Day 111 - "I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." ~John Muir

If you consult anybody - a travel guide, a tour operator, or even an Argentinian - they will tell you that El Calafate is worth staying in only for a couple of days. There is only one attraction there - the Perito Moreno glacier, and everybody comes to either see it or to trek it. Otherwise, there's nothing to do here.

After spending a week here, I would want to stay more, and the only thing that is stopping me from changing my flight to Buenos Aires is the fact that there is no rooms available in the hotel that I'm staying in, and I am not going to go into the hassle of spending a whole day in search of another good one in the area (it's never really easy). There are certainly better ways of spending a day in South Patagonia.

For example, bird watching...

Or stone watching...

Or sleeping like a stone...

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Funny how accurate the expression "Be careful what you wish for" is: my wish to stay in El Calafate longer was fulfilled by all the planes being delayed. So I had to spend 3 hours in the airport waiting for the clearing on take-off. Strangely, these delays don't bother me anymore. Have I gotten used to such minor travel hick-ups, or is it just because I have all the time in the world and am not really in a hurry to get anywhere, like many other people? Whatever the reason, when I took a look around the cafeteria - where everybody stationed - I realized I was the only one smiling, with Manu Chao in full blast on my iPod, writing updates for the blog, juggling three simultaneous g-chat sessions. Curious...

As almost expected, there was a silver lining to this delay... Well, there was a red-and-silver lining... a beautiful sunset as seen from the plane window...