We flew into El Calafate. It's a small town, very frontier-y with a sort of Western feel. The airport is tiny and has one small runway. I can't say much about it since all we did was drive through a couple of times. But as soon as we landed you got the distinct feeling that you were very far away. From anything. It is remote to say the least.
Los Notros is a fabulous hotel. It's not super luxurious or swishy like a Four Seasons or the George V but it was better in pretty much every way I can think of. It doesn't have the elegance of a big expensive hotel but it also didn't have the stuffiness. It was extremely comfortable and casual. The decoration is very Western and frontier-y (you are going to hear that a lot from me). A lot of natural wood, exposed beams, rugs by local Indian tribes, cow hide-covered furniture, fire places, etc. It had huge plate glass windows all along the side facing the glacier. So whether we were in our room or eating in the dining room all you could do was admire Perito Moreno.
It was very expensive, not the kind of hotel we would normally stay in. But if you are schlepping yourself all the way down to southern Patagonia it would be sort of crazy not to spring for this place. I can't imagine commuting back and forth to El Calafate. Everything was included, all the food and the excursions. And everything was perfectly done.
The food was excellent. We got fat quick. We had three courses at every meal - I'm too full for dessert but we've already paid for it! The excursions were fabulous - cruises around icebergs and to other glaciers, glacier-trekking, etc. And the guides were very, very knowledgeable.
The staff was really excellent. (Yes, I need to expand my vocabulary.) They are all young and imported from other parts of the country. The hotel, because of the latitude / weather, is only open 8 or 9 months of the year and the staff all have contracts for that season. They all live in 'dorms' on the property though a couple of people commute from El Calafate. The hospitality industry is booming in Argentina and a lot of young, smart, articulate and very nice university graduates flock to this place. Not only was the service excellent in every way but they were all very excited to be there. They all knew it was a special place, too, and were delighted to share it with us.
We found this throughout the country. They weren't cocky about it like, say, the French (pardonnez-moi, citoyens). They were very humble (mais, oui, you luf Fraahhnce, why would you not?). When we told people that we were on our honeymoon they seemed shocked that we would pick Argentina and always wanted to know if we were enjoying ourselves. When we said that we loved it they were so excited but at the same time would say, it is very beautiful, isn't it? It was a lovely combination of gratitude and pride. It was very sweet to be around.
Our room wasn't terribly big but it had a gorgeous view. And the bathroom was behind the room and had a plate glass window that opened into the bedroom so you could see the glacier through that window. Make sense? It was cute.
The only alarming thing was that there were some rules you had to follow because it was in a national park. There was only limited sewage treatment so when you went to the loo you had to throw away - not flush - your toilet paper. No matter what. That was hard to get used to. And pretty gross. And all the water came from a local waterfall so the hotel had to close when the waterfall froze in the winter.
The weather was pretty temperate considering you were a few hundred yards from a giant block of ice and as close to Antarctica as I have ever been. It was maybe in the 50s? On - and close to - the glacier the temperature dropped a lot. And freezing wind would whip off that thing like I've never experienced. But every time we returned to the hotel there were fires going and it was so cozy.
I took so many photos of the glacier I didn't take
too many indoors. This gives you a tiny bit of flavor:
eating homemade cotton candy with indigenous
textiles hanging behind me. Notice the sunburn
from reflection off the glacier!
Los Notros, which is a kind of bush that grows in the area, was just awesome. Rustic comfort. Enh, now I want to go back.
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