From Bariloche I took a 27 hour Marga late January bus ride south to El Calafate. For much of the ride I was the only person in the lower, more expensive cama level. The scenery varied throughout with the most interesting being between Bariloche to El Bolson and El Chalten to El Calafate. The food provided on the bus looked very average and I didn’t even bother unwrapping it. On a poignant note, Marga was also the nickname of my dearly departed maternal grandmother, adding extra meaning to the ride.

The highlight of a visit to El Calafate is seeing Perito Moreno Glacier and my two visits to the glacier are covered in a separate blog post.

The Marga bus between Bariloche and El Calafate

Lamb is the meat of choice in southern Argentina and the bulk of a Patagonian “asado” (barbeque). This photo is from the first of two delicious and filling meals at “La Marca”. Thank you Anadia for finding this place

El Calafate has an interesting museum focusing on the region, particularly prehistoric and (tragic) Aboriginal history. In the museum cafe I enjoyed a cup of “mate” (photographed above) and a glass of liqueur made from the local calafate berry

A classic Falcon looking worse for wear and showing off what is surely an after-market rear spoiler

Performing a handstand next to a lake

One day I took a tour to the La Leona Petrified Forest, an interesting landscape that contained dinosaur fossils and petrified trees and reminded me of Turkey’s Cappadocia

The calafate berry does not taste as delicious as it looks but is used to make jam and liqueur

A petrified tree in La Leona Petrified Forest near El Calafate

Standing on an eroded rocky outcrop in La Leona

Guanaco, a wild relative of the llama, on the arid southern Patagonian steppe

Lavender and interesting houses were both in abundance in El Calafate

Back enjoying “asado” at “La Marca”. Jim and I met Amy and Dario at Perito Marino Glacier and they kindly gave us a ride back to El Calafate. Prices at La Marca had risen since my last visit only a few days earlier, a legacy of of Argentina’s high inflation rate