Random Thoughts

Talking about buses, they´re the most convenient and popular mode of transportation in South America. But the bus drivers have a mind of their own. There´s no way of knowing when, where, or for how long the bus will stop during a journey. A co-traveller from Australia recounted this incident when her bus stopped for a ten minute break. She returned from the bathroom to find that the bus had left. Stranded in the middle of the boonies, she was ¨shit scared´´ and in a state of utter panic for ten minutes after which the bus coolly returned. The driver had merely taken the bus for a wash.

Shirinne - if you think Indian streets are infested with street dogs, South America is no different. Isabel Allende claims that dogs in Chile have a social consciousness of their own. No Chileans have ever bought a dog, they´re always inherited, adopted, or taken in when they follow a kid home from school. They´re all universally known as ¨Blackie´´. The counterpart for the ubiquitous ¨Tommy¨ in India.

We returned from glacier trip in El Chalten around 11pm. The hostel was a 20 minute walk from the bus station, through streets rife with dogs. Kavita threw the biggest panic fit at the thought of walking through their lair (mom will relate well to this!). Nagesh´s arm was squeezed, his tired head was chewn to bits, and his ears were filled with nervous complaints. We made it back safe realizing that these canine colonies were not hostile at all. It was indeed a social pack minding its own business.

We had finally earned a holiday after that hectic trip. El Calafate was a perfect town to relax with it´s easy lifestyle. Wooden log cabin style shops and buildings added to the vacation ambience. We discovered a lovely coffee shop lined with shelves full of touristy books on Argentina. It was a delicious way to spend the afternoon siesta time when everything in town shuts down. Life sleepily resumes again after 6pm. The waiters are in no hurry at the restaurants, neither to bring the food nor la cuenta (the check). They don´t seem to care about the tip either, or that´s our impression.

The next day, we booked ourselves on a tour to the city most famous attraction : the Perito Moreno glacier at the south end of the Los Glaciares NP.