Chile '25 • Day 9: The Dogs of El Calafate

THIS PLACE IS FOR THE DOGS!

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One of the Many Dogs of El Calafate

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AROUND TOWN

Just like Puerto Varas, we didn’t have a planned activity for our last day in El Calafate. It might have been interesting to go to the petrified forest but it was an all day affair so we decided to walk in town, shop and eat.

Lots of chocolate shops in El Calafate, and many also serve a nice hot chocolate! Patagonia Brewery, thumbs up! A little jewelry shopping for Yvette and more meat for dinner! And a walk along the water with lots of native birds.

Patagonia Brewing Co. - Amber Lager - Delicious!

Ibis - For All You Wingspan Players

DOGS OF EL CALAFATE

So for the past 3 days we have been observing the many roaming dogs around town. They are everywhere. Coats a little mangy, but all seemingly well fed. It turns out that El Calafate has dealt with the dog problem with compassion and acceptance. The city pays for their veterinary costs. They just seem part of the city landscape. Not aggressive, though some will let you know that they, not you, own the street when you might be driving through a neighborhood. Shockingly there isn’t poop everywhere, and each restaurant has a dog or 3 that seems to hang about. One night from our hotel it sounded like there was a dog party going on nearby. What seemed like a large group of dogs woofing it up for a good 15 minutes. On another occasion we saw a group if 6 or 7 dogs all hanging out near the park as if it was their daily club meeting (too bad we missed that photo!). I kinda liked the vibe, not sure if Yvette was on board though.

A selection of El Calafate Dogs. They're Everywhere. Thanks Steve K for most of these photos.

Do a web search on The Dogs of El Calafate for more info.

Tomorrow we take a 4 hour drive back to Chile and into the Torres Del Paine National Park. Rain is in the forecast every day, so we’ll see what happens!