So Long Tim

Sunday, October 30th: Buenos Aires > El Calafate, Argentina

• We left Tim sleeping and headed to the airport around 5:30 AM. When we pulled up to AEP, we were unpleasantly surprised by the number of other early risers that were already in line to check in. As expected, our bags were overweight and we had to pay the overage, plus we had to check the Simms bag with our fishing equipment. 

• As we were moving through security, we saw an officer ask a passenger for an autograph, so we studied him intently. He was one of three men, young and Latino with a lot of tattoos, including the signature Uzi machine gun on his neck that led us to uncover his identity with <5 minutes of Google searching. It was Homer El Mero Mero - an Argentinian rapper. We listened to his music, but it’s not our cup of tea. 

• We waited at the gate to board and Matt squeezed in a short siesta on the floor. After taking our seats on the plane, we both dozed off and didn’t wake up until we were getting ready to land three hours later.

• We arrived in El Calafate. The airport was small, probably smaller than the one in Traverse City as our only comparison point. We collected our bags and our rental car, which was the same make and model (but different color) than the one we had been driving for weeks in and out of Buenos Aires. They warned us about the wind, and we quickly realized why, facing gusts up to 60 mph. 

• We drove through town, stopped at the grocery store which had a disappointing selection of produce and meats and then checked into our AirB&B. 

• In an attempt to rejuvenate ourselves, we napped - Matt for four hours - and watched “The Good Nurse.”

• People always describe Patagonia as the wild west of the U.S. 50 years ago, and we understand why. The towns are distant from one another with the beautiful Andes in the background and a single main street that runs through town with small mountain shops and restaurants on either side, charming and unpretentious… and like other small cities in Argentina, dogs everywhere. 

• Accommodations: AirB&B, El Calafate, Argentina