Another Fine Day in Patagonia

Good Morning Sunshine,

I know its just 3am Pacific so I don't expect you to read and respond immediately - but I wanted to take advantage of the semi-speedy internet in the early hours of Patagonia to post photos and update you on a few things. First, you didn't fire back a response to my query regarding the etymology of this bird.

Well, we did some digging in another bird book and found it clearly to be the red gartered coot. So please rest easy on that front. 

Also, Mom sent me a few more photos to post - here is that hollow iceberg we saw on Lago Grey. I tried to get the ship's captain to take us through the middle, but he declined, saying something about "loco", though I've seen no trains here. 

This view of the Paine is my favorite so far. Amazing that such a rock wall could be formed, much less stand for all these millennia. Can you imagine showing up the base of this, wondering what is on the other side?

We've really enjoyed our stay here at the Cabanas del Paine. We toured the greenhouse & garden with the chef, Sebastian, and gotten to know the serving staff pretty well. Interesting they all learned their English in Canada and perhaps sadly none wanted to visit the USA. "Too dangerous" was the phrase that Alvaro used (he studied a year in Toronto). Most guests don't stay as long as we have and, in retrospect, we could have knocked a couple days from this part of the trip. My favorite part of the Cabanas, though, is the lawn service. Here are a couple pictures showing them hard at work. I'm amazed how they can multi-task - mowing and fertilizing at the same time.

And now it is back to the birds. On our walk yesterday we saw this lovely american kestrel, which is the smallest of the hawks. I didn't see that I posted any pictures of the flock of chilean flamingos, so here is one of those.

Well, we are going to launch ourselves into another gusty day - this time on bikes to further explore the forest near our cabin. We had thought we would go fishing but the tour folks didn't have their act together and kept adding on costs, so we'll keep that $400 in our pocket for now. Our other major task today is to pack up for the return trip to Punta Arenas in the morning. That will be a chore.

Until later, dear.

Daddio.

Considerations About Independent Travel 1 - PLANNING

Hey Kendra,

You probably remember the primary purpose of this blog is to provide guidance and considerations for people who might be weighing the options of traveling as a part of an organized tour vs. striking out on their own; and specifically whether to do so here in the remote reaches of southern South America. Today's blog will be devoted to that topic as we've been here several days and can share an insight or two. Today's theme is Planning.

First, by way of background, we began to arrange this trip ~14 months ago. We did so because we wanted to use Frequent Flyer miles that offer limited travel choices and because we also wanted to book ourselves on a smaller explorer vessel for the Antarctic portion of the trip. As a result, very soon in the planning process we found ourselves locked into key dates from which the rest of the trip would revolve around. We also rapidly became more and more committed to the trip due to possible cancellation penalties. This is the first important consideration that directs the traveler to choosing the independent path.

Traveling this far, we also wanted to experience something other than a cruise. Hence we thought we would add a side trip to Patagonia. It was at this point the first big decision (and consequences therein) to travel independent vs. in a group had to be made. If we were to join a group, presumably we would price compare packages and pick one with dates that fit our cruise plans. Even easier, the cruise line already had packages we could join. However there were a few down-sides to joining a tour:

1. We already had flights booked on either side of the cruise so any tour would have to fit those strictures. Because we wanted some buffer time after the cruise and before the flight home, we added extra days to Santiago.They will be put to good use in a beautiful city while also assuring that we don't cut the connection between the cruise (which could be delayed) and the flights home.
2. The side trips with the cruise line appeared to be enormously expensive and not necessarily what we wanted to see.
3. We would have to tolerate other travelers. Although I appreciate the character building nature that such tolerance would provide, we would be tolerating everything from their scents, their chatter (and God-forbid: sharing), their slowness (or quickness), and, likely, their American-ness.
4. We would be on somebody else' schedule. This is probably the single biggest downside to dependent travel. You don't just stop the bus when you see a caracara munching on semi-fresh jack rabbit or if you want to climb up to and experience the condor's lookout.
5. We can spread out. Our rental car has the water bottles where we need them. It has the camera kit bag & tripod & binoculars & rain jackets all close at hand. It also has a case of beer in the trunk for emergencies.
6. We can hang out. We take our meals and visit with the staff at our leisure or decide to get up super-early to catch an awesome sunrise or take a late afternoon nap.
7. You can add or change a side trip. We are going to stop at a Magellanic penguin colony on our trip back from Patagonia to Punta Arenas. It is only 15 k out of our way, but will be our first chance to see a rookerie.
8. Planning and adjusting plans is fun - at least for Mom and I. Seeing the plans unfold with the surgical precision is sweet. After umteen hours in planes, walking out of the Santiago airport at 9pm to see the Airport hotel right there, across the street, waiting with our reservation and a hot shower caused me to jump up and down on the bed with delight.

To be fair, there are some pretty significant benefits to being in a tour group traveling the Patagonian outback.

1.  You leave the driving to someone else. This is not insignificant when all the roads you are traveling on are narrow, gravel, and nearly 100 kilometers from the nearest gas station or emergency service. We had to carefully plan each day to conserve fuel and our last two days are being spent doing on-the-ground birding and a fishing trip just so we can leave with an extra ration of gas to get to the closest town to refuel.
2. You can enjoy the view. As the designated driver in the conditions described above, I am 110% focussed on the road. My hands are at 2 and 10 and the binoculars are on the rear seat. I'm worried about slipping into the loose shoulder, vehicles approaching from ahead or behind, and the weather - including the notorious winds in this region. And everywhere is 40+kilometers from everywhere else so you do this for an hour and a half at a time. 
3. You probably learn a bit more. During our drives we've thought of many questions - when was the park founded; what happened in the last flood or fire; are there fish in the glacial lakes and how did they get there.
4. It might be cheaper. I doubt this would be the case, but would not be surprised - especially if we had a mechanical problem.

Of course, money can be used to join the best of both plans. We saw plenty of small commercial vans with a guide/driver and a couple. That may be the best solution for the traveler with more resources that what we have.

I've put independent vs. dependent planning considerations in the very tight context of Patagonia. Of course traveling to Umbria, Italy or Disneyland will have similar considerations, but their weight will be different. An all-inclusive package to Disneyland might be the smartest move because they bundle the package and you only deal with other travelers for the time from the hotel to the Magic Kingdom. In Umbria, who would want to stay at the local Holiday Inn?

I'm sure there are other planning elements that shape the independent travel experience. Send me your thoughts about what I've missed. Mom will probably also have a few.

Love you,

Dad

A Day of Birds

Good Morning Kendra,

It is 10:42am in your neck of the woods - but nearly time for a nap down south. Today we chased after pelicans and grebes with great results. To start off with, though, Mom snagged a nice photo of the Cuernos del Paine. She had to work to bring this one in, but it is also the view from our hotel room.

 Then we went for nice walk in the breeze, making it a bad hair day for someone with hair (not my problem). Below you can see a skull next to mom. This is a former Guanaco. We've seen several in the flesh as well. The one below is doing his bit keeping watch over a herd below.

 Our walk included a warning by the Ranger of puma. Judging by all the bones we saw, any puma we confronted was probably already well fed.


Pretty soon birds started showing up in earnest for our viewing pleasure. Actually the flamingos below required us to take another bone-jarring 45k ride to Lago Armaga.

We didn't climb the Mirador Condor as the wind and rain suggested we look for easier subjects. Here we have Wifey Caracara bringing home the rabbit for her man.

We were also excited to discover a new species, or at least one we haven't found in the bird book. 

We spied them while enjoying lunch at a park pavilion next to Rio Serrano. While there, I recorded the following known and unknown species:
1. A family of Upland Geese
2. A nesting pair of Great Grebes
3. Some small black and white birds doing gymnastics through bushes
4.  A duck (driving me quackers)
5. A hawk being driven off by 6. A pair of Black Terns
7. A crew of Buff Necked Ibis
8. A young Puna Ibis
Sweetie, please name the above birds and let us know. I think they are Least Grebes (who would name their kids the Least Grebes?), but mother disagrees.

Last night we asked the local expert about where to bird and he suggested we head back up to Lago Grey (home of the only fresh ice in the park. There he said we would see the elusive finches and seedeaters for which Patagonia is famous. Do you know how small a finch is?  We went big and in our next post, I will be sure to include a few snaps of even bigger beasts they have around here.

Well, this post is pretty full and it is now Wine:20. Until tomorrow, bumpkins.

Daddio.

In-Country

January 25, 2017

Well Darling,

Now we are sitting bright and early (3:09am Pacific Time - 8:09 in Santiago) in our spiffy Holiday Inn by the airport, repacking for the final leg down south - a three hour flight to Punta Arenas. I forgot how much I enjoy being in a Spanish speaking country. The folks are friendly, we know most of the greetings, and we have a sense of the culture about to unfold. The temps are very warm  at 28C, but I suspect that will change as we go further south. Last night it was still dusk at 9pm, I don't know when dawn began to show up this morning. I will report that tomorrow.

I've been a pretty good boy about not spending too much time working. Today I left an email for Rob to deal with it, and that felt good. :). I'm hoping to catch up more on my personal emails to peeps as a part of my Winter Promise to Self. So with that: Until Later.

Dad.

Later - now 10:35pm in Puerto Natales. We managed to arrive in Punta Arenas at 4:50pm after passing a rhea, guanacos, and the usual assortment (as if we were in West Texas - even the Chilean flag looks like Texas' - but without the arrogance) of horses, cattle, sheep, and an albatros (I am still confirming that sighting). We filled up the gas tank ($2 per litre) and immediately began to explore the city (and shop for beer). We only went the wrong way once on a one way street & then finally found our boutique hotel. This is a humble town and feeds off the explorers going into Patagonia. Happy dogs run around like it were Tijuana, Mexico and several do a good job guarding their owner's businesses with growls for potential customers, disguised as cats. We found a lovely micro-brew pub with killer carnita tacos that included a nicely spicy cilantro sauce. Below you can see what I look like when I can see the table through the bottom of my glass.

 When we drove in, Kahsia immediately spotted some Black Neck swans which we sought out later. at least 8 species of birds. During the walk along the shore, I think we saw a few Coscoroba, terns, the Black Neck swan, sand pipers, and an oyster catcher. 

I was caught without a journal and will be better prepared for tomorrow's adventure. Now it is 11pm and finally dark. Breakfast is early and we have a two hour drive on a gravel road before we enter the Torres de Pine  park. There, finally we can really settle in for several days. BTW, sunrise here is at 6:00am.

OK - it is now 7:00pm on 26 January. We look forward to dinner at our hotel being served at the civilized hour of 8:00pm (Lunch is available from 1-3 pm, but thankfully we can get breakfast before noon. More on point, kid, we spent the day driving to and thru the Torres del Panne national park here in southern Chile. Getting here we passed within 10 meters of the Argentinian border, but didn't take the time to dash over the line and get our passports stamped (I know, I know - shame on us!)

We've wasted no time immersing ourselves into the incredible mountains that rise from no-where. Since your mom and I are both Texans (me by honorary proclamation by the great Texas governor John Connaly), we think we see Patagonia as West Texas on steroids.

Well January 27 snuck by without a posting and we must report our visit to Largo Grey and its Glacier Grey. It was cold, wet and windy but we took a boat tour which included a well-timed, but early Pisco Sour. After crossing the lake we arrived at the glacier. Below we see the army of ice marching forward to their certain end as a solid.

As we approached, we also saw first hand the transformation of the earth, millimeter by millimeter

I must tell you Kendra, this is one expensive place to visit. Admission to the park for three days is $100. A three hour boat ride to a glacier is $230 for two. A day long fishing trip would cost $700 for the two of us. A tube of Pringles was $10!!!! Note these numbers are USD.

We are also jumping into the birding biz. This is tough stuff. The little bastards either flit around like nobody's business, fly at altitudes of 10k or higher, or otherwise do not avail themselves to sitting patiently while I focus my binos (that's bird talk for binoculars!). The other challenging bit is that you are holding binos, not a camera, and thus must document every nuance so you can look 'em up when you find time to grab the field reference. Seriously  though, it is lots of fun and below is the first of several entries that we are compiling for the Big Year (see below)*. There are only seventy different kinds of hawk-like birds here, so our educated guess with this fellow is that he is a Crested Caracara. Kahsia took this picture when he was munching on some day-old jack rabbit. Right after this photo was taken, we saw a pair of condors circling overhead. Tomorrow we will be taking a hike to Mirador Condor to get up close and personal with these great birds (and maybe get a free ride).

I need to draw a close to this post, otherwise we will end up with a mono-blog which might disappoint you, oh faithful fan.Our tech is giving us fits, though. The hotel's wifi is reasonably perky, but yer mom's ipad and her Mac Book Pro are not emailing properly so she must use use gmail from her browser which means the photos travel  from camera to external hard drive to the internet down to my computer and then back up to the internet to get posted into the blog. If they look tired or a few bits short of a full byte, that is probably why. 

Until Next Time, then.

Love,

Dad

* A Big Year is when the Birder (meaning me) identifies 100 unique species of birds. It only sounds easy but the fact that we are in South America - the planet's primary repository for nearly all the species - we may have a chance. Unfortunately the word "identify" has us challenged a bit as we've seen probably 20 different species, but have only clearly identified a couple!  That is the down-side of being a Junior Bird Man. 

The Adventure Begins

21 January - Vancouver Bound


Hey Kiddo,

It is bright and early and we are on the non-stop to Vancouver, leaving the creatures in the capable hands of Ania. We're packing heavy and for some reason decided to bring bottles of beer and wine since they don't have beer and wine in the big city. Adding Mom's Kitty & Crew is really the big add-on. In addition to lenses, computers, & studio lights, we've packing six terabytes of external storage.

Of course one of the traditions of starting a vacation is to begin planning the next. I guess we're thinking Around the World in 2020 as life-long learners on the MVS Explorer.

Tonight is Dine Out Vancouver so Maenam will be put to the test.

Wasabi Crusted Albacore Tuna Salad

And now it Sunday and my knee says it doesn't want to go that way. If fact it says it doesn't want to go any way. However I am braced for this possibility (I don't need to point out my puns do I?) and Arnica gel  is my friend. Kahsia is optimistic that by not playing squash for a month, it will heal. Of course my soul will be empty, but my knee will be better. I'm gonna find me a baby alpaca to carry me around Grey Lake.

Tonight we Dine Out at Pidgin after sticky buns from Cobb's Bread and drinks & snacks from our favorite bar tender, Tanysha, at Nordstrom (they don't just sell mink coats, any more).

Pidgin's Wagyu Beef Tenderloin and Braised Beef Cheeks 

Monday morning maybe we will report from the First Class Lounge at YVR. I'll give Justin and the Aga some feedback if we happen to rub shoulders.

Reporting from YVR Maple Leaf Lounge - the most exciting thing on the menu is boiled eggs. Next stop - LAX.