Bye bye BA

The next chapter of Operation Penguin is about to begin. From El Calafate north through Chile and at least as far as Mendoza with Captain Zach and 'Babe'. This wasn't planned before I left - it came up while we were in Lago Puelo several weeks ago. Obviously! I wouldn't have flown from Ushuaia to BA and back south to El Calafate within a week! But...I love that this opportunity presented itself and I could say "Okay!"

I had a nice morning with Guille before I had to head off to the airport. We hit a few cafes and ran some errands in the 'hood. With her mom and me both gone she's now on her own living in BA for the first time. I'm not worried about her though. She found a great yoga studio. She can go dancing with Margaret. She has many old school friends to catch up with, business meetings and...a date tomorrow! Hurrah!

It seems like I spend a lot of time at the Aeroparque Jorge Newbury these days! Serious deja-vu! With a bit of time to spare I took more notice of the airport this time. It's more modern than I first realized and is quite nice. If I had a mobile phone I could access Internet which people expect more and more these days. I can report back that I successfully made it through security with my shoes ON and a bottle of water in my bag. They didn't make me take out my liquids nor my iPad. It's a bit more chill here. I appreciate that! Of course, in that 'tranquilo' vein, planes are often delayed. Thank goodness today is sunny after Alé's adventure yesterday. (She took the overnight bus back to Bahía by the way.)

My plane was more or less on time. Given the weight of my camera bag, I was not keen to stand in a long line of people boarding. Someone has to be last after all. The second I set foot on the plane I was glad it was me! It was a freaking sauna! It was horrible and as soon as I sat down I remembered that I hate the Aerolineas planes!

Me...really boarding last!

My knees were banging on the back of the seat in front of me (yes... MY knees, short as I am) as I sat in my woefully uncomfortable seat. Only 3 1/4 hours to El Calafate. A few 'oooommm's seemed in order especially when the munchkin behind me started kicking the seat!

A nice view from the plane:

(Oddly enough, playing around with this photo on Snapseed and tweaking the presentation of the river channels reminded me of work!!!)

I'm not sure what I expected El Calafate to look like but what it does look like wasn't it! The airport is quite a ways out of town (I've never been to a brand new airport where the seats in the waiting area are still in the plastic they ship them in!) seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I got a seat on the bus into town for 38$ which was a great deal given that they dropped people off at their hotels!

The town seems small and in one word the feel of the place is 'rural'. The streets out here are all gravel and there is so much open space. I'm eager to see the town centre tomorrow but my general impression is that this is (more or less) an unspoiled gem!

I'm at the Design Suites Hotel 3km out of town on the lake. It is STUNNING and not overly expensive for what I'm getting! ($100 US/nt) I actually like it more than the one in Bariloche. I'm so pleased with my find that I had a second glass of wine and a dessert with dinner! ;o)