Aah, a true lie in. I slept so hard I didn’t remember any of my dreams, and that’s a rare occasion indeed!
It was a blustery day, Pooh Bear, and after breakfast we hiked up to the viewpoint for Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy:
The trail was covered with a fine, powdery dirt and the trees – so awesome! If you didn’t already know it, I really do have a thing for trees (starting with the Ents?) and these are wild, scraggly, full of character and small green leaves that look like little pasta noodles. If only Mark Vandemeer were here, I could ask him all about their origin and usage.
We hiked for only an hour or so, this being my first outing since on the track to wellness, but it was lovely and not too crowded. The feeling of how vast this country is, and how far south on the planet earth we are at this moment, all struck a chord within me, resulting in far more appreciation for this journey than I had experienced previously.
Hike finished, I enjoyed an ice cream to counter the dusty road (including using my jacket to cover my face like I was in the Middle East due to the plethora of flying granules) as we headed back to the chocolate cafe. We head upstairs for the big room with a great view.
Pizza, hot chocolate and a fudge brownie later, we returned to the hotel. Soon we were showered, relaxed, and enjoying the leisurely pace in this small town, all the while commenting that it is by far the most ambulatory town I’ve been in. That is, there are always folks walking the streets, whether at 4 or 5 am or late at night. And the preponderance of them are backpackers in their 20s and 30s, either returning from a hike or arriving/departing with a huge backpack on the back and a loaded daypack on the front. Friendly, casual, and chatting all the while.
We headed out to La Cerverceria, where they make their own beer. Gin rummy, cribbage and local brew.
Still enough extra bandwidth to notice the 7″ high lemon meringue pie being served at the table across the way and locally made tea mugs being used. And American rock and roll from all decades blaring from speakers – just like in every other restaurant. You wouldn’t know if there were any local, or even regional, music created in Argentina from our visit down south thus far, that’s for sure.
Dinner down the block; lomo!
and a bit surprise as we walked back to the hotel through town. A local Carnival celebration was underway, complete with costumes, dancing and live music.
Then we headed home and buttoned up tight for a 7 am departure. Headed to El Calafate airport for our noon flight to Ushuaia and boarding the Australis ship at 5 pm. All Aboarrrrd!