Day 7--Patagonis/El Calafate

So now we are an hour closer to Anarctica--actually below the latitude od New Zealand, we think, except we can't find proper maps to verify. However, here in El Calafate it is still mild, requiring only a long-sleeve shirt and maybe a light jacket. As in Bariloche,
we took a bus from the airport (one-third the taxi price and delivered right to our door). For 20 mins, we drove through tundra that ressembled Utah or maybe Eastern Turkey, flat brown earth with intermittent yellow weeds. El Calafate appears like an old mining town, low and sprawling, with a lake in the distance. There is little sign of wealth, until we get to the main street, which has all the familiar outdoor stores and outfitters like Patagonia (!), Columbia, Timberland plus tour agencies, supermarkets,restaurants, and a casino! Our hotel--Posados les Alamos-- has some 100 rooms, a golf course, spa, pool, gym, and a really nice restaurant. It was recommended by a friend, and the price is right.

But it starts to rain hard, and continues to for the rest of the day and night. So we make plans for tomorrow, read, have a cribbage tournament, discover a wine tasting across the street, have pizza and empanadas for dinner, and hope for the promise of a sunny day tomorrow, when we hit the glacier Perito Moreno.

Regarding food, we are amazed at the number of wonderful fresh ingredients the Argentines use in their food. We have had wonderful fruits, vegetables and salads, in addition to beef, chicken, venison and lamb, and there is much mention here in Patagonia of the importance of organic production. The growing season is not long here, but greenhouses pick up the slack. We feel so well fed-- last night at Cassis we had the most wonderful lamb strudel, for instance. They use basil a lot, and we've had our share of edible flowers. This is a bit of a contrast to the gaucho approach of roasted meats, but all these dishes have found a place.

The things that to me seem the most out of place are the pastas and pizza on most menus brought in by the Italians, and the chocolate for sale everywhere in Patagonia, introduced by the Swiss and Germans. Like the introduction of trout to the streams, they seemed to fill a need for the immigrants and took hold.

I have to remark, too, on the plethora of lavender and rose bushes that are just flourishing in Patagonia. Roses of every color! Beautiful yet unexpected. Imports again.

Square that image wirh one of a massive ice glacier just two hours away! We will be hiking it tomorrow! We were told in BA that the ice bridge from the glacier Perito Moreno collapsed last week, but there will be much else to see.