As jy n stuk aarde wou besigtig wat die herinneringe van die wêreld se eerste dae verwesenlik is dit dié plek...ys mere, sneeu bedekte, hemelreikende berge, die helderste lug en onbelemmerde vlaktes...dis waar ons onsself nou bevind, die onderkant van die wêreld in sigself...'n wêreld so pragtig en onversteurd, jy voel amper jy mag dit nie sien nie...soos asof jy agter 'n gordyn kan inloer na die glorie van God se skepping...ons is in die suide van Patagonia...El Calafate is ons begin punt, die omliggende berge ons avontuur wat voorlê..."
- Albertus van der Merwe - word bes gelees in die stem van Johan Badenhorst van Voetspore van die Grotes..;) verskoon maar, julle gaan elke nou en dan so een kry...ek sê maar altyd vir mense ek dink ek is vêr langs familie van boerneef van der Merwe...te vêr om enigsins baie goed te wees maar naby genoeg om te wil skryf!
Early morning rise in rainy BA, Albetus had to sweet talk the kitchen lady to get us some much appreciated coffee and croissants, muchas gracias! We headed off to the airport to catch a morning flight out of the capital. We arrived in the sunny but freezing Southern tip of the continent, El Calafate, just after noon. A 30 minute bus trip took us to town and dropped us off at Schillings hostel. We had booked dorm beds, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that we had our own room and bathroom due to unexpected cancellations. Score! First things first we booked our bus ticket for the next day to Puerto Natales (where we will be heading to do the W trek in Torres del Paine). Fortunately the bus terminal is right around the corner.
Afterwards we headed off to explore the town. It is a quite an interesting place, beautifully located next to a massive lake. The houses are all spread out, as space out there in no-mans-land is not a problem. Every local owns at least 5 dogs, or vica verca and they are all roaming the streets, lying in the roads and in every shop and bar. The main road is the heartbeat of the town, with little shops and restaurants buzzing with mountaineers and hikers. As it is the only town for kilometers, everything costs a pretty penny. And as we had already exceeded our weekly budget the one day we had spent in BA, we had to seriously start budgeting.
So for lunch, we went to the local grocery store, bought a French loaf , ham, cheese, tomato and a beer and headed to our hostel to slam together a hearty sandwich.
"magies vol, ogies toe"...An afternoon siesta was in order! Late afternoon we took a two hour walk to the lake and enjoyed the most scenic stroll next to the water, and a beautiful Patagonian sunset. After all the budgeting and walking we celebrated our first day in Patagonia in a small restaurant sharing empanadas and a pint of local beer.
So for lunch, we went to the local grocery store, bought a French loaf , ham, cheese, tomato and a beer and headed to our hostel to slam together a hearty sandwich.
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