Capturing the Moment

  A quick minute and a half movie of my experience snorkeling with southern sea lions off the Patagonian coast. The ride was super rough out of Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The boat was small and didn't seem to handle the choppy waves well as you can see. Even after we got in the water the waves crashed over us and the wind whistled past our snorkels. But it was all worth it to jump in and swim with a new species of sea lion. It felt like a true adventure...and I brought a few guests along for the wild ride. If you ask them, just getting into the dry suits was an adventure in itself!

From top to bottom Argentina is a bird lovers paradise. Recently Heidi and I traveled across Argentina searching for beautiful views, hikes, and of course wildlife. We knew that incredible hikes to glaciers, mountain vistas, lakes, and waterfalls existed across the country but we were surprised at the amazing birdwatching opportunities. Austral Parakeet near Ushuaia      The same places you travel for amazing views; Ushuaia , El Calafate, El Chalten, and Iguazu are the same places that birders 'in the know' travel for big time bird watching. The different environments change from cold ocean in Ushuai, to desert and freshwater lakes in Patagonia, to tropical jungle in Iguazu. Because of this the opportunities to see very different bird species change as well, from penguins down south to toucans up north. Tern hovering over the water Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego National Park: We will start down south in Ushuaia , the southernmost city in the world. Here a ...

Balancing Rock near the beginning   The beauty of hiking from the town of El Chalten is the wide array of hikes that you have to choose from. I wrote about two of them ( Chorrillo del Salto , and Laguna Torre) in previous post but on day three we wanted a real challenge, but also something a little different. We did a bit of research and felt like taking the path less traveled to a high 360 degree panorama was going to be the way to go. I am sure glad this was our choice. The hike to Pliegue Tumbado overlook was fun and challenging, and had a mind blowing view from the top. Glimpses of mountain pillars thru the trees The hike starts from the National Park visitor center on the same trail that leads to Laguna Toro. The National Park material says the length of the hike is 7 to 8 hours, although we did it in under 7. The way there is all uphill, all the time. This was a big change from the long flat portions from the two hikes before. Because you are constantly climbing you...

  For hike #2 we decided to head east out of town and then 9km to a glacial lake called Laguna Torre. Once again we entered the Los Glaciares National Park. The weather called for rain but luckily after working for two seasons in southeast Alaska both Heidi and I were well equipped for a hike in the rain.   After a kilometer or so in we found ourselves high on a ridge, looking down at a glacial blue river winding its way through the bottom of the gorge. Across on the far side of the valley a waterfall snaked its way down, feeding the river more of the early morning rain. The tops of the rocky peaks were hidden by clouds but I had high hopes that the weather would clear, the clouds would lift, and all would be revealed on the way back. After 2 kilometers and a bit of an uphill climb we came to an overlook that was totally socked in with clouds. We would get an idea the next day what this could look like but until that blog post it will remain a mystery.  The next 7 k...