Another Suitcase in Another Hall: Patagonia Peregrination Part 9

Well I guess its that time again where I reflect on my time here and what I think of el Calafate and add some of the random pictures I didn't put in before.....

Let me start by saying I am at a real loss at how to describe this place. Its like some sort of weird cross between what I imagine Nebraska would be like and the Arizona deserts. Just strange.....like no place I have ever been before in my life. Now let me start with a little music since I am not really sure how long I may ramble for in this post......

Do you know how hard it is to find songs about Nebraska or Arizona....it was either that or that country song about there is no Arizona....I think I went with the better one.

Now where do I begin. Hmmmmm. I am sitting here in my hotel room looking out of my window and thinking how weird this whole part of the trip has actually been. Not bad....just so very different from Ushuaia which I wasn't expecting at all. This place is not nearly as cold and doesn't have the same small town feel to it. When I was in Ushuaia I felt like I could have been in some cold town in Northern Maine a lot of the time, but here I don't get that feeling at all. Even though climate wise it is not very different, the terrain and the people just change everything. Some pictures to describe the difference in the scenery....

It looks green but trust me looks can be deceiving.

The bridge looks like it could be one of those nice New England home made rickety bridges but its just not the same when its desert-like on the other side of the bridge.

The main street....

Enough about the town itself....I want to talk about some revelations that I had while here in el Calafate....First let me say that my Spanish is exponentially better than it was when I first got here....My time in this small little town has definitely proved that.

Besides the fact that I am able to communicate with the local people that run the hotel without any real nerves speaking or expressing myself makes me so very very happy. Then the best part is when people assume I am a local. Now its always a very touristy person who does this but it still makes me happy. I think its a combination of the fact that I am alone and dressed as if this temperature is normal. The perfect example of this confusion came when I was waiting in line at the ATM. Behind me were two sets of tourists, an Indian couple who looked as though they had been married for quite some time and a young couple who was probably on their honeymoon. The people in front of me were definitely locals, maté in hand, and the person in front of them was an Argentine but not a local. The person who was Argentine but not local had trouble getting money out of the machine....And when I say she had trouble she couldn't get any. She then asked if anyone was from Argentina, I did NOT raise my hand but the people who did assured here the amount she wanted to withdraw was below the maximum so she got fairly aggravated. Then the woman in front of me was able to withdraw with no problem. So I offered that it must be her card because the machine was working fine. Another older woman and I then proceeded to speak briefly about how the woman must have a problem with her card as the machine had worked for everyone else and to withdraw more money then she was trying. It was at this point that the Indian couple behind me asked the other clearly English speaking couple if they knew what was going on. It was at this point that the young woman said, "yea they were just discussing whether it was a problem with the machine or her card but decided it must be her card".

I couldn't believe it. I had just been talked about as if I was someone who didn't understand the English speaker.....It was both funny and a little aggravating. I now understand what it must feel like to be talked about in a foreign language and completely understand it. It didn't matter so much that they didn't say anything bad it just felt rude that they were talking about me as if I wasn't there simply because I couldn't speak the language.

The next moment came while I was eating lunch in a café. The fútbol game was on and a keeper made an absolutely terrible attempt to block a shot and the other team scored. At this point this old Argentine man hit me in the arm and began talking about how horrible the keeper was. And then the weirdest thing happened, I responded in Spanish and in agreement with the old man. Who knew I even knew some of those words??

I think the most important thing that I am going to take away from el Calafate is honestly the comfort of knowing that I am much more comfortable with my Spanish then I EVER have been before.

What else about el Calafate??? Well one thing is that I think I might like to have a house like the hotel I am staying in.....I know that sounds ridiculous, but one day when I am filthy rich I will. Only it won't be in the desert in will be in New England. I mean the place is just really cool. I want to put up some more pictures of the hotel with some of the scenery in the daylight so here they are...