Argentina-Patagonia-Iguazu Falls: Final Thoughts

This trip was a long time in the making and it worked out just as I had thought in my mind, some even more beautifully than I had imagined. 

Say Hueque – I just came across this company on a google search but I am so glad I found them. This was the best decision I made. They worked with me to make sure I had a good trip. They were able to extend my itinerary to Iguazu falls and Buenos Aires as I had needed. The only thing is they select some expensive hotels. A bit cheaper would have been good. But all in all I am very happy with this company. There were two main things that bothered me: one - they take credit card but charge a fee for it or you can give them your bank info. If I had known this before, I would have paid using my bank for one big payment and be done with it. The second thing was how much tipping was involved: $20/day for guide and $3 for driver and we had 2 other guides and about 4-5 drivers in all. Each time Pili would pass an envelop. Tipping was not mandatory, but it would have been nice to know in advance so I could bring some change. I had only big notes. 

Food – Food was the worst for me here. There is hardly anything vegetarian to eat, and whatever there was, it was not tasty. I was just managing. Breakfast was boring every single place. I had to buy lunch/dinner maybe 3-4 times. Thrice with the group and twice on my own. Only the Italian food was good, everything else is forgettable. There are too many sweet things in the morning and only eggs in the name of salty. Oh well…

Transport – Say Hueque booked all my pick ups and transfers from airport and for the tours. All were fantastic. All drivers were professional and safe. I could have probably used Uber for my airport transfers but I was not comfortable and also did not know about safety. But it is all safe. 

Bus use in BA is very easy, especially with google maps. I used it all the time. Couple times I had to use Uber because I had to be at my tour at a particular time at a certain place. Uber was not that expensive – 40 min ride was $12. I did not need to use the train. During the tour, we did not need any transport as all the towns were small and walkable. In El Calafate we used taxi, which was also not expensive. You can call taxi with whatsapp number.

Flying on Aerolinias Argentina – This was quite a pleasant experience. I was not sure how flying here would be – but it was great. First there is a carry on weight restriction of 13 kg. Mine was not weighed as I walked right in through security. Security was always a breeze. No issues of taking off shoes or taking out electronics. Boarding was smooth by zone. One can check in up to 48 hrs ahead of time and pick out their seats, which I did, as I always want the window seat in a new country. Placing carry on in the luggage compartment was not an issue. Not one time did I hear any agent calling for anyone to check in their carry on luggage for lack of space, like in USA. All flights included a drink and some cookies. The pilots were amazing. I did not feel any ear pressure changes at all! And I got miles on my Delta account.

Hotels – These were booked by Say Hueque and were all good. The locations were excellent. The only thing I wish they had was a hot water kettle and tea in the rooms. The Patagonia hotels did not have AC because it is usually cold there. But overall, all good.

Money – I could use my card at all the main stores and tourist places. The only time I needed cash was with small vendors and in some cases to get a discount on the goods. I exchanged $100 in the hotel (Dazzler in BA) and in one other place I used another $100 to pay for about $55 goods and got back money in pesos. I managed to spend all my pesos either in shopping or giving tips. I would say have a small amount of pesos as the exchange rate changed quickly – it was 1060 when I came and 1300 when I left. Many vendors don't mind taking dollars.

Water – Water was drinkable everywhere from tap except Iguazu. There I was advised by the hotel staff to use only bottled water. They could fill the bottles but there was not a place for us to refill ourselves. Again – no major issues. I just went to the local grocery store and bought a large water bottle.

Walking – There was soooo much walking involved in this vacation. I guess it is in all. But this one also required waterproof shoes, hiking shoes and definitely good walking shoes. My Columbia hiking shoes turned out to be fantastic. I needed them in the national parks and also Iguazu falls.

Toilets – It was not too hard to find toilets. Most restaurants would have them. All parks had restrooms in many locations. The only place we had to go in nature was in El Chalten hikes. The best thing I have learned is to go whenever you see a restroom. 

Safety - My biggest concern about traveling alone is always safety. I am careful myself anyways, but I felt safe in BA and IF. I was not out too late in BA, IF I was out for dinner one time, but again, no safety concerns. It was all good. I think there are localities where one should be careful, I was not in any of those. 

All in all, it was a great trip. Highlights were the glacier and Iguazu Falls for me.

Argentina-Patagonia: El Calafate

On and off I spent three days in El Calafate with the Patagonia tour group. I first landed here on 24 March, stayed just that one evening. Came back on 27 March, stayed 28 March and left on 29 for Chile. The last stop was on 1 April for one night. In retrospect, one more evening or morning would have been really good to see everything in this small lovely city.

I was on the plane with at least two other group members and then found out there was one more. Our guide, Pili, picked us up at the airport. All five of us headed to the airport. The openness of the region was just amazing to me. There were snow capped Andes mountain range far away, the lake (Lake Argentina) in front of it, all barren land and then us on the road. So much space. It felt so freeing. 

The hotel is about 25 mins from the airport and on the outskirts of the city. Just the entry into the hotel driveway was beautiful. Kau Yatun hotel is on a sheep ranch, so there is open grazing area around it. Lots of flowers. Apparently they are the providers of flowers to everyone in town, although later I saw the town had so many roses! Check in was smooth, room was great with a large window looking into the garden. Just peaceful. We met as a group at 6 pm for about an hour and a half and then some were off for dinner, I did not need any. I went for a walk, but in the wrong direction, so I came back. It was also getting late. I will be back here again to explore more.

Next morning we got up and drove to El Chalten. (another blog on this). 

27 March: Evening in El Calafate

Two days later, we are back in El Calafate by evening. Today we have plenty of time to walk around the lake. Julie also wanted to do this walk, so we got a cab and got dropped off at the tip of C-2 and C-406. It seems to be a new development for hotels and apartments. It was cold, but doable. Saw some ducks. The goal was to walk towards the city, past the nature preserve, hopefully see some birds and see the sunset and return to the hotel. Well....none of that happened. The preserve was kind of closed, and there were no birds around, and the sunset was kind of meh. But it was still a good walk. 

Julie was not able to get an Uber and we did not really know how to get a cab, so we walked to restaurant and asked them to call one for us. Day is over! 

28 March: Perito Morino Glacier

Next day we were going to see the Perito Moreno glacier. It is a national park. The drive to it was about 2 hrs on a gravel road. On the way we saw some wildlife, some cool scenery of Lago Argentino, a ranch building that has been there for a long time, a peace monument to all the slaves who worked for these ranchers. Pili is a good tour guide, very conscientious, environmentalist, historian, etc etc. And she keeps up with politics and geography of many places.  

One other place we stopped on the dirt road was a basic hotel with restaurant and restrooms. Really fantastic location – in the middle of nowhere! There was just mountains and land all around. So peaceful….but boring for living there.

Our first glimpse of the Perito Moreno glacier was amazing! We stopped to take some pictures and continued on up the hill to reach the top. 

There was a restaurant and restrooms. Always need restrooms. 

Then it was the boardwalk walk for the next two hours. We did not have our lunch yet. It was not as cold as I was thinking it would be. My fluff jacket was good enough. Each turn and walk brought us to a more beautiful view of the glacier. If we just stopped for a few minutes, we would see a shelf fall off into the lake. Marvelous! The color of the glacier was just amazingly blue. I was just in awe. We walked quite a bit to get different views. We kept walking down towards the water since we eventually have to take a boat ride. 

We got our lunches from the bus, which also came to the bottom of the hill. Another restaurant and another restroom later we picked up our lunch, but honestly there was no time to eat. We boarded the boat and within 5 mins we were all outside admiring the glaciers. Took soooo many pictures with my phone and camera.

On the way back, we made one last stop at a glacier viewpoint where Pili had a surprise for us. She had brought some glacier ice and some wonderful local liqueur made from Calafate berries (the blue ones from the Calafate plant). It was sweet and yum! Had seconds also. It was wonderful to enjoy one last hurrah of the glacier. 

The drive back did not seem long. I ate my sandwich, quite messily. It was not the best. The cookie was not that great either. I will not be able to eat the apple, so I have to leave it in the hotel. 

I took a short nap, and we were in the city. Asked to be dropped off in the city center. Isabel and I walked around. I ended up buying earrings for myself and a nice pendant and earring set for Bijayita. I also found a small bottle of the Calafate wine that Pili had for us. That brand (Mili Mele) was a pure production of the liqueur. Most shops were quite expensive. Ultimately we went into the grocery store to get some chips and cookies (for me). And that is it. Time to get back to the hotel.

One thing to note is that there are too many stray dogs in the city, but they are not aggressive. They also look healthy and well groomed. Someone must be taking care of them. The city is generally clean and safe to walk around. They have created some iconic places where to take pictures. The city is developing. It can be good and bad. 

All in all great day! Tomorrow we will off to Chile. Two days later we will be back in El Calafate for the last night. 

1 April: Walk in the City

It was going to be a long drive to El Calafate from Puerto Natales. Reached the border, got Chile stamp again on passport, went to Argentina border, no stamp. After a few miles, changed the bus for the Argentina side. It was a bigger and more comfortable bus. The sun was out and it was getting warm. Lunch was at Esparanza – nothing much, just an empanada. Then we were on the road again. Stopped at one of the highest points to admire the Calafate valley. It was beautiful. Another 30-40 mins and we were back at Kau Yaten hotel for a third time. 

Had some tea and rested. Chatted with Malu and Isabel for a while. Around 6 left to walk around the town with Malu. We were looking for a thank you card for Pili but did not find any. I did end up buying a cosmetic travel case. 

Met for dinner with the group at …. We are now less three people, the Aussies and Julie. The dinner was great. Everyone was really fun to be with. Dinner was soup, ravioli and most wonderful ice cream – courtesy of Say Hueque. In between there was bread, and with dinner there was some salad and fries. Say Hueque gave us two gifts – one they planted trees in all our behalf in Patagonia and two a lovely notebook by a local artist in El Chaltein. So lovely. 

This really was such a great experience. I will never forget the people, the conversations and friendship made here. And Pillar/Pili was just amazing. Too good. I will write more about her at the end. 

We walked back to the hotel and got an envelop and sheet of paper from the desk to give our tip for Pili.

That was it for El Calafate. Next morning we were to fly out, but flight was delayed by 4 hrs. Luckily for me, I did not miss my connecting flight from BA to Iguazu. It was really lovely to see fresh snow in Patagonia from the plane. I don't know if I will be back, but I know I will never forget this beautiful place.