no internet? no phones?

Feb. 14

Happy Valentines day!

things i learned:

1. la frontera (the border) from Puerto Natales to El Calafate is literally 15 in. from the center of Puerto Natales.

i stupidly thought it was further, so again, we were caught stuffing our faces with dried fruit and carrots. we ended up throwing out a lot. but the process itself was much less painful than entering Chile. or so we thought.

2. there are two fronteras.

15 min. after the first frontera, there was another! we knew it was too good to be true. apparently we had just gotten permission to leave Chile an now we were getting permission to enter Argentina.

3. Baños Caballeros=Toilet Men

4. El Calafate is unfairly expensive.

5. Although touristy, el Calafate has a very nice feel.

there was a block party on the main street when we went which was very fun. musicians were playing, the sun was shining, and everyone was running around in the street.

6. Find the shops that give out samples.

I tried so much chocolate that was special to Patagonia without paying a dime! I also tried ice cream, jam, and a liquor that was made of the Calafate fruit for free.

7. The 3 hour trip to El Chaltén is extremely bumpy. It can make anyone sick.

8. The rest stop on the way is a little lady's house. There are dozens of chickens, cats, dogs, and a donkey that roam around. It was very strange, but great all the same.

9. Condor de Los Andes is a very homey hostel that just screams: warm.

10. I met a group of travelers from all over the world: France, Belgium, Colombia, and Brazil. It was very fun to watch them interact. For every word they would as each other what it was in their respective language. And they would turn to me if they had any questions about English, like the pronunciation of "stubborn." It was very cute.

11. There is no real internet in the area and barely a working phone signal. At first it makes you panic, but then you realize that life does go on without such technology (to a point).

13. There is actually an ATM in el Chaltén! It was installed 3 weeks ago.