San Martin de los Andes

Isn't that a wonderful name for a place? I think I could benefit from a better addres: Riverview de los Andes sounds good and I am sure the mail will not be delayed and resale value is up already!
Again I was the only English speaking person on the bus but everybody smiles so that is OK. However it was a cloudy day that did not improve, in fact the worse weather of the entire holiday, but I am not complaining. It was a 400km round trip to view 7 lakes from various angles, all set amongst the mountains. Some of the rock is very pale (Dulux might call it stone blush as fawn is too ordinary!) The tops of the mountains, above the tree line, are very pale and I thought at first it was snow. Sadly with the weather, the mountains were silhouettes and their reflections in these mirror lakes amounted to shades of gray. We arrived at San Martin de los Andes, set on the edge of a lake at about 1pm with a couple of hours to look around. Somehow I was expecting a small village of stone houses built centuries ago. Quite the reverse, it is the most modern place I have seen, lovely houses and shops mostly coordinated and built of wood. Surely only the rich who love chocolate live here! It rivals Bariloche for choc shops.

Back to Bariloche in the rain with everywhere looking very sad. So after 5 cities, 7 internal flights, 10 excursions I have two days of travel to get back.
Please beam me to Nottingham, Scotty!
Quiero mi casa y mi cama!

Cerro Tronador

Our tour bus (with me the only non-Spanish speaking person)was soon out of Bariloche and at Nahuel Huapi Nacional Parque and on to dirt roads. These roads took nearly 2 hours to drive non-stop on the way home but we spent 6 hours on them going into the park, with all the various stops.

We were driving alongside one of the lakes with towering mountains the other side. Initially clouds hung round the tops of the mountains but then slipped down to waist bands and eventually disappered as the day turned to scorching heat. After many stops for photos we come into view of Cerro Tronador, a massive white peak, causing much excitement in the bus. The mountains had been good but this was something special.

We reach a viewing point that allows us to see the white glacier at the top of the mountain which drops bits down to form another glacier which must churn up the terrain as this is the black glacier.

The terminal morraine is some 400m away as the glacier is retreating and the lake is full of ice flows. One more stop to eat and to walk nearly to the foot of one of the waterfalls off the mountain. An excellent day in wonderful forest with those marvellous mountains.

I needed to eat so chose a nice looking restaurant to order down the menu. Chicken and potato salad with an empanada to start. (I have been chasing empanadas for some time). Whenever you order chicken they come and ask if you want breast or leg. They sent a more mature waitress to ascertain this from me, rather than the young pretty one that initially took my order. Perhaps they thought I would get too emotional over such a tricky decision! However if you don't know your pechuga from your pierna, the waitress will lean over the table and take a deep breath or step back and place her thigh across the corner of the table. Actually I made that last bit up if you hadn't already guessed. A pleasant evening spoilt only by all the foreigners there. I am getting defensive of my new country. One woman wanted a knife and made sawing motions instead of asking for a cuchillo. I am becoming a language snob and only have a vocabluary of 10 words!

Bariloche

I flew into Bariloche on a cold day with poor visibility and wandered around with the hood up on my big coat. There were many others similarly dressed who had not got their adrenalin fix due to the weather!
It all seemed too touristy, too many hotels and hostals thrown up too quickly. A young person´s adventure playground.
What a difference a day makes. Cool at first with fluffy white clouds and an increasing amount of blue sky and a steadily rising temperature. On a tour bus we drove out of Bariloche and saw many lodges and beautiful houses along the lake. This is just a fantastic location in Argentina´s Lake District.

We stopped at Cerro Campanario to take the chair lift to the top for one of the top 10 views in the world! (I cannot find out what the other 9 are) It was incredible, the visibilty was perfect and the view is 360 degree. Mountains and lakes all arranged to perfection. It is the best view that I have seen, ever! Not the best viewing situation because there are many people here wanting to take photographs. I am hoping for some "What about...." comments. Queen Charlotte Track, Bay of Islands, Urupukapuka...all gorgeous with tranquility which this does not have, but it does have 360 deg.

We stopped at a couple of other great viewing points and back by 1.30 from a 9am start. I knew the guide would only speak Spanish and one of the girls in the group made a point of explaining to me, in English, at each stop, what was going on. So friendly!

I was dropped very close to my hotel but, of course, got lost! I decided it was time for a good meal and went in this posh restaurant. I knew it was posh as nobody else was wearing walking boots nor photographing their meal. I may have ordered 2 main courses as the salad had venison, smoked salmon, cheese, dips, and hardly any green stuff.

Then the Patagonian Lamb - seven lamb chops! I did not order dessert.

Pena

The n should have a squiggle over it which I will edit in when I have access to my iPad. The sound is more nya than n. This is even more important with ano (please use the squiggle)

This was a marvellous evening. I wanted to experience the Pena folk music and the road round the corner from my Hotel, Paseo Balcarse, has many. It is THE place to visit. I didn't think I could face a 3 hour show which was on offer so randomly went into a bar where the music was being played. Essentially it is guitar and drums, we had a second guitar but there can be a bass and more. The rhythmns are quite complicated but people know how to clap to the music and it was lovely that many were mouthing the words.
We then had some dancers, gaucho dress for the men, long flared skirts for the women. The dances involve hankerchiefs being waved around encircling the woman. I am going to give up pathetic little tissues and see if I can find the old big square hankerchief and if I can't get a dance partner, waving that around will fetch them to me. Lovely dancing, slow with lots of eye contact.
When they play the classic folk dance, which we have seen at milongas here, everybody claps and an old couple who were really enjoying the show, got up and danced. By this time I was nearly through my half bottle of wine and felt I could join in if somebody waved a hankie at me.
Then our Gaucho talked a lot and started to ask people where they were from, "Buenos Aires" applause, "Cordoba" applause. Then it got to me "Inglaterra" applause, not a slight hesitation. I risked all "Me gusta Argentina", rapturous applause!
Manana, I am applying for role as British Ambassador to Argentina. I bet I dance tango better than the current one. To celebrate, I ordered dessert. I could not understand what was on offer so went for the longest name. I knew it had honey on it so it went down well.
The Gaucho came round selling CDs, so I bought one. The wine was drunk by now. Good job they were not selling the Gaucho outfit or I would have looked really stupid at Heathrow! Eventually I had to wander slowly and unsteadily to my Hotel but the road was still buzzing, all the parties showed no sign of slowing down.
I need a better biological clock!

Passionara

Passionara is the restaurant that does tango lessons and milongas. I thought they deserved my custom and was the first to dine at about 8. The steak was magnificent even by Don Julio's standards. The glass of local red wine was very large and it was a gret experience. I noticed the waitress walked very well so asked if she danced tango which she did. So on her next visit I wanted to say she had good posture. This is very similar to postre (dessert in Spanish), the stage I was at for the meal. So I am treading a fine line between getting my message across and telling her she looks like bread and butter pudding! All was well and she was very pleased. I spent 11/2 hours at tango before I thought I had to get to bed, ready for another early morning excursion. Only the teachers and one pupil were there. I had good dance with both the women and they were pleased that I could really dance. I had animated chat with the man and ended doing some exercises and walking carrying a chair (good idea as you have to keep your head up). So we have respect for each other and I will go again.

A Wasted Day

I had the Hotel order me a taxi to take me to Reserva del Huaico, the 4th most popular place to visit from Salta. The taxi came late and he did not know where to go, started looking in his map and then phoned his office and did a U turn to get on the right road. Obviously his office did not know so he turned into Hotel Huaico, for the first of two visits! Judging by the amount of arm waving he got excellent directions but they did not get us anywhere We then asked 3 taxi drivers, 3 police cars and then went to the police station! Nobody apart from the Hotel had heard of it! Back in my hotel they were surprised and I did get them to google the Reserva but it was too late to do anything as walking in the reserve has to be with a guide and we had spent 1 1/2 hours circling the area! Some you win, some you lose!

Traffic and Queues

All the cities I have visited have been set out on a grid system with one way traffic on alternate streets. If you are in a car (surely you won't be driving) the rule is give way to traffic on your right. I have been told this because it is impossible to discern by observation. The first car there wins! If you are walking, do realise the "zebra" crossings mean nothing - or maybe an extra form to fill in by the driver. If the traffic comes from your right then you have to pick a gap and run for it. Ideally walk alongside a woman with a pram who will get more sympathetic treatment than a war-mongering brit! If the traffic comes from your left you have the added complication the traffic travelling in your direction may turn right - hence you have to look in 2 directions at one time. Impossible for a man. The queues at the Cambio were even longer today, but it is Friday. The queues at the Banks are because welfare is paid out in cash and according to people who go on tours, that is most of the population - same moans all over the world. Then they have to queue, probably in another Bank, to pay their bills, in cash. There were queues at mobile phone kiosks and ATM machines. The ATM machines are always in rooms off the street so the queue forms outside respecting the customers inside. I even saw a queue and followed it but it went nowhere so I think it is a comfort zone to stand in line. Then I went seaching for a queue to buy an empanada but without any luck. Some days bring their dissappointments.

Salinas Grandes

The salt flat we visited is 32km x 9km, the largest in Argentina. Big enough for me, so no need to go to Bolivia. Our group of 7 set out heading north from Salta and were soon off the metalled road and on to dirt road. Now I undertood the comments that if it rained, the tour would be cancelled. We had had dry conditions for 3 days but still there was water flowing across the road in several place. Worse, scree and mud had become fluid with previous rain and had flowed over the road leaving a concrete like barrier over a foot thick. No prob as there was not much traffic so we could drive round these obstacles. Our excellent driver/guide said he did not like this tour in this, the rainy season, as it was too dangerous! We could see the route of El Tren de la Nubes (The train to the Clouds) but it was not running as it was too dangerous. Hmmm! We climbed steadily in wonderful mountain scenery with some mountain sides looking distinctly unstable. Different colours of rocks, different weathering, altogether a geologists delight.
We stopped to look at a viaduct built for the railway and I chose not to walk out on it although it was quite wide really!
Over a pass at 4000m and suddenly the mountains were gone and we were on the high plain. I was really feeling the effects of the altitude despite packing my cheek with coca leaves. That made me talk funny but did not do much for light heady feeling and breathlesness. We stopped at San Antonio de la Cobres for lunch. Since it was a local dish I had Llama, but did not expect a whole one. I think the altitude had robbed me of any appetite but I had some and it is OK but will not be running to the Llama counter of Sainsbury when I get back! The only occupation here is to be a Llama farmer, which has a nice sound to it but I don't think there is much to do until you have to kill them.

Now we are on to the worst road I have travelled on, corrugated dirt road that went on for ever with various streams creating deep furrows. About 2 1/2 hours of exactly the same view forward. Finally we are on to good road and at the edge of the salt flat. Very impresssive, seemingly to stretch for ever. Lots people walking out on the salt, big piles ready to be sent, bits of machinery all over the place and souvenirs, mostly carved out of salt. 2 pesos for the banos - money well spent!

It was incredibly hot here with reflection from the salt. Now we are on the return journey climbing into different mountains and over the high point at 4170m. The scenery now is even better than before and the colours unbelievable. It is like a child's painting - I will have an orange mountain here, a grey one there, pink will be nice, yellow will fill that gap and then we view the seven coloured mountains. We descend into Purmarmarca and I want to live there. Not because it was carnival and everybody was getting their face painted and getting drunk, but not in that order, but because it surely has the best location of any inhabited place. Dusty dirt streets but with some lovely houses and boutique shops, the same ochre colour, all crowded together and surrounded by these coloured mountains. We were there in the evening but it is at its best when the sun rises and enhances the colours. Magic! Speedy return to Salta and it was 10pm. Quite a day!

Changing Money in Argentina

Don't expect to pop into a Cambio as we pop into a travel agent and come out in 2 minutes with what you want. You have to use a Cambio or a character who sidles up to you and shows you a number on his mobile for the rate he is offering. The ink may still be wet on his pesos. Banks do not sully themselves with foreign currency and the only place that takes American Express Travellers Cheques is the American Express Office. Allow half a day. Pesos are now available in England so might as well duck tape a large quantity of those to your body for travelling. Euros and Dollars are accepted but Pounds were not accepted even before we sent nuclear subs to the Malvinas! If you are very very lucky the Cambio will have a short queue for those wanting pesos and a very long queue for those wanting to buy a currency with their pesos. I mean 50 people in a queue which stretches 20m down the road. At the counter, hand over your Dollars with your passport (why?) which they will photocopy. Sign this long declaration in two places. It would take 10 minutes to read if it were in English. Sign both halves of a form which tells you how much you are going to get. I stood with my hand out (Oliver Twist fashion) but was equally unsuccessful and told to sit down and wait. Then my name was called and the pesos were pressed into my hand...with a smile. Everyone is very pleasant and they do smile and are helpful but the bureaucracy is incredible. What will they do with the photocopy of the passport and the two other pages I have signed that were stapled together and passed into the back room?

Salta

Salta is 2 hours flight north-west of BA and Aerolineas Argentina was on time. No fanfare of trumpets though. I am in a lovely Hotel, Patios de Lerma. Lots of stone, fountains and of course patios! I was immediately on a city tour. Salta sits in a long north-south valley but the mountains east-west are quite close and the tour took us from one side to the other. These mountains are green and pleasant unlike the dramatic snow covered ones around Ushuaia. The San Bernardo mountain can be reached by cable car, 1,000+ steps, or more sensibly, by the tour bus! It gives a fantastic view of the City. The other side of the valley we stopped by a rushing stream and there is good walking here but it is harder than it looks to get to the top. Not recommended. The centre piece is the cathedral set in Plaza 9th July. Wonderful dome and tower and as ornate inside as anything I have seen. Did not take pictures inside as it would just be a pretty picture to me and it means more to others. Iglesia San Francisco is wonderful outside, coloured tarracotta but relatively plain inside. Wonderful buildings all around the square, showing colonial style architecture. Lots of arches, patios and especially balconies. I really like the wooden ones that go around the corner of a house.

There are some gorgeous new houses using the colonial style but very often the rough is next to the smooth.

MAAM was interesting. This is the museum of high altitude archaeology. The Incas were nearby and occasionally, on very special occasions, they would select a special child and in an elaborate ceremony, get them drunk and bury them alive. Ugh! One such body has been found, preserved at the top of a 6,000+ m extinct volcanoe close to Salta. Makes for a fascinating exhibition.

The Incas were not native to this area but their influence (or that of the natives from Peru or Paraguay) is very noticable in the crafts that are for sale. So it is very different from BA except for the traffic which is manic!

I had to have some local specialities and, guess what, empanadas. 65 pence (4 Pesos)each served in a restaurant!

I have made an important discovery

Me: Bailes tango aqui?

Waiter: Si

Me: Bailo tango

W: Si

Me: A que hora?

W: Viente

Me: Esta noches

W: Si

Me: Vale, gracias

A man of few words but the right ones!

Some milongas in Buenos Aires

Viejo Correo must be the most friendly milonga anywhere.  It is the older generation enjoying a great social evening out and making us feel so welocome.  The men were almost queueing to dance with Liz, Regina and Ola and we had a wonderful evening.  No one trying to do extravagant steps, just making sure the follower enjoyed a great dance.

El Aranque is a very traditional and friendly milonga.  There are a lot of non-dancing tourists there but they filmed and clapped our dancing even when we told them we were not Argentinians.

Nino Bien is very smart with a young set as well as the more mature.  Everybody looking very sophisticated, well dressed with beautiful shoes.  Tables with tablecloths surround the floor and groups of friends sit and then dance together so it is not easy to break into that and get dances.  A couple of tables of suited men who I would not want to make eye contact with - the mafia?

La Viruta was the most dynamic place we visited - led by Horacio Godoy (google him to see how he dances). A mixture of all things Latin but specialising in tango with a remarkable set of teachers who performed while we were there (maybe every evening they will teach). Hundreds present from beginners to advanced, all taking lessons in one large hall - a bit chaotic but it is the scene for the young set.  Go on a Friday and be prepared to dance until 6am - then tell me about it! Encouraging that beginners look just the same in Argentina as in Nottingham!

Club Gricel provides a great milonga.  Distinctly smart but not in the Nino Bien league, but definitely worth a visit.

Salon Canning is one of the great places to visit.  It is what typifies tango in Argentina - very crowded but with impeccable lane discipline.  If you pick out some couples to watch, they come round time after time the same distance from the edge of the floor.  A lot of good dancers that perform moves to admire in very tight spaces.  Again very well dressed with groups of friends around tables.

Confiteria Ideal is our favourite! You can start dancing at 3pm and try another milonga after your steak dinner.  The setting is old Argentina with history in every part of the building.  Perfect setting for Tango Salon.  Lots of tourists there just to watch (and applaud!) but later into the evening it is more crowded and the dancing is more serious.  Very often they have live music and Ruben will sing.

I describe some other milongas that I visited last year - go to Archives and January and February 2011.

The Next Step

Actually it is not a step. I can learn steps and also forget them! I can work on my posture, walking, dissociation.....I am told I lead well and I enjoy that and usually, what I have in mind for my partner, actually happens. BUT I do not lead in the way an Argentine man leads. I can work hard and practice to do better the things that I currently do, but I will not get closer to that goal. It starts with the embrace. The girls come back from dancing with an Argentine man and say that he has been the perfect gentleman. Non-tango readers (if they have not given up already) will wonder how the woman can make chest to chest contact in an embrace with a total stranger, be held in a tight embrace such that she cannot make independant movements and still say he was a gentleman. The woman must commit to the man totally. She must feel secure in his arms, she must feel from him that no other woman matters to him for the next 3 minutes. His concern is totally for her and not himself. When the connection is established and the dance progresses as well as it can, and this most certainly does not happen on every occasions, the girls return from the dance almost crying with the depth of emotion. Knowing that this possibility exists drives us forward in tango and the word obsession is banded about. It is a different state that is achieved, not simply a nice dance. What is the secret? Who can teach me this leading skill? It is the next step forward in tango that I must take.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy ia an afternoon at Confiteria when you are so much in demand that you hardly sit down and you have to lower your eyes for a rest. No, not me, but Regina and Ola. They were so happy with so many beautiful dances, being held in secure embraces, and experiencing the heights of dance as never before. This is what true tango is about. Regina was so thrilled that she could not resist saying to a man on the crowded Subte (underground) that he had beautiful eyes. So one more person went home happy.

The Floor is your Friend

Regina and I had booked a lesson with Carlos who is much admired by Regina - correction, make that idolised!
He does not teach steps but is so exact on the fundamentals and drilled us for 2 hours at which point we had to leave even though he would have carried on for another 2 hours. Practice....and more practice!  Daily practice.
then Cafe Tortoni beckoned and we slipped back in time a 100 years and enjoyed our lunch.
Off to La Viruta and is this different!  This is where the youth of Buenos Aires come to learn and develop salsa, tango and other latin things.  Led by Horacio Godoy who is the most dynamic man I have seen.  Leading the warm up dance, organising the lessons and taking part with 4 other teacher partnerships in an astonishing show tango.  All so good and we did not know where to look as we did not want to miss anything.
We did an Intermediate milonga lesson wwhich ws a waste really but then an advanced tngo and Martin Gutierrez taught an exciting step.
We danced a little more and left the 300 or so who were there to their long night of dancing and eating and we headed for Nino Bien.
So different again.  A lot of young well dressed and shod dancers!  A wooden floor witth tables around and groups of friends sitting together.  Not the separation of men and women as in the traditional milongs.  We did not dance much here but were happy to soak up the atmosphere.  It started to thin out about 3am and we headed for home.

Ola arrives!

Ola flew in on time and we had a full day for her! First to Comme il Faut where Regina bought a pair of shoes but Ola did not see anything to suit her. On to Confiteria where Ola had to be persuaded to put on her dance shoes rather than just look in awe at the place. Then to Don Julio's for a fabulous steak. Provoletta (grilled provolone cheese) for starter and dulce de leche pancakes for dessert. Off to Viejo Correo - the viejo might refer to the people inside rather than the post office but they were marvellous! Liz, Ola and Regina sat one side and I the other. There was practically a queue of portenos waiting to dance with them. So polite, this was the real thing, a milonga of genuine Buenos Aires people out for a lovely social evening. Dance technique was not much but this was about meeting people. Many Buenos Noches from the men who had danced with the girls. So Ola's day started at 8.30 when the plane landed, or should that be 13 hours earlier when it took off, and ended about 2am.

Back to BA and Tango for the Tourists

Regina and I flew into BA and were soon in the apartment we had last year. Home from home. We were soon out dancing at El Aranque, sitting at opposite sides of the room so that we would both get dances. Lots of tourists were filming us when we danced together and I expect they thought we were Argentinians! Then we had a big thunder storm on our way to Confiteria la Ideal and here our dancing was greeted by rapturous applause - well just a few claps from the tourists. We were joined by Liz and Pawl and so this was a good start to a dancing week.

Beagle Channel

This was really the reason for coming so far south. I had booked onto the short trip, Regina on the long trip - bet she even had a bigger boat! Boat envy! At the start the weather was foul but the sea calm. Rain and no views of mountains, but at least we had set sail. There are lots of islands in the channel and we stopped to go ashore on one. It was special to look one way and see the Pacific, the other way to know the Atlantic was there. To see mountains in Chile one way and back to Ushuaia the other. Such an important Channel to avoid Cape Horn. The other islands host Cormorant colonies, sea lions and a multitude of birds. As we came back to Ushuaia, the sun was out, the mountains resplendant. Ushuaia most certainly has a character of its own. It feels as though you are destined to go to Antartica and that you are cheating it by escaping to the warm. You need to be hardy to live here. Regina and I have explored Ushuaia, enjoyed it and found a Bistro that serves great empanadas and a house malbec that is very good.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

This was a good half day excursion by minibus into the Park. Regina went by full size coach, hmmm! Coach envy! Most of my group went on El Tren del fin el Mundo but a Swiss man and I decided to walk, so we had the guide to ourselves. The train was used to move prisoners around to do work in the area long before it was a Park. We had a good walk along the edge of the Beagle Channel and could see mountains in Chile. We joined with the rest of the group and saw a Beaver dam which ends up flooding and killing trees. The beavers were introduced for their pelts which turned out to be rubbish here but excellent in the USA. They also introduced rabbits which rapidly got out of hand. The Argentinians won't eat rabbit (they do rather stick to cultural diets, but it is fabulous steaks they eat, so I know what I would be choosing). Hence they introduced the white fox which refused to eat rabbit but eat the indigenous red fox instead. We learnt a bit about the Yamanas indians who were the original inhabitants. They lived here naked! Much as I like taking my clothes off, not in this climate. And I can't believe that smearing seal fat all over will keep you that warm.

Ushuaia and Regina

On Monday it snowed. Bear in mind this is mid-summer. It does not get any warmer than this throughout the year. I am wearing several layers and am keeping warm. A girl who was next to me on the plane and is in the same hotel, brought three summer dresses and immediately went shopping! A lttle research pays off, especially as everything is expensive here.
Residents here love the winter, the tourists have gone, but it gets down to -15 regularly and for long periods. I could not cope with not having a summer as I understand summer, even in the UK. However there are plenty of flowers out, lupins all over the place, roses and pansies. Maybe more but I have exhausted my flower knowledge. I suppose they react to length of day and ignore the temperature which I can't do!
My hotel is Los Lagos, 3*, clean, warm and comfortable. Regina flew in the day after me to Hotel Albatross, the other end of town, large and magnificent with a restaurant which is too expensive.

We have joked for ages about going to the end of the earth to meet up. This does feel like the end of the Earth. It is hemmed in by super jagged mountains (eat your heart out Queenstown, NZ!) which were almost bare of snow on Day 1, a dusting on day 2, and significant amounts on Day 3. That is when flurries reached us at sea level. The weather changes rapidly but nearly always there is an icy wind. So strong was the wind one day that the port was closed and our separate exursions on the Beagle Channel were postponed. Regina and I used that time as it was a bright day to walk towards the glacier. We had superb views back to Ushuaia and the panorama of mountains was very special. We climbed up 300m, were walking for 4 hours but did not quite get to that glacier! As you walk away from the coast the roads are very steep, levelling out for the cross roads, San Francisco style, but 3 streets back and it all looks quite poor. It surprised me that we were quite a bit south of the Malvinas, yes Malvinas.

Not Quite the Show

Since tango music was playing at breakfast, I asked the waitress "Puedo bailar tango en Calafate".  Of course I did not understand what she answered but she wrote down a time and place and I duly turned up.  It was all very confusing as there was a space no more than 3m x 2m in amongst diners eating good steaks.  Eventually a man turned up in suit and red and black shoes (good taste).  We did not share a language but eventually I found out he was the brother of the waitress.  Soon his partner turned up looking very beautiful, and they danced a couple of tracks in true show style.
I still did not know what was happening and I was wondering where the people for the milonga would come from.
The couple dance two more tracks.
Then the senorita was brought over and someone who spoke English said it was my turn!  So onto the middle of the floor we went and I dance three tracks with her and she was still smiling at the end and we got applause.  A few moves didn't happen as I intended but we danced well together and there was no hesitations or screams of pain!
She asked if I taught tango, so I took that as a compliment and walked back to my hotel with a silly smile.

Glaciers Part 2

This was a 6 hour excursion by boat to look at some of the other glacierss in this ice field.  In my eyes it was a large Cataraman, seating 4-5-4 across the main cabin.  Fortunately it was only about 10% full so it was easy to move around and get to the rails to take photos.
The weather was gloomy and as dreary as yesterday was beautiful.  Lake Argentino, even with the mountains around it, looked boring! After about an hour we began to see evidence in terms of ice flows and icebergs - yes, icebergs. If a lump of ice is twice the size of the boat, then I think it is an iceberg.  All the Japanese girls doing Titanic impressions at the bow were trying our luck!  The sun ws now breaking through and blue sky appearing.  Snow capped mountains were now the backdrop.  We could clearly distinguish the smooth snow fields and the jagged glaciers.  All of the glaciers except Perito Mereno are receeding.
We saw small glaciers looking lost on the side of a mountain as they had receeded from the sea.  We sailed close to the face of another and willed a big chunk to fall off, but it did not happen!
The journey back with sun on those mountains made Lake Argentino look very special.

My two excursions to see glaciers have been totally satisfying, only sifting through the photos and panoramic sweeps of the face by the camcorder, are going to present problems.

The Perrito Moreno Glacier

My excursion started at 8am with an 11/2 hour drive alongside Lake Argentino, Argentina's largest and into the National Park.  In getting here we have seen Condors, maybe 7 circling in the thermals above the mountains.  We are getting mouth watering views of the glacier and the mountains beyond.  However into a catamaran for a close up view and it is very impressive.  We saw a small piece drop off into the lake and throughout the day heard groans and occasional roar as big pieces came off - never of course in view!

Back into our minibus and to the Visitor Centre which sits on top of a hill looking down on the glacier.  This is amazing as we can see the glacier from its origin in the snow covered heights.  It has an incredible surface and the blue colouration is so marked in many crevices.

I walked for a couple of hours around the excellent walkways, up and down to the various view points and I took an embarrasing number of photos and video clips.
Altogether a day that exceeded expectation even though I have seen many pictures of this glacier.

El Calafate

El Calafate is an interesting place.  My very good 3* hotel, Rincon del Calafate, is about 15 minute walk from the centre and the roads near the hotel are not surfaced yet.  So very rough hard core and I noticed that a lot of people like me were in walking boots.  Let's be decent to the town; it is a big centre for walking and especially for seeing the glaciers, so perhaps it is not that the roads would ruin decent shoes.
It did seem to be a frontier town but when you get into the centre you realise that it is grasping the tourist opportunity very firmly.  Lots of outdoor shops, many sellers of excursions, horse riding, walking on the glacier or just walking.
A lot of building going on, from hostels to very attractive apartments on the hillside overlooking the centre.  It looks like Calafate is moving very rapidly upwards and since a hospital and school are being built, a lot of people are investing.

Hotel Caseron Porteno

This is a tango hotel with a very friendly family feel about it.  Rooms are $55 per night including a continental breakfast and a free tango lesson each evening.
Rooms are old fashioned but large and each has a bathroom located across a corridor.  You are provided with a dressing gown for the traverse! They are insistent that the door on the street is kept locked because through it you access the courtyard and various facilities which are not locked.  The courtyard runs right through to the dance studio.
It is located in Palermo but farther out than where we stayed last year.  There does not seem to be the shops to access as we had near Plaza Italia.  However I only explored as far as the excellent ice cream parlour.
The staff could not be more helpful so this is a good place for the tango enthusiast.

Things of Beauty....

I will bring back for three lovely ladies, shoes by Comme il Faut.  They know who they are.  They are indeed things of beauty, and so are the shoes!  Sadly, there are many women for whom I will not be returning with shoes.  There could be serious cases of Shoe Envy, which may require treatment!  Enough of this petty emotion amongst the tangueras....just wait until the tangueros see my shoes!