Yesterday, worked out just fine as I made my way to El Calafate, Argentina. The last 25k was into the wind, so I traveled between 13 and 17kph. The rest of the way, I had a good tailwind. For the last 2.5 weeks, I have had the road almost to myself. Since so many tourists are coming to this part of Argentina to see the famous peaks and glaciers, I encountered a lot of traffic in the form of tour buses and cars. I had to stop riding in the center of my lane and move over to the white line.
The road followed the La Leona River for a long distance as it snaked through the barren hills and into Lake Argentina. What a sight, lake Argentina, so blue and set against the backdrop of the snow-capped Andes!
As I approached El Calafate, I met two more road warriors from the Netherlands. They have been on the road for three months and plan to spend another nine before returning home. The girls spotted another warrior coming behind me. I never met him, but the girls waited for him and found out he was 60 and from Australia. The five of them – the two girls, the couple from the Netherlands, and the Aussie – had a get-together on the shoulder of Ruta 40.
El Calafate did not look like much as I approached it from the east, but it was a beautiful town. The main street is paved with patio blocks, and the center is lined with tall pine trees. Along the street were restaurants, outdoor shops, plenty of hotels, and green parks. On the sidewalks, tourists wore hiking boots and expensive Gore-Tex jackets.
We decided to treat ourselves, and we checked into a four-star hotel with all the amenities. When talking to the front desk, a young fellow told us our planned route was not a good one and suggested we change our next destination. The road is terrible, and there is nothing for accommodation along the 150k. So today, we will search for more information and lodging for the next week, but it seems I will have to adjust our plans.
I have previously mentioned the three exchange rates here in Argentina: bank, Western Union, and Blue Market. A week ago, I sent $500 to myself by WU. In Perito Moreno, all four WUs were closed or had no money. In a major tourist town, El Calafate, two places said that WU and the government are fighting, so there is no more cash for foreigners. Great, now what? Ok, I can use my CC, Visa, or debit card and get about the same rate as WU 555 for CC or 627 from WU for one Canadian dollar. That is okay when places take credit cards, but sometimes you have to pay with cash, so a bank withdrawal is required since I can’t get money from WU. Here, the banks conduct legalized robbery. I went to four banks ATMs—two had no cash for foreigners. One had a limit of only 2000 pesos, about USD 2, using the blue market rate. The fourth bank would give a maximum of 15000 pesos, about $15, but to get this measly amount, I had to pay 3755 or about $4 to get $15. That is a 25% charge to give me cash from my Bank of Montreal. My bank will also charge me for an atm withdrawal. So, I made six withdrawals of 15,000 pesos each, which gave me about $100 USD. To get this $100, I had to pay $26, highway robbery.