Edge of the Earth

View of Lago Argentina from the airplane. Notice the amazing blue color (sorry about the photo quality) of the water contrasted with the brown desert.


View of the mountains around Bariloche taken from the plane en route from Bariloche to El Calafate.

Fun Fact about Patagonia: Butch Cassidy and other outlaws, when fed up with the growing law and order (as opposed to growing lawlessness) in the West, ran away to Patagonia to start new lives. They thought its remoteness would provide security from the law. They were right. That is until they decided to start holding up Argentine banks. It was the most random thing I've learned about Patagonia thus far. I have Bruce Chatwick to thank, as I've learned lots of random facts from his book In Patagonia, which was pubished in the late 70s.

I arrive in El Calafate yesterday (Sunday). It looks like a western outpost. Some houses, hotels, buildings sitting a bit depressed from the surrounding hills/dunes. There is a nice main drag, but then you walk one block off and the roads deteriorate, sidewalks are made of dirt, and signing/lights go way down. It really does have a frontier town feel to it. Oddly enough, like most cities in Argentina, it also has a casino. I imagine that's the "saloon" where shootouts occur. Anyhow, being out here does give you a sense of isolation and that you are really at the limits of civilization. I am at the Edge of the Earth...don't be coy, I know, the earth is round, not flat, and has no edges. Just go with this one...