on to Cordoba

After Patagonia we flew back to BsAs and then onto Cordoba, in the center of Argentina. Of course it wasn't that easy. There was a huge storm in BsAs so our flight was cancelled and we spent the night in the airport because it was already late and our flight left early in the morning. Cousin Billy came and visited us (I was asleep) in the airport, which was nice. The kids actually slept quite well, the rest of us... not so much. From Cordoba we drove about 30min to Carlos Paz, a small tourist town based around a beautiful lake. This is where Ana's cousin lives and runs a small inn. Lots of the family joined us there for Christmas. We must have been near a dozen in total.

One day we went up into the Sierra just out of town. There is a nature reserve that is famous for condors, maybe the only population not in the Andes themselves. Here are some pics from that day, in no particular order.

We did see a couple of condors, here is one!

For me this is a more spectacular bird, the elusive rufous-collared sparrow!
Amalia and Camilo sitting on a rock.
He must see something.
Amalia found a condor... but not flying.
Lots of thistles, and this one was being visited by a big bee.
Nice pic by Lisa.
Camilo decided that Kris didn't have enough work carrying Viviana so she should hold his hand too.
Who is taller?
Trying to pose for a pic, the moms with offspring.
Trying again, this one was alright.
Lisa and the thistles.
There was a little picnic area that was full of birds, and they were super tame. They would even eat from your hands!
Camilo decided a pastry as in order.
Amalia feeding a sparrow.
Again. I have literally caught thousands of these in my career and never seen anything like this. I was amazed!
This is how we usually walked, all spread out along the trail.
There were leaf cutter ants and the kids loved playing with them. They are some of my favorite beasts.
a little bit closer.
Another family portrait.
Ana walks like its a race and someone just said 'go!'. The girls followed her.
Here is where we were.

Last of Patagonia

Hi folks,

Here are some of the last pics from Patagonia. After these we have pics from Cordoba.

So here we have some last gems from the coast.

Here are Amalia and Anacelia taking a nap. Anyone who says you can't sleep in a Land Rover hasn't seen these girls in a coil sprung LR.

Here are Amalia and Camilo getting ready to head out to see the penguins.
Camilo learned that he can eat the vegetation that grows along the edge of the ocean. Its some kind of salt water tolerant plant... and he loved it.
The girls looking for a penguin nesting under the bushes.
There it is!
Here is one of the Land Rovers than drove us around Patagonia. Its a 110 Defender with the TDi engine. A total beast.
Tom and Gabe surveying the terrain.
Gabe carrying Anacelia on his shoulders. In fact, Amalia and Anacelia were great hiking, often doing as many as 3 miles on a hike, not bad at all.
Amalia and her sea lion femur.
Steamer ducks! There were lots of them around. These can't fly and are endemic to the province of Chubut.
Here is where the femur was found.
And here is a sea lion skull we found! We also found a whale skeleton but forgot to take pics.
Amalia and her friend Yosi.

Patagonia 3- the petrified forest

One of our days in Patagonia we drove about 40km to what was named the petrified forest. Most the drive was on gravel roads but the last 5km or so was on a pretty rough road. We even had to drop down the low range at one point. The kids loved the rough road while Ana was not too thrilled. Anyway, we all went to the forest with low expectations but it ended up being one of the best parts of the whole trip. Simply amazing but the pics don't give it justice.

On the drive out we saw this herd of guanacos, the southern cousin of the llamas, that are up in the Andes. It hard to get near them as the gauchos hunt them. In fact, we ate them at the station in empanandas and such. Quite good! Which reminds me, the cook there was fantastic. Very simple but healthy and delicious.

Petrified wood.

another piece.

This piece looks like a log and was probably a foot in diameter.

Lisa enjoying the view.

This log was probably 3m long. Apparently this forest was 60 million years old and was covered in ash from a volcanic explosion.

We found lots of these lizards. Pretty little guys. We caught this one.

Camilo and Anacelia doing some geology.

Another attempt at a family portrait. Looks barren but Amalia is sitting on a giant petrified log.

This is an unassociated pics of a beach made entirely of sea shells. Not pleasant to walk barefoot on but very pretty.

more Patagonia

Been busy the last few weeks. After getting back from Argentina, we were back in Blacksburg for a week before I left for a conference in South Carolina.

So here are some more pics from Patagonia.

Camilo hanging out on some rock:

Contemplating the rocks:
Family portrait and no tears!

Camilo and Anacelia were great friends.

I like this pic of the cousins.
Cousin Sophia on the rocks.
Amalia caught a walking stick!
And found a nice feather.
Lisa and Amalia on the beach. The water was COLD! But we all went in at least once.
Lisa on the rocks.
Kris with her daughters.
Ana on the beach.
Tom teaching Camilo how to avoid too much sun.
Lisa and her kids on the rocks.
Nice sunset!
Kris and Anacelia on the boat ride. Not how nice Anacelia is. We don't have such a pic of Camilo because he wouldn't sit still or wear his life vest.
Sea Lions!