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.