Ushuaia to El Calafate

Wet & windy here this morning. Plane delayed leaving Ushuaia but LAN airlines very efficient & have sent an email telling us new time. So we are having relaxed breakfast here at our B&B. Better than waiting at the airport!

The day is living up to its name where we stay: el barrio de los vientos ("the neighbourhood of the winds"). But the winds (and some rain) are in fact widespread: we can see the white caps on the channel & spray being whipped up over the embankment as we drive to the aeropuerto. Thank goodness we did our Beagle Channel tour when we did: we had a perfect day with the water smooth as silk. Looks like it could be a bumpy cruise today for the ships heading out to the Antartica; we have met several people departing today on cruises at 4 p.m.

POSTSCRIPT: While we were waiting in line to board the plane, we found ourselves in a group discussing one man's cancelled trip to Antartica. He must have been very disappointed. I regard a trip like this as a trip in a life time so I know I'd be disapointed! But this trip must have been a nightmare. Apparently the conditions were so bad that the ship would have had to turn back anyway; but an accident on board brought the trip to an abrupt end: a woman fell down the stairs & broke her neck - she died a couple of days later.

My Friend subsequently has been web-surfing (as only My Friend can) & for those contemplating a trip to Antarctica, the following could be worth viewing:

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2011/01/articles/rough-weather-1/top-five-worst-cruise-ship-disaster-videos/

Planes in and out are all delayed this morning but we have been fortunate in getting the prior notice from LAN early so we could put off getting to the airport until later. The Hertz man at the airport was the same as the one in town who had processed the pickup of the vehicle yesterday. He is a lovely young man & we see him sprint off across the wind-swept forecourt to check our car. It is all very efficient & we paid with cash in $US which is much cheaper than the online quote. All that remains is to pay $AR28 for taxes before departure.

It is a short flight to El Calafate with take-off over the Andes cordillera (chain of mountain ranges) - very picturesque, the mountains draped in snow like a cake with white icing dripping down the sides into the valleys below.

El Calafate is in the Los Glaciares National Park but there is nothing glacial about this place. It looks more like a desert: quite arid. It is one of the 3 most important cities of the province of Santa Cruz.

We get picked up at the airport, as arranged - thank goodness, as we are told it is about 20 kms into town; but the trip goes very quickly & we arrive into a very attractive town very set up for the tourist trade: a shopper's paradise & lots of bars & cafes & restaurants. The town is crowded with outdoorsy types: some very serious-looking trekkers amongst them & everyone, almost without exception, in rugged boots & with a diverse range of outdoor apparel. Like Bright (a town in NE Victoria near where we live) on steroids.

We have a wander, get something to eat mid-afternoon & set off to find Laguna Nimez Reserve which has an extensive bird sanctuary with over 70 species including upland geese, silvery grebes, pink flamingos, black-necked swans, black-faced ibis, lapwings, ducks, red-gartered coots, sparrow hawks and chimangos nesting & feeding on the reed bed & the surrounding bushland.

We spent hours walking through & trying to take photos. But what a day! The wind was incredible. I've never known a wind like it. I was being blown off my feet. Trying to hold a camera still was almost impossible. It became a 2-parka day as the afternoon drew into early evening. The views over the turquoise waters of Lago Argentino with the sun catching the distant shoreline at the base of snow-capped mountains were really lovely. And the pink flamingoes were a real treat.

Then back to our cute posada (B&B) for a home-cooked meal (lentil soup soup for me & baked fish & vegies for My Friend) & into bed!