our hotel

Hotel Design, El Calafate

El calafante sits on the shores of the largest lake in Argentina fed by the glacial runoff from the high Andes on the horizon. it's a stark and desert place. there are few trees and most of the Flora is brown due to more than 6 years of drought in this area. it's not a welcoming or lush environment.

The hotel is fairly new and sits at the shore of the lake. it is somewhat removed from the town. The construction is relatively new, which I think is true of much of the place as I've seen few buildings that look to be of any age. after our initial group assembly, we went out for our welcome dinner at a restaurant called the Shackleton after the great polar explorer who died in his quest to reach the South Pole. food was good, as was the wine, and weave come back to the hotel for some rest as we have an early start in the morning.

Tomorrow we head up into the mountains to see a big glacier which we reach by crossing the lake on a boat. we need to leave early enough to catch the boat at 10:00 a.m.. we'll have several hours to hike around the area and explore the mountains and maybe catch some lunch up there before we return to town. I think we'll be spending some time exploring the town tomorrow after noon. we are still waiting on four or five of our riders to arrive, those delayed by the Midwest snowstorm, who won't be here until late tomorrow night. night.

our guides are pleasant. we also have a local tour guide to get us around town and Phyllis in on some of the local sites. I was surprised to see flamingos in the lake in this cold climate. Christiane is the lead guy and speaks English well. our second guide speaks no English at all but seems pleasant enough. I'm sure I will get to know them much better over the course of the trip.

now to bed, early start tomorrow.

Dinner at Shackleton's

Dinner at Shackleton's

hotel inside

our bikes are waiting

our hotel in El Califate

view of the area

we have arrived El calafate in the tourist airplane at the south end of South America. it is very arid and dry. there's little green to be seen anywhere and on the horizon are the huge mountains of the high Andes covered in snow. we had to filter as a group through an agricultural check station in the airport to screen us to make sure we weren't bringing in anything harmful and we had a bus waiting for us outside the airport which is now transporting us to town. it's gray, overcast, a little chilly, guess what I expected.

on the bus into town. our local guide fills us in on the sights.

our group so far

waiting for screening for biologic contaminants exiting the airport.

a simple breakfast this morning. I don't like to eat a lot before I fly and today we go to El calafate around noon time. The weather here in Buenos Aires this morning is cloudy and warm about 72°. I was a little shocked when I looked at the weather in El calafate and the temperature was 0°. That's freezing in Fahrenheit. it should warm up to the '50s or maybe even the 60s by the time we arrive, but it's obviously time to get ready for the cooler climates will be experiencing up in the mountains.

this morning I need to repack all the gear so it is ready to be put on the bikes and start moving from hotel to hotel each day. it's a little tricky as my bag is so heavy with everything inside, too heavy for the airlines to let me go without an extra charge. I need to figure out a way to move things around yet. keep them accessible using my carry-on bag. it's a math problem.

I am sharing a cab with Malcolm, someone I met on a previous Moto adventure. He's been here at the same hotel though we have not yet met. I hope I have enough pesos left for my share of the cab ride. I am waiting for our guide. Christian to do the money exchanges for us as the other sources 10 to rob you.

onto the packing, then the waiting.

A simple breakfast.

complications have arisen for about half of our tour group, the half coming in from the Midwest. bad weather canceled their flights and they are scrambling to get rescheduled tomorrow. sadly they were supposed to be on the bikes with us tomorrow after we fly south to El calafate. that flight south for them also needs to be rescheduled. it's a bit of a mess. it looks like half of our group will fly out around noon tomorrow. then go ahead with the first day of the tour which was a loop ride. The remainder will join us the next day if all goes well. Glad I came in early and looking forward to getting some more rest so I am fresh.

Dinner in Buenos Aires.

all cleaned up, and settled in, I've come downstairs to take one last break before I catch up on a little bit of sleep. I at least need a nap now that I have a bed sleep in. I don't know how long I've been going or what day it is. I just feel that a little rest would be a good thing. sitting in front of the hotel. I am seeing what looks like rush hour traffic in Buenos Aires. The quiet little street is now packed with honking cars, bumper to bumper and I'm a little concerned with what I'm observing about Argentine drivers. I got a hint of this on the way in yesterday, which I attributed to the protest that was clogging the streets. but now I see a normal day. and what I note of Argentine drivers is they do not give away. it's dog eat dog. you push your way in or you don't get in. there's no yielding or giving a little way or giving anyone an opening. just honking of horns shaking a fists and words I cannot pronounce.

Rush hour, Buenos Aires

I am finally in my room and while it's a nice one on the 11th floor, I don't really have a view. no big deal, just here for the one night. we had a little excitement when Jackie notified me that my SOS tracker had gone off on my Garmin unit. I don't know how that happened but somehow it did. I had to walk down to the national Palace to find a big open area so I could get good satellite reception and cancel the alarm. at least. I now know the darn thing works. of course, if I do need it, they will probably ignore it now. oh well, at least Jackie can track my progress and we can exchange text messages.

Sitting here, waiting for my room to be ready, the bar tempts me

Quesos, Buenos Aires

Street Market, Buenos Aires

Motos, Buenos Aires

Fat tree with spikes and boy