Post by Grubb. In a section of Córdoba’s Bicentennial Park there is an array of large candy-colored rings where, if you go back up to a hundred years, you can find the ring acknowledging the year of your birth. By the date, there is a one line inscription calling attention to a significant development that…
Rainy day activities
Post by Ella. What else? Go walking in the rain. Which was non-stop all day. Good thing someone invented umbrellas and rain jackets. Oh but also, why not stop in a museum or two for a respite. We stopped at the Museo Superior de Belles Artes Evita and Museo Metropolitano de Urbano Arte. The collections…
100 year old Ferris wheel
From the viewpoint in Parque Sarmiento, Córdoba.
What the Sam Hill is this?
Post by Grubb Midway on our second walking tour of Córdoba our guide led us up steps and stopped here. What, our guide asked us, was the purpose of this steep sloping concrete park beneath a tall obelisk? I was about to say, “Skate park,” but noticed the angled array of low pipe like barriers….
Tommy Tour
Post by Ella We headed over to San Martin Plaza late in the morning to meet up with the guy holding a red umbrella, sporting a head set and top hat, and making bendy movements with his knees as if he were about to cha cha cha. This was Tommy Tour (aka who knows?) who…
Córdoba, and not the one in Spain
Post by Ella. Travel day. We flew from rustic Patagonia to the bustling city of Córdoba. A speedster taxi ride from the airport got us right back into city mode. The cab driver zipped along, cornering and darting like he was on a race track. We arrived in the city in record time. Our exuberant…
The dogs of Calafate
Post by Grubb Late in the morning yesterday we went to the Glacierium, a science oriented museum dedicated to educating visitors about the glaciers in the area. It explained how snows accumulate, then melt, then freeze into an ice that over time becomes more compact until the weight of the density pushes the growing mass…
Dodging icebergs
Post by Grubb. Yesterday we woke up before dawn to stand outside our AirBnB to wait for our short bus to Puerto Bandera. It was just above freezing so we hoped that we would be the first, not the last, passengers the bus would pick up. We were fortunate in that regard. The place we’re…
Birding at Laguna Nimez
Post by Ella. A 20 minute walk from the center of El Calafate gets you to a lagoon that borders on Lake Argentina. We walked into a small shack that was the entrance. The care taker, a young guy, was sitting with some buddies around a wood burning stove having a raucous time. The entrance fee…
Calafate, the magical berry
Post by Ella. The Calafate plant is in the family of the barberry. It’s said if you eat a Calafate berry, you will return to Patagonia. Challenge accepted. What better place to find this magical berry than Acuarela, an artisanal ice cream shop in El Calafate on the main drag, Avenida Libertador. The closest I can…
Wall of ice
Post by Grubb. Churning our way up Lake Argentino on a catamaran cruise boat, we cruised by an iceberg. Then we swung to the right heading towards a cliff of ice spanning the gap between two sloping snow slicked hills. Hello Spegazzini Glacier! I thought of what was going through Carlos Spegazzini’s mind when he…
Todos glaciares
Perito Moreno is THE glacier for the tourist draw. Then there are all the others. Monday we went on a day tour involving many hours on a catamaran to see the Upsala and Speghazzini glaciers on Lake Argentina. We were transported to Puerto Bandera in a small van and then embarked on the boat. More…
Perito Moreno glacier (aka tons of frozen fresh water) continued
Post by Ella I think when we get to Cordoba on Wednesday, we will have more reliable internet. For now, in El Calafate, downloading photos is awfully slow. So, this will be in bits and pieces. As we twisted our way towards the glacier on the narrow road, our driver, Nicklaus, stopped once to point…
Tons of frozen water
Post by Ella Here are a few facts. The Perito Moreno Glacier is 250 km2 (97 sq mi), 30 km (19 mi) in length, and is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes. This ice field is the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water. Up until recently it was holding its own,…
Calafate no es caliente
Post by Grubb Mosquitoes won’t bother us here. In the windy low-40s, it’s knit cap time. Driving in from the small airport with stark brown hills to the east and barren flatlands to the west, I felt like I might be back in New Mexico somewhere around Carlsbad. Only there weren’t any trees. Nada. Zip….