After a lengthy delay at the Argentine border we finally bid Chile adieu on Christmas Eve and crossed over, making a beeline for El Calafate, 4 hours drive away. Chile had been amazing, we loved every minute of it – the sights, the scenery and certainly the people who had been overwhelmingly kind and generous to us everywhere we went. But Argentina had much in store as well and from our experience here in 2003 we knew what to expect, albeit this time at a much less frantic pace. Our loose plans ( such as one can plan at all these days ) would have us in Argentina for most of the rest of this trip – so big and quite simply so much to see.
Things looked very similar to Chile but with one big difference – travelling in Argentina was a fraction of the cost of travelling in Chile. People had told us that everything was much less – the first gasoline fill up and first supermarket visit certainly bore that out. Time to indulge a bit ( everyone does here ! ) so decided to enjoy a few nights in a nice hotel over Christmas – a welcome change from the confines of a pop up camper !
El Calafate offered more than just nice hotels ( though there were plenty of those ) – a vibrant cafe culture, countless bars, restaurants and pastry shops were all reason to stay a little longer ( and we did ), but the crown jewel among all its sights, and probably it raison d’etre, was the world famous Moreno Glacier.
There is no shortage of glaciers to see in South America but the Moreno glacier has a couple of facets that distinguish it from the rest – it’s huge, it ends as a sheer wall of ice (giving it a more dramatic look) and most significantly, it is one of very few glaciers in the world that is actually advancing ( most are shrinking/receding ). Google “most impressive glaciers” and you’ll see that many sites rank it number 1 in the world. We have not seen enough to confirm that but it’s definitely top of our list, so no arguments here.
Hard to top the Moreno glacier so for the next few days we simply enjoyed the many pleasures of El Calafate. Reconnected with our Belgian friends ( first met in Pucon, Chile and who had arrived in Argentina just ahead of us ) and enjoyed spending time with a group of Brazilians camped beside us who were also making their way south to the bottom of South America. Lots of tip sharing both ways, always one of the delights of bumping into other travellers along the way.
North of El Calafate, when travelling Argentina’s famous Route 40 ( our plan ) there really isn’t a major centre until Bariloche, over 1,400 kms away so we needed to address a nagging issue we had with the vehicle air bags. Essentially, a clamp that held the drivers side airbag in place had worked its way loose but could not be tightened. It rattled loudly on rough roads ( so, quite often ! ) and with more of that ahead we just decided to replace it. Fortunately an English speaking mechanic was found ( and they are rare ! ) – in a few hours “Nico” had the old clamp cut off and a shiny new one put on in its place- no more rattles !
Amost two months back on the overland trail had made our rig disgustingly dirty – I mean, the real baked on stuff ! This would need a high pressure wash bay where we could take our time and just clean it top to bottom. Found just one such in town so the two of us spent two hours getting the shine back on ( which likely won’t long on Route 40 north ) ! What is it that just seems to make a car/truck drive better when it’s been washed thoroughly- not sure but it always seems to !
Hola!
It was nice to meet some fellow Canadians at the Perito Moreno Glacier! And what a great traveling story you have! We just read your article about El Calafate, and we’ll have to go back and read about your other adventures. Safe travels!
Tricia & Paul 🇨🇦
Hi Tricia and Paul !
Nice to meet you guys as well ! We liked your story as well and it was interesting to hear where you have been and where you will go. Perhaps our paths will cross again ? Just got to El Chalten and it’s basically north from here for us !
Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your time in South America.
Jeff/Lois
So have been following and actually drove to Colorado purchased a 6.5 Caribou for our 5.5 bed Ford f150. Saw where you had the height adjust higher. We opted for North South queen bedding, we wish we had done so too for height. Have you thought of any options for an optional thinner mattress that might work to reduce 2-3 inches for a better clearance when sitting up. If not it’s fine, please continue to enjoy and be safe! I’m really jelly about yur GROOVY journey! Thanks!👍
Hi Michael,
Yes, we have no regrets about north south bedding – and the older you get the more you like it ! Re the height we could have even gone an inch more but oh well, it certainly helps to have the two inches we asked for.
We have a 5.5 inch thick mattress so it’s pretty thick ( for a camper ) and yes, you can get thinner. We threw away the stock mattress that came with ours and went to Mattress Insider for a custom gel/memory foam combo that we have been really happy with. That dimension is no longer available so a 4” one likely would be ( saving you some height ). We had spoken with Nathan and he was very helpful. They are pretty accommodating and made ours in two parts : we had it made 75” long but the base mattress was 60” and then we had the last 15” split in two ( so the foam pieces were more manageable ) and those are the pieces we use when it is extended ( which is every night !!!!! ).
Hope that helps…?
Love reading about your travel adventures! You are living your dreams! Safe travels!
Happy New Year Ruth !
Don’t want to think we are living your dreams, but rather, possibly inspiring you to take the plunge and do something like this yourself ! So many others inspired us along the way…!
Oops, I just noticed you said living “our” dreams lol ! I mis-read it initially. My bad !
Yes, it has been something we have planned for a long time. Covid kind of delayed this last bit, but one has to stay flexible !!! Sure glad we came back…..
Hola queridos! Nos conocimos en el hostel en Gobernador Gregores, Santa Cruz! Somos José y Maru, cicloviajeros. Les deseamos muy buenas rutas y que disfruten nuestro hermoso país ❤️🇦🇷 Abrazos!
Hola Jose y Maru ! Fue un placer conocerlos a los dos, gracias por todos los buenos consejos que dieron y por “registrarnos” cuando Mauro estaba fuera! ¡Espero que el viento esté detrás de ti para el resto de tu viaje a Ushuaia! ¡Buena suerte! Jeff and Lois
I would really like to learn about doing what you are doing…if you up for some conversation I would love to….I have many questions. I’m in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. I’m retired and ready to roll but find the idea of doing what you are doing both exciting and intimidating.
Hi Mike,
Happy to help you out, we had lots of questions too and spoke to many before we left so it’s kind of like paying it forward. It’s a bit tough to FaceTime/WhatsApp for a bit as we are travelling in remote regions with spotty wifi and cell service. If it’s not too urgent we could do a coffee/beer when we return ( April/May ) and I will answer all your questions. If more urgent, in about a week we should be in paces where we could do a wifi based connection. Let me know…!
Great read guys, and love the photos! Happy All the best for a happy and healthy New Year 💗
And to you too, Roxanne !
Happy new year! That’s quite the rig the Swiss travellers have!
https://www.pepamobil.ch/
Happy new year! The Swiss rig is huge!
https://www.pepamobil.ch/
Yes, quite the “ride” eh ? Makes us feel waaaay too small lol !
Happy New Year, Chris…!
Happy New Year to both of you. El Calafate looks and sounds amazing. Safe journey!
Thanks Tonia and HNY to you as well…!
Happy New Year. We look forward to your updates and happy to see you are still rolling along. Are their new restrictions in place as a result of this current COVID wave?
Hi Earle,
Happy New Year to you both as well. So far, no more new restrictions ( where we are anyway ) but we are all holding out breath. I read the covid updates regularly and am pinning my hopes on the fact that it may affect more people but seems to be way less dangerous. As long as we can keep people out of hospitals hopefully it will all just eventually go away ( possibly a bit optimistic I suppose !).
Wonderful stuff as always. Happy New Year xx
Happy New Year to you guys too……!
We enjoy reading about your adventures!
Happy New Year to both of you!
Safe travels
And Happy New Year to you both and the kids as well ! Look forward to connecting in Spring.
Great read, yet again. Beautiful scenery & yes, we encounter few repairers in outback Australia too. The further north you head, the harder it is to find someone, but when you do they are always excellent. The big rigs are pretty common over here, especially if you want to go really bush & off the beaten track. Good clearance is a must up north & the swept up backs make for easy river crossings & endless sand dunes. We can’t wait to get back on the road at the end of March all being well. Stay safe & happy travels.
Thanks Anne, and I hope you don’t have any delays getting rolling. Let 2022 be the year we can all be unshackled !
Happy New Year Jeff and Lois!
It’s so wonderful that you’ve been back in the road again ! Wishing you safe travels and all the happiness and joy that 2022 may bring ! Paz contigo!
Scott
Scott, so very nice to hear from you ! Happy New Year to you guys as well and pass my regards on to all at Commerce Place. We are really enjoying Argentina so far…..but LOTS of driving – it’s big !!!!
Ciao for now,
Jeff
Hi friends, happy new year! We met in El Chalten…i hope you keep enjoying our beautiful country 🙂
It was great to me you guys, too ! We are absolutely LOVING Argentina – you do have a very beautiful country !