OAT - Patagonia and Beyond - January, 2011 PicsOAT - Patagonia and Beyond - January, 2011 PicsOAT - Patagonia and Beyond - January, 2011 Pics Bob and Ann In Patagonia and Beyond 2011

  • January 7 - Parque National Torres Del Paine to Rio Verde

    Please visit Today's slide show



    Andean Condor


    Hotel Fox

    While leaving our hotel at 8:00, a red fox was lying in the grass near the path leading to the bus. I took some photos of it.



    Pisco Sours With 12,000 Year-Old Ice

    Our bus took us to the same trailhead where we were yesterday. We walked over the swinging bridge, along the lake’s beach and climbed into a large flat-bottom 20-person boat. It took us a short distance where we boarded a large sight-seeing boat which took us to Grey Glacier at the head of Lago Grey. The view of the glacier was wonderful. Because it is receding, we could see where it had carved some of the rock faces in front of it. The wind had calmed down from the previous day but it was still cold next to the glacier. A highlight of the tour was having a pisco sour served with 12,000 year-old glacier ice.




    Back on the bus, we drove back to the restaurant near the Argentina border where we had lunch a couple of days before. This time Ann and I had roast beef sandwiches with tomatoes and avocado. She had a cappuccino while I had a local cervesa.


    When we left the restaurant, we were privileged to watch gauchos herding sheep with the help of several dogs. The dogs were doing a lot more work than the gauchos.



    Estancia Rio Verde

    We got to Estancia Rio Verde around 6:00. Our tour leaders kept emphasizing that this is not a hotel. It’s a sheep ranch that has rooms and food. Electricity is produced with a generator and tap water is not potable. The estancia supplies bottled water. They asked us not to take showers because they were having a draught. Rio Verde has become a trickle. Our room was clean and comfortable – on a par or better than many rooms we have had in Europe.


    Ann and I took walks around the grounds. She went as far as the shore. I stuck closer to the estancia. When we returned, we joined our tour mates in the large common room called El Quincho and had a lesson on making empanadas. The dough was already made and the ingredients were already mixed. All we had to do was put the meat mixture in the middle of the dough and seal the edges. Our efforts were taken back to the kitchen and refrigerated. They were to be deep fried for tomorrow's lunch.



    Estancia Rio Verde El Quincho Fireplace

    El Quincho had a huge fireplace. It also had tables set up for meals. Our dinner was served family style. We had a soup containing a whole potato, corn, carrots, etc. It was our main and only course. It was filling. We did not need more food. After our meal, the cook and her husband, the estancia's right-hand-man, surprised us with a concert. She sang while he played the guitar. She had a nice voice and his guitar skills were very good. They performed local folk songs. They are both involved in the local folk culture and have won performance prizes.


    We got back to our room around 11:00. It was still light outside.