So this is my last night in Argentina - but only for a few days. The way Chile and Argentina split up Patagonia between them makes it all but unavoidable to criss-cross the border to get around. My next destination is Puerto Natales, which is in Chile. From there I want to go to Ushuaia, which is in Argentina. After that it's Punta Arenas, which is in Chile. If all goes to plan, I will cross into Argentina one more time, and then finally back into Chile. Good thing I have a brand new passport with plenty of pages for all the stamps!
I did my 8 km trek yesterday, to see a waterfall. Perfectly nice as waterfalls go. I was feeling quite perky when I started on my return, and was thinking if I should maybe walk to the other end of town and up a hill to a viewpoint. But on the way back, my energy levels fell quickly and when I got back to the hotel I just collapsed on the bed. Now before you all judge me, I can tell you I have done PLENTY of walking already on this trip, so I think I should be forgiven for calling it a day after one hike along a dusty, rocky gravel road.
I've realised I shouldn't feel guilty about doing nothing. I constantly feel a pressure to do things, because I'm on this amazing YOLO trip and I want to see as much as possible. But it's also important to relax and rest, something I was very good at back in England. Well, there wasn't much else to do in Nottingham. Of course I want to see as much as I possibly can, but I also don't want to burn myself out. This trip is meant to be enjoyed, and if I push myself too hard, I won't enjoy it.
The latin desmadre strikes again. When I arrived in El Chaltén, I needed a taxi to get my heavy luggage and myself to the other side of town. The guy on the information desk was kind enough to try and call one for me, but in the end there was none available! OK it's a small town, but the tourist map had a list of at least 10 taxi companies! Unless it's 10 companies sharing one car, I don't understand how nothing was available. So I had no choice but to hit the pavement, dragging my heavy suitcase behind me. Luckily it only took 15 mins or so. Having learned that lesson, I asked the hotel yesterday to book a taxi for me for this morning, so I could catch my bus back to El Calafate. 10 o'clock, I said. No problem, they said. So come this morning, 10 am, what do you think happens? No taxi! I started getting a bit nervous, and the hotel of course just said, don't worry, it'll come. So around 10 past 10, this private car rolls up and wants to take me to the bus station! I still have no idea who the guy was, but he spoke decent English and he didn't charge me a penny for the ride!
I've also sorted out the hotel double-charging me for my stay. Unsurprisingly, the owner never made a manual refund, so luckily I was back again today so he could swipe my card. No word of apology, and when I told him what I thought of their organisation, he decided to ignore me. Read my review on Tripadvisor.
There are decidedly some people here who are in the wrong industry. Apart from not speaking any English, they just seem bored and tired with people. Some of them will blatantly ignore you and continue chatting with their mates. Then there are those who treat you better. The lady at the bus station in El Chaltén this morning was quite nice and smiled. Her colleagues in El Calafate are a mix of both, some nice, some grumpy. Luckily I speak the lingo, and if I need to criticise someone's performance or attitude, I have plenty of vocabulary for that. I sometimes have to bite my tongue as I could easily let rip with all the colourful Mexican insults that seem to have settled permanently in my brain's darkest recesses but are now ready to come out and play.
There are plenty of street dogs in both El Calafate and El Chaltén. Most of them just ignore people, but some of them seek out human contact. Primarily hoping for something to eat, of course, but I had a cuddle with some of them. One morning I was having breakfast and a cat wandered in, so I got to stroke that as well.
It suddently dawned on me today that the sun is in the North here! Freaky.
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