3rd December 2024

Our first full day in Patagonia. Breakfast was spent at a window table enjoying the views of Lago Argentino, a glacier blue lake with the mountains serving as a backdrop. A smile clung to both our faces as we lazily soaked it all up alongside coffee and toast spread with calafate jam, which tasted like sweet blueberries.

We walked to the Laguna Nimez Reserva Municipal, a nature reserve on the edge of town. We followed the 4km circuit at a leisurely pace and absorbed what the reserve had to offer.

The terrain of El Calafate shore reminds me of the sand dunes and marshes in Norfolk. Everything is at the wims of the wind which carves it’s path sculpting the shoreline and ensuring that only the most resilient plants succeed. The flora is a canopy of dull greens, yellows, greys and purples. The water reflects the blue of the sky but only when the clouds don’t claim the reflection for their own. 

Despite it being the wrong season we were lucky enough to spot flamingos in the Lago Argentino from one of the view points within the reserve (too far away to photograph well I’m afraid!).

We ended the day drinking sparkling cider on the hostel terrace and celebrating our dorm mates birthday with dinner.