Arrival at El Calafate International Airport (FTE)
FTE is actually quite far from the town, so you can take the shuttle, hire a taxi or get a rental car at the airport. We took the shuttle and went to the car rental in downtown (because it was much cheaper).
Quick lunch in downtown
We got the rental around noon, so right after we checked in at a restaurant nearby, Viva la Pepa (Address: Amado 833). It is one of the restaurants on Google Maps with most reviews in town (probably due to the location). They mainly serve crepes and soup. We had a crepe and soup, it was relatively pretty good (in Argentinian terms) but not really exceptional compared to places we tried in the US. However, it is a good place for a “quick” bite (it was not fast as they do take the time to prepare it).
Afternoon around the Lago Argentino
We spend the afternoon around the south shore of the Lago Argentino. We drove into the wetland and took some pictures. It was windy but yet quite a natural scenery.
Barbeque Lamb Dinner
The south of Argentina is known for its “Cordero patagónico”, so we had to have it. We went to “Mi Viejo” (Address: Av. del Libertador 1111), a typical Argentinian “parrilla”. We had some lamb empanadas and some barbecued lamb. The service was ok, but in the end, they tried to charge us for two portions of lamb when we only had one (This type of scam is very common in Argentina, so just be aware and smart. Also speaking fluent Spanish will help a lot.)
End of Our First Day
I really wanted to see the sunset at the lake, so we drove to the Lago Argentino after dinner. However, it was unfortunately too cloudy to see the sun. Last, we spend the rest of the night in the downtown area and checking out the stores.
