Southern Summer, Argentina, Chile and Y Wladfa Gymreig 12/13 Jan

You don't just go to El Calafate, you have to make a very positive effort to get there. It is among the southernmost communities in the world at 50° S. Ushuaia at 54° is the most southerly. It is a drive of several hours from the next nearest town. We flew in but will be busing out. Most of Tuesday was taken up by our flight which lasted for three hours and went smoothly. The airport was more of an airfield though the small terminal was new. They have about 15 flights per day. Most people come chiefly to experience the Perito Moreno glacier which "calves" into Lago Argentina. More of this tomorrow when I hope you can as close as possible share the experience with us. People also come to climb or walk in the relatively close (200kms) Fitzroy Range, or the Torres del Paine National Park. So El Calafate is a bit like Betws y Coed without the trees but with the wind. No problem buying your North Face or Columbia gear but there's only one supermarket. You get a distinct feel of the frontier town here. Have a look around.

The view from the bedroom window, plus a little zoom.

This is the view from the lake towards town 

And this is the view the opposite way. Besides the aforementioned attractions you can hire bikes, go pony trekking or visit the nature reserve at a series of lagoons beside the lake. We decided to opt for the birdwatching and what a treat we had. It was half an hours walk from the hotel so we had some lunch at this taverna on the way. 

We have done quite a few bird sanctuaries round the world but never one as abundant and varied as this. Moreover the accessibility of the birds was superb. We must have seen in excess of 30 species. Enjoy this cornucopia of Patagonian and Antarctican birds. 

Three species visible above, Black- necked Swan, Coscorba Swan, and the Red-fronted Coot.

Chilean Flamingo 

Male Upland Goose

Southern Lapwing

Neotropic Cormorant

Andanean Duck

Upland Gosling

Cinereous Harrier

There were a lot of these Harriers and both their flight and calling was spectacular. Although they came close to us,they were very hard to photograph on the wing. It transpired that they were nesting in the reeds. This entry has taken a long time to write as the pictures take a while to upload because the wifi is rather slow. Hear that UK, wifi at 50°S and not another township for 200kms! 

Ibis

Patagonian Sierra Finch