I have made it to El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. As the plane approach it was a surreal and barren landscape. I felt like some astronaut in a science fiction film landing on a barren world with a different sun than our sun. It was a surreal feeling. The airport was small but new and modern with excellent Wi-Fi. I got my baggage and found a nice van to take me to my hotel. I thought that I was in some wild frontier town in the north of Alaska or Canada. Most of the roads were dirt roads and many building were under construction. I arrived at my hotel and secured my things. I talked at length to one of the owners; Andrea. She is a charming lady and full of fun. I got a lot of details on the town and booked a boat tour tomorrow. I also found out that an urban legend is not true. There is a large estancia or ranch here named Estancia Cristina. Everyone assumes that it belongs to the president of Argentina and her late and wonderful husband Nestor Kirchner. Actually it belongs to a wealthy land-owing family dating back to 1914. Cristina Fernandez owns a house here in town and a small hotel. I walked down to the main street. My whole impression of this town hanged. It was paved with all sorts of modern shops and restaurants. It was full of life and full of people. Much to my pleasant surprise I found that a lot of them are Americans. This is a big change from Bariloche, San Martin de los Andes and Villa La Angostura that rarely get Americans. The restaurants here stay open all the time and have menus printed in English and Spanish. I had a wonderful time hanging out and talking to people. This place rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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