Gal Meets Globe: Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Davis Cup Tennis

After leaving Iguazu Falls, we went back to Buenos Aires a day early when we found out we could get tickets to see the Davis Cup Tennis Tournament. Argentina against Croatia. We saw Juan Martin del Potro play. In the evening we went to the beautiful Opera house to see the ballet Carmen.

HAPPY EASTER

Love the red clay.

Beautiful Opera House

Iguazu Falls, Brazil and Argentina

We took a travel day and are now in Brazil at the Hotel das Cataratas inside Iguazu Falls park. The falls are amazing, (better than Victoria Falls in Africa). Staying inside the park allows you to walk around the falls before and after hours, when all the tourists are gone. We walked around early in the morning and then took a boat ride that takes you under some of the falls where you definitely get drenched. Then we took a raft thru the class 3 rapids. It was fun...at night we put on our headlamps at about 10:00 pm. because it was a full moon and you can go down to the area called the Devils Throat to see a Lunar Rainbow.

Across the street from our Hotel Das Cataratas

This only shows about a tenth of the amount of falls at Iguazu. They are amazing.

From the Brazil Side.

This is a Lunar Rainbow taken at 10:00 pm. I just held the camera still on the railing.

These guys were hanging around

Our boat ride through the rapids

Armadillo

Beautiful

Going out at night to the falls to see the lunar rainbow with our headlamps

Hanging out at the Das Cataratas Hotel pool

We went to the Argentine side of the falls the following day. We could get right over the edge of some of the falls on the Argentine side but be careful, it is a lot more crowded. You can see a more panoramic view from this side, but we liked staying on the Brazil side inside the park much better.

There are many bridges and walkways to view the falls

Lots of different butterflies

Looking over some falls

Another beautiful butterfly

Cristina Estancia, Argentina

Leaving Eolo for a few days, we travel by boat to go to Cristina Estancia. This is where Yvon Chouinard fell in love with Patagonia and would come here to stay.

Taking the boat through the ice bergs to Cristina Estancia

Boating by icebergs in the lake.

Cristina Estancia

The Upsala glacier is here. It is windy and rainy (as most of Patagonia always is). We went on a 9 mile hike to see the Glacier, and saw many fossils embedded in the rocks as we hiked thru the moraine.

Hiking

Upsala Glacier

Fossils embedded in the rocks

The following day Scott and I took a guide for a 2 hour horse ride to a lake to fly fish and have lunch. It was really fun. Then we took the boat back to our car at Eolo and drove to El Calafate for the night before flying to Iguazu Falls.

Riding horses to a lake to go fly fishing

There were some huge salmon in the river

First time I have ever tried to Fly Fish.....

Fly Fishing off the rocks.

The saddles and head stalls were interesting

Saddle up

Scott getting the hang of it.

Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

Our Hotel or Estancia is called Eolo. It is very nice.

Eolo

We drove to the Perito Moreno Glacier. It is the only glacier that is growing. It snows and is cold on top and creates new ice as the bottom melts. The glacier is as high (above the water) as a 15 story building. We watched and heard the calving, great big cracking booms!

Scott and I wanted to hike on the glacier so we had to lie about our ages! Usually you want to be older, but they won't take you if you are over 40. My birth date changed for this, BUT, we were better with the crampons on the ice than the 20 year olds. The guides could tell we had ice climbed before. We took a boat for about an hour and then had to hike for and hour thru the moraine to where we put on a harness and crampons. We walked all over the glacier and skirted around crevasses. It looks like moonscape with meringue peaks all over. Hiked about 6 miles. Beautiful.