Coming back to El Calafate in the evening, I buy the hamburger at the store near to the hostel.
To stay at El Chalten for hiking one day more is also fine, but my feet seem need to rest.
In this popular town, maybe I could find some interesting activities for the next two days.
When I check in the hostel, the staff still promote their special glacier hiking to me.
Though the money is not a problem, I have to consider it tomorrow.
The next morning, I decide to book the horse-riding in the afternoon for 240 pesos.
The riding I booked in the afternoon is a short tour about 100 minutes.
In fact, since I saw the tourists riding horses in Paine, I really want to try once.
My first horse-riding is the old memory in Tibet.
Though I had a chance to ride the icelandic horse in Iceland, there was no proper tour for me.
Since the tour is confirmed, I walk toward the main street killing my day.
Listening to the songs, I look around the shops aimlessly.
It's not always my interest to shop, but I buy a tea pot and a straw for mate tea.
The price is not cheap if you want a decorated pot.
A tea pot with a straw may cost you 70 to 200 pesos.
Except for the straw is made of material, the materials for the pot are various, such as wood, calabush gourd.
As for the mate leaves, it's common in any supermarket.
In the meanwhile, I also look for the camera shop for a new lens pen.
I lost my lens pen somewhere in Punta Arenas.
Though it seems that this kind of stuff is unusual in the south of Argentina and Chile, I find a lens cloth in a Kodak shop that is still fine as the replacement.
The shop for the DSLR is not available since I travel in South America, so the lens pen is also not a common tool here without wonder.
So, remember to prepare your equipments and tools in advance before the travel.
I don't know where I could go and what I could do while I buy all the things I need.
Thus, I decide to have a good meal in the restaurant we visited last time.
This time, I order the Mix of Achuras which means a bit of everything.
It's the grilled beaf from different parts, and I also order a homemade chips and a salad.
The taste of the grilled beaf is fine. The meat with both the fat and the lean is the best part while the whole lean is too dry for me.
Besides, the portion is so big that I cut the rest and take away as the ingredient of my dinner.
At five o'clock, the tour agent drive me to their farm.
I'm the only guest today. The young guide riding the horse is the leader, so it's quite easy to riding the horse even if you're the beginner.
Compared with the experience in Tibet, the feeling of riding on the adult horse is quite different from riding on the pony.
You just feel that you will fall from the back because of the swing if you don't grab the rope tightly.
We and many dogs are heading toward the grassland nearby Laguna Argentina.
The scenery is nice and you could enjoy it leisurely while you could only get a glimpse on the car.
Riding horse is interesting for sure, but the little pity is that it's hard to take photos on the shaking back.
When the tour is finished, I'm treated with breads and the hot mate tea. Though I bought the pot and the leaves, I didn't try yet.
The traditional mate tea is quite different from the tea brewed with the tea-bag and is hot and strong.
Returning to the hostel, I try to cook a special meal with the grilled beef.
First, boil a pot of water and put two packs of the cup soup into the water.
Then, put the rice and cook for a while.
While the rice is almost cooked and soft, put the beef I've cut already. Besides, I also put the chips.
Just waiting for a while, the meal is done. The lean becomes juicy after cooked in the soup.
The next day and also my final day in El Calafate, I join the All Glacier boat tour in the morning.
Of course, you have to book the tour the day before the departure.
Though the hostel has their own glacier hiking and I'm a little interested of this special route, my feet are not ready so I prefer to watch the glaciers on the ship.
I draw the ferry route and mark the glaciers of the All Glaciers tour on the map shown aboved.
When we arrive at the ferry terminal "Punta Bandera" by the hostel's suttle, the tourists have to pay the national park fee and then get on the ship.
Before reaching Upsala glaicer, you could find some icebergs on the lake.
For me, this scene is not so special since I've sailed among the icebergs in Greenland where the icebergs are much bigger and more.
However, if you don't have the budget travelling in Greenland, it's indeed an excellent experience to watch icebergs in Argentina.
Upsala glacier is a large valley glacier that you may not feel the huge if you only watch on the ship.
A map inside the cabin shows clearly about the range of the Upsala glacier as the point 8.
It's also said that this glacier retreated a lot because of the global warming.
As for the name of Upsala, it's derived from Uppsala University which sponsored the first study in this area.
Near the Upsala glacier, Spegazzini glacier is the second glacier we visit as the point 6.
This glacier has a branch up to the mountainside. The ice wall is not wider and taller than Upsala glacier.
Even in the wikipedia, Spegazzini glacier is still without any detailed information.
The last glacier and the great one I think is the Perito Moreno glacier.
Only on this side, you could realize how long the ice wall of Perito Moreno is.
The ice wall is also tall while the ship gets close to it.
Sometimes, you could see the collapse of the ice chunk just as I saw during the Big Ice Hiking.
About this boat tour, the scenery is fine. However, I have to say that the space is too small for all the tourists who want to take photos and the sides are too wet with the water blew because of the ship's speed.
I miss a lot of the tours I joined in Greenland that you could also get great photos in an easy way without struggling in the jam.
By the way, I think there is also an important thing bioth of you should know.
Remeber to give the space to others after you take photos.
Basically, I will change my location frequently as I take photos for about ten pictures.
It's the good manner for all the tourists to enjoy a good time.
If you are a professional phototgrapher, ten pictures is enough to catch the scene in front of you at that location, otherwise, you are not qualified.
If you are only a tourist, please don't take too much pictures of the same scene. You should try to learn some basic knowledge about how to get a good picture.
As for someone who always stay at the good location for the scenery, this kind of tourist should be shamed of your selfishness.
The outdoor is not the only place to watch the scenery if you don't take photos.
Besides, the photographer of the ferry company is also selfish for his job of taking photos of the tourists.
Everyone should have the same right and opportunity to watch the scene or take photos in any location on the ship.
Totally speaking, I think this tour is not good for the one who want to take phots in a good mood.
Though I still take some nice photos, my mood is quite bad during the sailing.
Thus, I recommend you to join the small-group glacier hiking first and list this sailing tour as your optional choice if you have plenty of time and money.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)
http://www.cabalgataenpatagonia.com/
http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.ar/parques/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier
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