Back to Buenos Aires
Saturday, November 19th: El Calafate > Buenos Aires, Argentina
We packed up all of our bags to redistribute the weight for our flight back to Buenos Aires. After checking out of the AirB&B, we went into town and stopped at the shore of Lago Argentina (Hoppy Beach) and spotted a large flock of flamingos. We were greeted by a beautiful black dog that looked part border collie. He followed us as we approached the flamingos and then sprinted ahead into the water. He was very friendly, full of energy, had pearly white teeth and rolled over eagerly for belly rubs. We played fetch on the beach and he showed a keen interest in marking the same bush Matt peed on to show him who the real alpha was.
We shared a box of empanadas from Big Pizza and then camped out at Olivia Coffee Shop before our flight. We had dulce de leche coffees, a passionfruit “licuado” and a waffle topped with brownie, ice cream, ducks de leche and chocolate sauce.
When we returned our rental car, the agent did a final inspection and noticed a large scrape / dent on the underside of the back passenger door and an oil leak. In hindsight, we should have better documented the condition of the vehicle on video and with photos before driving off the lot. The mechanic isn’t available until Tuesday when we’ll receive the final invoice. And because we paid cash on the blue dollar, our credit card company won’t cover the damages.
We met Katie and Ray from California at the airport and chatted as we waited before going through security. They had done El Calafate and Ushuaia and gave us recommendations for visiting California (Big Sur, Yosemite during February to witness the rare fire fall).
On the three hour flight back to Buenos Aires, we watched downloaded movies, played solitaire, napped and listened to a podcast.
We took a cab to the Marriott near Obelisco; our driver was the Argentine version of Doc Brown from Back to the Future - same haircut, expressive mannerisms and rapid fire thoughts spewing out loud that don’t make sense to most.
Our room at the Marriott was perfect - huge king bed, separate seating area, two TVs, two shower heads and a bathtub.
For dinner we went to CHS Burger, ordered and then walked around the city center for 45 minutes while it was being prepared. Lots of people were out on a Saturday night, eating, waiting in line for concerts, etc.
Accomodations: Marriott Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
