16/01/2020 – El Chalten to Ushuiaia, Argentina

We got up and had breakfast down in the little restaurant room with a view out across the lake. It was cold and windy again, which just adds to the drama of the place! The two Argentines from dinner last night were there and really kindly gave us their contact details to have in an emergency once mum and dad have gone back home. We have met a lot of people over the last year who readily and enthusiastically offer their help and support to us after very brief introductions. It makes me think I must do the same for anyone I meet on their travels in England as I think culturally we are not as readily available to people we newly meet. After dad settling the bill in cash in order to gain 10% discount (think the tax is fiddled with a bit when you pay in cash) we walked back to our rooms and finished packing. Josh forgot to get his big waterproof camera housing case packed into mum and dads bag, which ended up causing some confusion and unpacking and repacking. By the time we were all in the car it was a few dashes back into the rooms, mum nearly left her kindle and I a plug adaptor! That was a close one! We drove through the incredible landscape and pulled over a couple of times to take some pictures from the window. It just never gets old and we were WOW-ing for the whole journey. We got to El Calafate and to the petrol station to fill the car up. Josh parked in quite a tight space and dad had a little panic as he wasn’t used to Joshs parking skills! We popped into the church across the road as mum has been asked to light a candle in memory of Jane Moons mother who passed away recently. Mum was a little bit anxious as it is not a thing any of us have ever really done before! There were no candles to light so it is now a challenge to find another church to do this in. We walked through the town to the coffee shop we had popped into a few days before, and ordered some coffees and some food to go. We were cutting it fine time wise as the hire car had to be back at a certain time. The food was all prepared fresh so did take a long time and in the end we had to grab the bag and run back to the car to drive the 15 minutes to the airport and drop the car back. We drove to the airport and quickly emptied the car, and ran in to drop the keys back. We were just in time as apparently the guy behind dad was in trouble for bringing his car back a few minutes late! I guess they are getting cars ready for the next plane load of people arriving. We checked our bags in and went through security. Security is pretty lax here, there is no worries about waters, electronics or shoes or anything. Still, dad did manage to make it beep, afterwards he said his watch and jumper often make the sensors beep, which did make us wander why he hadn’t taken them off before walking through! We went and sat at our gate and ate our packed lunches. We used the free airport wifi until we boarded the plane. Josh got some time off and sat across the aisle from mum, dad and me. We all started the journey doing some reading and I think we all nodded off. The flight was about 1 and a half hours so not long at all. When we disembarked the sky was grey and it was raining, the opposite of the bright blue skies we had been in this morning. Josh and dad ran through security to be first in line to pick up the hire car as there was some concern that there may not be any cars available even though it had been reserved in advance. Mum and I picked up the luggage, there was a bit of a luggage jam and back up on the belt which caused a bit of drama! We got shown the car, and the guy even gave us a free upgrade to a bigger car when he saw how much luggage we had which was kind! The car doesn’t have central locking so we have to keep reminding ourselves to push the lock down as we get out! Mum navigated us to our accommodation, which was complicated a little by some road blockades, but she got us there! It is a kooky building with character, as is to be expected with mum and dad! It is called Tierra de Leyendas, and has a kind of ski chalet feel to it. We were welcomed in by the owner, who gave us a hot drink and showed us a map of the town. We took our stuff up to the rooms. We have been upgraded so both rooms have beautiful views. Mum and dad have a huge bath almost like a jacuzzi in their bathroom. We dumped our bags and then headed out in the car to find a launderette as we all have a few bits that need cleaning. We dropped it in and then went to the supermarket and picked up some snacks to keep us going for the next few days. We went back to our hotel and quickly unpacked before dinner. The meal was cooked by the hotel owner and served to us by his wifes mother and his daughter. We all had exactly the same – scallops to start, Patagonian sea bass for mains and a dulce de leche crepe for pudding. It was beautiful food! Josh has said he feels in good health after having eaten and slept better and had more of a routine over the last week than we have had for ages. We went up to mum and dads room to relax. It is 22:24 here and the sun has set but it is in no way dark yet, it’s lovely if a little disorientating!