Mountain Town and Adventures to Come!

Good afternoon Friends and Family!

This morning I nearly sprinted to the laundry, catching them just as they opened their doors for the day. The lady was so polite, barely flinching as I pulled out layer upon layer of filthy tees and jeans, and socks still shedding bits of the wilderness on her clean floor. This afternoon I returned to two huge bags of the freshest and cleanest and whitest tee shirts, pressed blue jeans, and my socks, my glorious socks, restored to their original colors from the uniform dusty dirt color they´d acquired over the past week. I was so happy I nearly cried. It cost $12. Priceless.

El Calafate has been a wonderful spot to linger. The weather is unmatched -- probably around 75 degrees, clear skies, and a light cooling wind off the glaciers. Inviting restaurants and cafes abound -- stay too long here at the risk of your waistline. I love the mountaineering shops with trekking gear, fancy ropes and tents- they have everything you could desire to rough it in the highest style! But it is all at a price-- this place is dang expensive! The tourist shops have crazy tee shirts, sheep shaped trinkets by local artists, leather goods, jams and wine made from the El Calafate berry, etc, etc, etc. Without blowing the budget, the tourist in me still found way to get a few treasures here and there (watch for them in your Christmas stockings)!

Also, after serious debate, I decided on an excursion for tomorrow´s industry. I´ve been dreaming about it since I heard it was possible, so I´m taking the leap and am joining a group to go trekking on the Puerto Merrino glacier itself. They supply the crampons, included in the price :-) I´ll take tons of pics.

A minor hitch in my plans, I read my email to discover there was a building collapse this morning in Buenos Aires. My hotel was closeby and is now closed indefinitely until they can bring down the rest of the collapsed building and clear the debris. Zipes. I´m going online now to find a new place. I don´t like to think about the timing of it, just a few days before my arrival.... but a miss is as good as a mile :-)

I heard from Murray. He´s fallen in love with Buenos Aires too, and is giving me inside scoop on where he loved and where to skip, so I can maximize my time upon my return on Wednesday. Insider info!!

Thanks for the notes-- I´m thinking of you all, and dragging you along every step of my way. And I am sending my love!

Love T