My previous post described the strange union of two species, glaciers and flamingos. In El-Chalten, a small hamlet in Patagonia, we observed another incongruous union. Several years ago, El Chalten was mainly a destination for backpackers heading into the Fitzroy Range. Nowadays, many tourists like us, take day hikes only to the base of the mountains, and enjoy the magnificent views of rugged, white-capped peaks.
As soon as we boarded the bus, we heard more Hebrew than we did for the previous two months in Argentina. On our arrival, we were not surprised to observe that the village was dominated by large groups of post-army Israelis. However, we were surprised by the second-largest constituency of tourists, which were middle-aged Koreans. Soon we learned, that even though both the Israeli and the Korean species share the same flocking instinct (Facebook?), they differ in their habits.
We left our hotel for, what we considered, an early start. Our destination was a glacial lake-with-a-view. We were alone on the trail for the first half of the pleasant walk, until we encountered a group of Korean ajum'mas (housewives) already on their way back. We were astounded, they must have left the village at least three hours ahead of us. For the next hour, every single group coming towards us was Korean. All were dressed in the latest outdoor fashions (Not including the parasols, which the more elegant women used against the strong sun). Eventually, the trail regained its serenity. At the lake, we joined a small crowd of assorted nationalities in admiring the view, and playing with the floating ice. After eating our sandwiches, we headed back. Half way home, we had a deja-vu experience, with one difference. This time, all the groups going towards the lake were Israeli wearing clothes that seemed too light for the weather. Superfluous to say that they were heard well before they were seen.
One additional fact: According to a group of Korean backpackers, "It is advised" to be at the lake during sunrise.
Based on the above observations, I will leave it to the reader to deduce national traits.
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