With the drug courier to El Calafate :-)

Yesterday morning I had to go straight to a pharmacy. I may have had a terrible sore throat and another sleepless night as a result. The pharmacist gave me a great spray. Oh, that's good. Yes, Daniela, I mention it...! When we were packing in Germany, I said to Daniela "my goodness, how many tempo packs are you taking with you"? "Oh yes, now I say... why didn't you take more with you... *laughs*?

Yesterday at lunchtime we took the coach from El Chalten to El Calafate. We had reserved the two front seats in the upper compartment. That was really cool, we had the best view.

The journey was very monotonous and somehow boring. Yes, but then... out of nowhere - just before El Calafate - there was a permanently installed police checkpoint, like a border control we used to have. You can't imagine this. First two police officers came onto the bus and everyone had to show their ID. They were super nice, so there was a relaxed atmosphere. Then a police officer came in with a German Shepherd. He explained to us that this was a drug dog and asked if anyone had drugs with them. We had to laugh - what an absurd question!!! By the way, we were told that drugs (including marijuana) are banned in Argentina. The German Shepherd got his command from his master, walked down the aisle and sniffed excitedly at every seat. He stopped in front of an older man and sat down. The police officer walked up to him and asked him if he had any marijuana. The old man said yes and we all looked at each other in surprise. Called via radio, two more police officers came and escorted the man out of the bus. Two Spaniards, who also spoke English, also had to get out and act as interpreters for the Australian. The travel bag was ordered from the bus and every single item was taken out of the bag. The entire procedure took over half an hour. As a reward, the German Shepherd was allowed to play with a ball in the parking lot. Since we were sitting at the top of the bus, we could of course watch everything very closely. I said to Daniela how quickly a boring bus ride turns into an exciting and exciting tour. After a long time, the two Spaniards came back and said that the man had four grams of marijuana with him. We don't know what punishment he received, but at some point he returned laughing. The “bus” also took it with humor and greeted him with applause. As an apology for the wait, he invited everyone to a bar later in the evening. But since we are being picked up tomorrow morning for glacier trekking and our interest in marijuana is limited, we politely declined. The obligatory 3 plants for the front garden have already been ordered ;-)

I really like the town of El Calafate at first glance. It is much larger than El Chalten, but also has these little colorful wooden houses and therefore a really great charm.

My absolute HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHT follows in the next entry!