Arriving in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we were approached by a guy who rented out cabins, which turned out to be really cozy, with a fully equipped kitchen and a magnificent view over the lake. He also offered us a boat ride to the closeby Cuevas de Marmol at the shore of the lake. We took off, the weather was great and the wind not that strong. Actually, it was a brilliant and hot day, with temperatures that we didn't expect in Patagonia. The ride alongside the caves was really nice and afterwards we shopped in the expensive little supermarket and prepared our own dinner.
The next day we rose early to visit the Laguna San Rafael and the San Rafael glacier. The sky was overcast in the morning, and soon it began to drizzle. After 2 hours we arrived at a little river and changed into a boat that would take us close to the glacier. We drove through a Fjord with wooded hills, which soon got smaller and smaller and the waterway got bigger and bigger. We even saw a couple of Dolphins on our way. Unfortunately, the sky was still overcast and the rain got stronger, so we could not see so much of the surrounding landscape (we read about snowcapped peaks and glaciers that are located alongside the way). After about 2 hours we arrived at the glacier lagoon and were greeted by magnificent icebergs, which were coloured in an incredible bright blue. We drover closer and closer to the glacier, a jagged and fissured wall of ancient ice. It cracked and creaked and sometimes large junks of ice would break off with a loud thunder and fall into the water. By now, the rain was a constant companion, but we still stood outside on the boat all the time to look at the glacier, even while having a delicious lasagna for lunch. Our guides fished a tiny iceberg out of the water and carved a couple of whiskey glasses from it. Standing in the rain, the whiskey really tasted awesome out of these glacier-ice-glasses.
The ride back was long and a bit cold, since despite of the rain jackets, our clothes were a bit damp. Once arriving back in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we were very happy about a long hot shower and our landlord started a fire in our appartment, so we could enjoy a cozy evening.
The next day, we took a bus to Chile Chico, located at the other side of the Lago Gral Carrera close to the Argentinian border. In the bus, we met some fellow travellers who told us that apparently there are no buses any more that cross the border and that it might also be difficult to reach our next destination, El Calafate. Thus, arriving in Chile Chico, we shared two Taxis that took us to the Chilean border control, where we got our exit stamps and then we had to walk half an hour to the Argentinian border control. Since we spend so much time driving around lately, we were even happy about this little exercise and the view was great as well. We spent the night in Los Antiguos in Argentina and on the next day made our way to the 50 km distant town Perito Moreno. This town lies at the crossroad to Ruta 40, the main road that goes straight down south. At the bus terminal however, we found out, that, since we are out of season, no buses go along that road. Instead, to reach El Calafate, we would have to travel 300 km east to the Argentinian coast, drive down South to Rio Gallegos and than back up north-west until we reach El Calafate. A huge detour... We decided again to check for rental cars, but in the Tourist Information in Perito Moreno they told us, that there is no car rental. Instead, after some phone calls, they offered us a ride in a private vehicle down south, for 120 € per person (we were 4 at this time). Since the bus with the huge detour would cost 90 € per person, we decided to go for it, since we would reach El Calafate in 6 hours instead of 20 hours. So we drove down the famous Ruta 40 in a brand new pick-up truck and sometimes, it felt like we were back in the desert. Vast, empty, dry planes. However, we saw quite a few wild animals along the way: lots of Vicuñas (lama-like wild animals), tiny armadillos crossing the street and even large flightless birds called Rhea. They look like ostriches but are maybe half their size. We arrived in El Calafate at 10 p.m. and went for a beer while searching for accommodations. In the restaurant, we realized that the south of Argentina is the most expensive region that we have ever been to. We paid about 9 € for 700 ml of beer, even the pizza Domi ordered was cheaper than the beer.
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