Today we learn two things: how to spot condors and how to dress for Patagonia. The saying is that there is no bad weather in Patagonia, only bad clothes. For the rest of the trip we are never without our long underwear, 2 layers of shirts, down sweater, raincoat for a windbreaker, a neck scarf, gloves and a hat that covers the ears and won’t blow off. And don’t take your hands out of your pockets if you don’t need to.
Several cars of birders with spotting scopes join us to search for condors.
We are lucky to see not only several condors but a young eagle calling to its mother for food–and that racket went on for a long time with no mama in sight. We hunkered down between rocks for shelter from the wind as we waited for condors to fly by. But then our back-ends got cold from the rocks. It was the wind that got us that day and we learned our lesson.
We visited a nearby estancia for photographs and lunch. Rex and Norberto, our driver, made a great picnic lunch including a cloth tablecloth
. Lunches for the rest of the trip would be some combination of the following: soup (always welcome because it is usually chilly), bread (home-made bread from Rex’s house for the first part of the trip), sliced avocados and tomatoes, cheese, sliced meats, “pate” (which was a tube of some sort of bird liver spread slit with a knife and squeezed on the bread–surprisingly good), tuna salad, chips, trail mix, fruit, cookies and chocolate bars. It is a tasty spread after the activities of each day.
There is the cutest puppy running around and he is very friendly. One of the gauchos has shot a beautiful fox that supposedly decimated his chicken population. It’s hanging in a tree as a warning to the other foxes.
We watch another fox run through the corral but we suspect that he’ll be joining his friend in the tree sometime soon.
We are invited to a local land-owner’s home for afternoon tea called “onces” (like the word for the number 11). The ladies have made biscuits (yum) that we enjoy with butter and home-made jam. There are sliced meats, cheese, guacamole, and finally an apple crumble. The people are welcoming and warm to us. It was a nice glimpse into Patagonia ranch life.
We drive back to the town of Coyhaique and check in at the Coyhaique Lodge. It is a new, beautiful lodge with a large common area warmed by a big fire.
We gather for Pisco Sours and bowls of snacks. The host there says that one snack is a local concoction so we try it. It tastes like freeze-dried meat with hair in it! It’s horse meat!!!!!! For the rest of the trip we would shudder every time we think about it.
Today we had a full day of Scott craziness. Scott–the guy with the tripod that wouldn’t stop talking at the airport. He stops the car excessively for photos. Everyone considers this a problem and we suggest to Rex that he give him a certain number of stops. But Rex is a nice guy and does not take our suggestion so the craziness continues for the entire trip.