CALETA
OLIVIA , a
coastal town of
40,000
inhabitants,
makes an
inauspicious
introduction to
the province of
Santa Cruz.
Never the most
beautiful of
towns, the place
is made less
attractive still
by the sense of
depression
that's settled
on it since the
oil boom
bottomed out in
the 1990s,
causing high
levels of
unemployment.
It's all a far
cry from the
heady days of
1969, when the
locals proudly
raised
El
Gorosito ,
the thirteen-metre-high
stucco statue of
an oil worker
that still
dominates the
town.
If you do
find yourself
having to
overnight
here, try not to
get too confused
by the mix-up of
old and new
street names.
The Granada
at San José
Obrero 953 (tel
0297/485-1512;
$30-45) is the
best of a poor
lot in terms of
less expensive
lodgings, and is
situated only
two blocks from
El Gorosito.
More upmarket,
but nothing
special, is the
three-star
Robert (tel
0297/485-1452,
fax 485-2924;
$60-80), right
near El Gorosito,
with two grades
of rooms. The
municipal
campsite , a
stony site on
the Avenida
Costanera by the
beach, deems it
prudent to offer
24-hour
security, but is
run by an
amicable bunch.
