HOW MANY TO CHOOSE FROM! I don't think we have ever taken so many pictures of any of our rental cars...you beautiful baby, you.

So, we were driving a Skoda diesel and I still remember everything about this car because Jorge literally fell deeply in love with it when we went to fill it up in Calafate. After 7+ hours of driving (from the airport to El Chalten, around El Chalten and then back to Calafate) the gas meter still showed as nearly full. Thinking it was a mistake, and getting worried that we would be gliding into the town on fumes, we headed straight to a gas station in Calafate to fill up. Guess how much gas it took?

SEVEN DOLLARS.

$7 of gas for 7 hours of driving. $1 per hour. So, if you are ever in Patagonia, you ask for a Skoda diesel because who the hell knows when or if you will be able to fuel up.

After dropping our bags off and checking into our hotel, we headed straight to the Perito Moreno glacier.

The Perito Moreno glacier is the most famous glacier in Los Glacieres National Park, which is located a short distance from the center of El Calafate. There is admission to the park, and I remember thinking it was a little steep at approximately $30 USD but it is definitely worth it.

This glacier is unique in the fact that it is one of the only glaciers in the word that is advancing instead of retreating. When we went it was calving and it was exciting to watch as large chunks fell, causing miniature avalanches and waterfalls to spring in their wake. There were several people with time lapse cameras set up, trying to catch these moments.

We ended up liking this glacier at lot more than we thought we would. We have been to a couple, and I would say that from this perspective (the tourist walkway/platform) it was the most impressive. There are a lot of different walks you can do around the glacier and there is a visitor center with museum, cafe and gift shop. We ended up spending nearly the rest of our day here, without even feeling the time go by. It was the perfect way to spend a transition day in Patagonia since we were spending the night here in anticipation of catching the bus to Chile first thing the next morning.

Calafate itself is really a tourist town with a lot of shops (alfajores), restaurants (chocolate) and a couple grocery stores (beer). You will have no trouble spending the rest of your evening poking around here but at least for me, it wasn't worth more than the half day or so we spent here. I think it was the perfect transitional/transportation day.

Need to catch up on Day 4?