Visiting a Patagonian Ranch

A unique activity that Overseas Adventure Travel plans for tour groups is called A Day in the Life. The group goes to a location and learns more in depth about what life is like if you live there. Today we went to a sheep and cattle ranch only a 20 minute ride from the town of El Calafate where we are staying. The owner Gerardo was our host. First we were given gorro (hat) de (of) gaucho (skilled horseman) and the typical neck scarf (pañuelo) worn by gauchos.  Our lunch was lamb and we watched as the lamb was put onto a iron roasting spit to be cooked for 3 hours. 

 

 

The land is barren and dry. There is only about 6 to 8 inches of annual precipitation by rain or snow.  Gerardo does have some irrigation to provide water for the animals and to grow some alfalfa.

Jo Ellen and I, being two farm girls from Iowa didn't think the land looked too productive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We watched Gerardo's sheep dog herd the sheep into his barn. Then he sheared a bit of one sheep. 

Predators are a big problem and lambs are killed by stray dogs, pumas, and fox. There were a puma and a fox pelt in the barn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we went to lunch Gerardo demonstrated how to throw a boleadora. A  boleadora is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entangling their legs. Gerardo demonstrated and the goal was to throw it around a pole. Most of the men in our group tried it and then I tried it. I tried several times to post a video of this but it didn't post so here is a picture. 

 

Notice that I nailed it! The boleadora is wrapped tightly around the bottom of the pole. Today there was hardly any wind and it was bright sunshine. We have been blessed with good weather. 
 

Perito Moreno Glacier

 

The beauty of creation was on full display today. I like this quote by Rachel Carson: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

  

The drive to the Los Glaciares National Park was very scenic. A local tour guide gave us information about the national park and the the glacier. The Perito Moreno Glacier was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 km (3.1 mi) wide, with an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water of Argentino Lake, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Los Glaciares National Park covers an area 2,806.68 sq mi, making it the largest national park in the Argentina. It was established on 11 May 1937. It was the first national park established in the Argentina.  For comparison Yellowstone National Park in the USA was established  1872 and Banff in Canada in 1885. In 1981, Los Glaciares National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

You could hike very close to the glacier. We saw it calving several times and heard the crackling of the shifting ice. There were some very good sized icebergs that had broken off and they had a very blue color at the bottom of them.

 

 

Another Travel Day

Today we had a three hour flight across southern Argentina from Buenos Aires to El Calafate.  It is a town near the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.  It’s mainly known as the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park, home to the massive Perito Moreno Glacier. The glacier is where we go tomorrow. This was a sign at the airport when we arrived. We are at the very southern tip of South America.
 

The flight path took us over a glacial river that feeds into Lago Argentino. It is the largest freshwater lake in Argentina, with a surface area of 1,415 km² and a maximum width of 20 mi. The color is from the glaciers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the fun parts of traveling with a group is the interesting people you meet. There are 22 of us on this tour. There are 5 from North Carolina, 3 from South Carolina, 7 from California, 1 from Wisconsin, 2 from Pennsylvania, 2 from Colorado and my cousin from Idaho and me from Oregon. The one common factor among all of us is that we are curious and enjoy learning more each day. The picture was taken when were were learning about the Tango. The women in the green shirt who is kneeling in the front is Aline our tour leader.

 
 

El Ateneo Book Store

 The Ateneo book store is in an old opera house. It is a beautiful book store! 

 

 

It was busy and not just with tourists. Many were purchasing books. It was a wonderful way to cap off learning about Buenos Aires. 

The Tango and othes Argentinian Dances

The Tango is the dance of Argentina. We were privileged to see professional dancers perform for us. They also showed us other dances. These short videos will give you a taste of the this experience.

Exploring Buenos Aires

We started the day at the Recoleta Cemetary It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and military commanders such as Julio Argentino Roca. Some grave sites were in disrepair. Families have the site for 99 years and then payment must be made to keep the site or the site can be resold and the bodies buried there must be moved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some burial vaults were quite elaborate.  We learned quite a bit about Argentinian history from our guide. Did you know that three years after Eva Peron's death in 1952 years ago, her embalmed corpse disappeared, removed by the Argentinian military in the wake of a coup that deposed her husband, President Juan Peron. It then went on a global odyssey for nearly two decades. In October 1976 her body was finally placed in her family's mausoleum in Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw the Colon Opera House. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. It was complete in 1908 and was refurbished from October 2006 to May 2010.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Casa Rosada, the pink house, is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace.

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires is a 67.5-meter-high iconic monument located at the intersection of Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Corrientes. Inaugurated in 1936 to mark the 400th anniversary of the city's first foundation, it is a premier landmark for protests, celebrations, and tourist photos, representing the heart of the city. 
 

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. When you enter the cathedral there is a screen that displays a slide show of Pope Francis. He was born and raised in Buenos Aires. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was became a cardinal in 2001. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop on our official tour was in the area the is called La Boca, the mouth. It has murals about events, protests,  politics and sports. Soccer players Maradona and Messi are very much adored in Argentina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "

desaparecidos" (disappeared) refers to an estimated 22,000 to 30,000 people kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Argentine military dictatorship during the "Dirty War" (1976–1983). Primarily targeting left-wing activists, students, and workers, the regime utilized clandestine detention centers, leaving thousands with unknown fates, creating a profound, enduring national trauma. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo were the first major group to organize against the Argentina regime's human rights violations. They organized to learn what happened to their children and grandchildren. 

 

 

 

 

Arrival in Buenos Aires

Today was mostly a travel day. We flew out of Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport in the city of Puerto Iguazú. It was a small, new and very clean airport. The flight was from there to the Jorge Newbery Airfield. It is an international airport very close to downtown Buenos Aires. We started the day at our hotel near Iguazu Falls. It has beautiful grounds and a lovely swimming pool. 

After settling into our hotel in Buenos Aires our tour leader, Aline, took us on a walk around the area by the hotel. Jo Ellen and I skipped out from the group when we arrived at an Italian gelato shop. It reminded me of  Italy. Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South America due to cultural influence from 19th and early 20th century immigration. Our hotel is in the Recoleta neighborhood which features French-style buildings. The city's cafe culture, and fashion are heavily inspired by Paris, Madrid, and Italy. 

Overseas Adventure Travel arranges dinners in the homes of local residents. Nine of our group were hosted by Maria, a kindergarten teacher, and her mother who is also named Maria. We had a delicious meal in their home. The goal is to learn about life where they live. We had an interesting discussion about health care, education, inflation and national politics in Argentina. 

Here are a picture of the dining table and one of Maria and her mother.