Denver, CO to El Calafate, Argentina...

11/8/11 and 11/9/11
Flying standby, last two people to board the flight from Denver to Atlanta!  Through security with fully loaded packs; no problems.  Last two, again, to get on the flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires!  Arrived in Buenos Aires, EZE airport, on the morning of the 9th, paid our $140 USD entrance fee, and hopped a transfer bus (via Manuel Tiendo Leon) to AEP airport for $65 ARS per ticket (around $18 USD per ticket at a 3.6 exchange rate).  Free Wi-Fi on the bus.  Flew on Aerolineas Aregentinas from AEP to El Calafate.  Split a cab with two other travelers to El Calafate, 15 minute ride.  We spent the night of the 9th @ La Overja hostel in El Calafate, Argentina.  Our non-private room cost $80 ARS (about $22 USD).  They helped us book our bus ticket for the following morning to Puerto Natales, Chile.  Cost $100 ARS each ($27 USD).  We ate awesome empanadas in El Calafate at Cambalache, a local spot.  




The above journal entry sums up most of the first couple of days.  We sat on flights, napped in airports, didn't really sleep on planes, watched some good movies (some not-so-good), and finally arrived in South America.  It's a strange feeling, and those of you who have traveled across continents and countries will relate, when you arrive at your destination after an overnight flight.  All of the sudden, you are out of your element.  All of the sudden, you are living in the moment, and the distractions back home melt away.  We couldn't converse very well with anyone on any substantial level, though Courtney did far better than I.  If I wasn't saying, "Hola, como esta?", I wasn't speaking.  We were far from home.

The Buenos Aires airports (yes, there are several) are relatively easy to navigate, despite the language barrier.  There is even a bus company called Manuel Tiendo Leon that shuttles people to and from the different airports.  And, since we had to get from Ezeiza to Jorge Newberry AeroPark, this was a great service to find.  Buenos Aires is enormous, home to about 11 million people, and it was nearly an hour bus ride.  We rode past very ancient-looking buildings, apartment flats and skyscrapers, run-down shacks and the Argentina national soccer team's stadium.  Here, the name Messi is to the locals as Jordan is to us U.S.A. dwellers.

Flying out of B.A. to El Calafate

We arrived at Jorge Newberry AeroPark Airport (wow...let's go with AEP) from Ezeiza (EZE) with plenty of time to catch our connection.  Actually, our flight out of AEP was running late, so we had way too much time to kill.  But Aerolineas Argentinas got us to El Calafate (the small Argentine town named after the Calafate berry that, as I learned later, goes quite well with spit-roasted rack of lamb and a bottle of Malbec) by 9:00 pm or so.  Travel Suggestion:  if you plan on flying Aerolineas Argentinas, purchase a "Club Economy" ticket.  This offers a full refund incase of travel interruptions, a great in-flight meal, and first class seating.  All for about 10 bucks more!

Looking for a spot to stay...after 2 days of traveling.

We split a cab from the El Calafate airport with some fellow English speakers.  The driver dropped them off at a hotel where they had made reservations.  We, however, hadn't made arrangements and had no where to go.  So after exchanging looks that said "hmm, wish we had thought of that," we began wandering the streets enjoying the feeling of lostness and endless possibility.  We eventually found a hostel called El Ovejero and bought a couple of beds and warm showers.  After finding this place, we went back out to get some food and, per the Lonely Planet guide book's suggestion, ended up at Cambalache for empanadas.  Of all the empanadas we ate on this trip (and we ate a lot) these were my favorite!

El Ovejero hostel/campground

When we got back to El Ovejero with our recently acquired pesos from the ATM, we paid for the room and were even able to pay right then for our bus trip out of El Calafate early in the morning to our destination in Chile - Puerto Natales.  The girl working the front desk at the hostel was very helpful and friendly, and we trusted that she was indeed taking down our names and passport numbers to book our bus trip, not for other purposes.  Looking back on it, we really had to put our trust in a lot of people throughout the course of the journey.  Of course, we used discretion as best we could, but in the end we got an incredible, and positive, picture of humanity and community that over-ruled culture and language.

We slept good that night on our dorm room style bunk beds, and other than a couple of late-night visitors to our room at about 2:00 am, the night was uneventful.  Our house-mates at the hostel turned out to be very friendly Europeans who were also out traveling, so we enjoyed some great conversation with them.  We looked forward to the morning, and the days to come!

Super luxury...