The Road Goes Ever On

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Ruta 40 To El Calafate

On Saturday, February 4, we took the short hop (three hours) bus from El Chalten to El Calafate. With seats #1 & #2 we had a great view of the scenery.

Such as it was; most of the time it looked like this

But south and west, mountains

Big mountains

Eventually we figured out we were seeing Lago Viedma
and Fitz Roy from a new angle

Viedma Glacier entering Lago Viedma

Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre from the east

Outflow from Viedma

"So are you sure we're not in Wyoming?"

Not with color like this

End of someone's trip

Now looking over Lago Argentina

Glacier Perito Moreno somewhere over there

The road going ever on

Entering El Calafate

Calafate TI

Capital of glaciers in Argentina...now the southern unit of the
humongous Parque Nacional los Glaciares

Our new home for three nights, the Hosteria Posada Karut Josh;
pretty nice, actually; corrugated aluminum was a construction
necessity here years back, as in New Zealand; now it's more a
heritage statement

Rustic And Revolutionary Dining In El Chalten, 2

For revolutionary dining in El Chalten, we recommend Patagonia Rebelde...

Rebelde means rebel

Honey beer! From the Fuegian Beberage Company, Tierra del
Fuego; world's southernmost beer and brewery; great, too

The usual hot, steaming bread

We had the orange chicken for two, served al disco; there's
half a chicken in there somewhere

We shot half a roll of film trying to get a decent shot of this
very authentic-looking hombre, probably the only non-back-
packer in town

"Wine is the most sanitary and hygenic of drinks" --Pasteur

Table-side reading

Obligatory Che quotation

And now for the revolutionary stuff...

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Rustic And Revolutionary Dining In El Chalten, 1

For a town just thirty years old, El Chalten has a vibrant restaurant scene. OK, it's entirely Argentine/Italian/Veggie. Don't expect to find Asian or maybe a cozy French bistro. Also no McD's nor KFCs. But Argentine is eclectic and smart enough, and the atmosphere/ambiance often overwhelm the food. Our favorite, twice, was La Tapera, but Patagonia Rebelde (next post) was a hoot and good for the (spiritual) heart.

La Tapera, a building you could find anywhere in Montana; made
us feel right at home

It always starts with bread, steaming from the oven, even
before you order; sometimes with butter, sometimes with a
cheesy buttery substance, here with a a pumpkin sauce

Vicki had the the steak lomo, a double serving (by
Norteamericano standards) of filet mignon

I had the Patagonian stew, which contained every locally-
sourced ingredient...beef, lamb, pork, chicken, sausage, beans,
maize, carrots, onion, etc. Hearty and tasty, but next time I'd
go for the steak lomo