Smooth Move, Supermarket Chaos & Happy Hour Luck

Today marked a little shift in our Patagonian adventure. We said a
temporary goodbye to the wonderful Gabriella at the Hotel Confin
Patagonico (thanks to Claudia and Jorge who gave us a fantastic deal –
¡mil gracias!) and moved to a new base camp.

Through their recommendation, we’re now settled into a compact and
brilliant apartment run by their good friend, Fernando. The service was
seamless – help with our bags was included, a touch we can’t recommend
highly enough! While our stay at Confin Patagonico was great, Fernando’s
place on the main drag is exactly what we were looking for, and the
price was spot-on, even for a long stay of 27 nights.

The apartment is cozy, but has everything we need. In no time, we had
our mountain gear unpacked and organised, transforming it from a
temporary space into our own little Patagonian home.

The Great Supermarket Saga

Our first mission: stock the larder. What we thought would be a simple
trip to the local supermarket turned into a true cultural experience.
Unlike the norm in Spain, there were no trolleys, no baskets, and
crucially, no bags at the checkout.

Cue the embarrassing spectacle of us at the register, realizing we had
no way to carry our haul. The result? We staggered out of the
supermarket with arms overflowing, clutching an overweight cardboard box
that we desperately prayed would hold our precious bottles of Malbec.

Lesson learned. Trip two involved an empty rucksack. Infinitely better.
You really do live and learn!

A Closed Door Leads to a Happy Hour

With our food supplies secured and feeling chuffed about the smooth
accommodation switch, we decided to celebrate at the local
Cerveceria. Of course, it was closed. Typical, eh?

But as often happens when travelling, a closed door leads to an open
window. The silver lining? We discovered a fantastic bar right opposite
our new apartment, offering a happy hour discount on local craft beers.
Result! A perfect end to a day of successful (and slightly chaotic)
settling-in.

On the Horizon

We’re taking it easy tomorrow, but with a full week of good weather
forecast, we’re already dreaming bigger. The plan is forming for an
overnight bivouac in the mountains. This is Patagonia, after all – you
have to seize every weather window you get.

Vamos a ver qué pasa! (Let's see what happens!)