Category: Uncategorized

Last day in El Calafate & our journey to Ushuaia, the worlds southern most city.

by Lynn, posted in Uncategorized

So our day began in a very relaxed fashion with a leisurely breakfast before checking out and heading to the bird sanctuary on the shores of Lake Argentina just a few kilometres from our Hotel. What a wonderful experience. An area of several sq km around two or three lakes with more than 100 species of birds. We did our best to spot as many as we could but impossible to collate the viewings in such a short time. The area is a collection of beach, wetlands, lake and scrub with a 2 km strictly restricted path running through with many hides for sustained watching. We paid our entrance fee at the sanctuary ranger hut and set off. Within minutes we were struggling to keep count of the different species. Our main objective was to get close to the pink flamingos but quite soon many other species captivated our interest. Of particular attraction were a small group of Chimango’s ( local birds of prey) who had made a kill and the were fighting over their prey, Another fascinating specie was the spectacled tyrant characterised by its white ringed eyes, giving it its name. Finally of course we got within about 25 metres of about a dozen pink flamingos with their beaks almost permanently immersed in the lake bed feeding and very occasionally coming up for air and spreading their wings exposing bright red feathers under their wings contrasting with their outer pink plumage. Just incredible. For the first time we saw the mountains reflected in the lake providing an even more amazing backdrop. Soon it was time to head off to town to fill up the rentalcar tank in readiness for our return to El Calafate airport for our short one hour flight to Ushuaia.

The flight was on time fairly full and uneventful until we started our descent into Ushuaia. The pilot had warned us that it was “a bit windy” but we soon realised that with the plane being quite severely buffeted that this was going to be no ordinary landing. An extremely fast landing, with amazing views either side of the surrounding mountains and the Beagle Channel, saw us touch down with quite a bump, few white knuckles and a spontaneous round of relieved applause from the passengers. W www welcome to Ushuaia! After a bit of delay waiting for a free parking slot we disembarked into 50 km/hr winds and a short walk to the terminal. After further delay with baggage delivery we were in our car rental and headed to our hotel, clearly visible on the escarpment high above the city. This Hotel has been our luxury on this trip. Wonderful to get into a 5 star room, shower and get dressed up for dinner in the Hotel restaurant. It did not disappoint, we enjoyed a superb blue cheese, frisk almonds & pear salad for starter followed by the most sublime fresh local trout with a delicious salad of fennel orange potato bacon lime and parsley. We chose to share a dessert of vanilla creme brûlée with fresh local berries and a single macchiato each to finish. The accompanying wines were a glass each of crisp and fresh Mendoza Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of superb Mendoza Pinot Noir providing a perfect accompaniment to a fantastic meal. The sunset from the restaurant at 10 pm just capped the evening. We are so lucky! Tomorrow Tierra del Fuego!

Bariloche (formerly San Carlos de Bariloche)

by Lynn, posted in Uncategorized

Sunday mid morning set off on a leisurely drive from Villa La Angostura, (raining again but lightly unlike a few days ago) to Bariloche, about 90km. All the roads are good, so our current Lonely Planet guide bought last year but published 2016 is a tad out of date. It had warned of unpaved roads on large sections of our journey from San Martin de Los Andes to Bariloche. Scenery is mainly Forest with frequent lake views. Today the lake is very rough with high waves whipped up by the wind. Very dramatic. As we approach Bariloche the terrain gives way to scrub and a rather uninteresting outskirts of the town.

I took over the driving as was feeling decidedly car sick. The car is a basic Nissan March with no central locking. We arrived at our destination at around 2pm, Design Suites Bariloche. After a cup of coffee our room was ready. Scored again, a magnificent room with a panoramic view of the lake and mountains. A jacuzzi bath situated in the bedroom directly overlooking the lake, hmm a tad bit different! May report further on that in due course. A separate shower room en suite.

Once checked in we took ourselves off for a walk around the local town, however the wind was gusting over 50km an hour so we had some interesting moments trying to stay upright. The shopping however was less exciting consisting of chocolate, ski gear shops and chemists.

Parts of the town were very Swiss GermanIn style but other parts had obviously grown too rapidly without much thought to planning. What can’t be disputed is the stunning beauty of the lake and surrounding mountains that constantly changes with the varying light.

We also booked an Estancia day trip for Monday. Finally managed to persuade David to get on a horse for a few hours. Pick up at 09.15 Monday morning. More to follow on that expedition! Definitely losing track of the days now, having been moving about since November 1st.

Ate at ‘Stag’ restaurant tonight, a very good meal with great views overlooking the lake, until it got dark that is when the view went completely black such is the lack of any ambient light. Internet speeds so bad here that I may not be able to upload many pics.