Days 6 & 7 - Coyaique - Perito Moreno - La Angostura
Distance traveled each day: Approximately 200 miles.
These 2 days were days of contrast, and days of similarity. The contrast came in the weather. Saturday rolled in upon us with clouds and some wind, cold and damp, with some rain, though only sporadically.
Sunday morning dawned bright and nearly cloudless. The previous night we had stayed on an estancia, a rural ranch of immense proportions. These ranches form a patchwork over the landscape of most of Argentine Patagonia, that were given as land grants to bold pioneers to raise livestock. Today the land of the estancias is quasi-barren, except for small oases that spring up in the shelter of rolling hills. Water and electricity are tough to come by, and in fact the estancia where we stayed on Saturday night had its own generator and took water from several mountainside streams. They had several thousand sheep, a few thousand cattle, and 20-30 horses, not to mention the various dogs, cats and of course chickens and roosters to provide a wakeup call every morning. Flags representing several of the countries of our group members were flapping wildly in the strong winds to greet us upon our arrival at the TelKen Estancia.
The estancia is owned by a delightful septuagenarian couple, she of Scottish descent, and he of Dutch extraction. Betty in particular spoke English with a wonderful, lilting Scottish accent that was very charming in the midst of the arid surroundings. After a hearty dinner of extensive appetizers, including an onion bread made with what appeared to be corn flour, and then a main course of lamb over rice, with a gravy of onions, mushrooms, white wine and curry, we were served a delicious dessert of dulce de leche, the caramel sauce so well-loved by Argentines, which we applied liberally to the 2 varieties of tortes that were served.
The drive the next day took us to another ranch, somewhat more basic in its accommodations, but before I describe the ranch, I have to say describe these 2 days of driving. The terrain was nearly barren: Low scrub grass and shrubs abounded. The closest thing to a tree that we saw in these 400 miles were barely 3 feet tall. The strong winds of the open plains (we measured the wind at nearly 40 mph at one point) keep the vegetation from growing taller. The roads are long, mostly flat, and straight. One can easily become mesmerized by the monotonous landscape, yet you also note any slight change in vegetation, or any distant sign of wildlife (native guanacos, a gazelle-like animal, as well as cattle and occasional horses).
Sunday night we feasted on grilled lamb that had been running in the meadows just that morning, as well as wonderful green salad, Mendoza red wine, and delicious flan with white cream for dessert. Again at the mercy of the generator gods, several of us sat near the fire and enjoyed an extra "10 drops" of wine, a cigar, and then we retired early to our somewhat Spartan accommodations, to get a good night's rest for the long trip on dirt roads that awaited us the next day.
I also have to mention the cutest border collie puppy that was on this ranch. She must have been no more than 6 months old, and she certainly captured our hearts. She hung around until after our feast was over and enjoyed some of the left-overs. It was great fun to watch her playing with and chasing 2 cats on the ranch. Makes me miss my dog Mulligan all the more. (Give him a hug for me, Chuck!)
And just for good measure, here is a picture of a horse and its keeper that we saw at the first ranch.
- Bob (email me by clicking on my name)
These 2 days were days of contrast, and days of similarity. The contrast came in the weather. Saturday rolled in upon us with clouds and some wind, cold and damp, with some rain, though only sporadically.
Sunday morning dawned bright and nearly cloudless. The previous night we had stayed on an estancia, a rural ranch of immense proportions. These ranches form a patchwork over the landscape of most of Argentine Patagonia, that were given as land grants to bold pioneers to raise livestock. Today the land of the estancias is quasi-barren, except for small oases that spring up in the shelter of rolling hills. Water and electricity are tough to come by, and in fact the estancia where we stayed on Saturday night had its own generator and took water from several mountainside streams. They had several thousand sheep, a few thousand cattle, and 20-30 horses, not to mention the various dogs, cats and of course chickens and roosters to provide a wakeup call every morning. Flags representing several of the countries of our group members were flapping wildly in the strong winds to greet us upon our arrival at the TelKen Estancia.The estancia is owned by a delightful septuagenarian couple, she of Scottish descent, and he of Dutch extraction. Betty in particular spoke English with a wonderful, lilting Scottish accent that was very charming in the midst of the arid surroundings. After a hearty dinner of extensive appetizers, including an onion bread made with what appeared to be corn flour, and then a main course of lamb over rice, with a gravy of onions, mushrooms, white wine and curry, we were served a delicious dessert of dulce de leche, the caramel sauce so well-loved by Argentines, which we applied liberally to the 2 varieties of tortes that were served.
The drive the next day took us to another ranch, somewhat more basic in its accommodations, but before I describe the ranch, I have to say describe these 2 days of driving. The terrain was nearly barren: Low scrub grass and shrubs abounded. The closest thing to a tree that we saw in these 400 miles were barely 3 feet tall. The strong winds of the open plains (we measured the wind at nearly 40 mph at one point) keep the vegetation from growing taller. The roads are long, mostly flat, and straight. One can easily become mesmerized by the monotonous landscape, yet you also note any slight change in vegetation, or any distant sign of wildlife (native guanacos, a gazelle-like animal, as well as cattle and occasional horses).
Sunday night we feasted on grilled lamb that had been running in the meadows just that morning, as well as wonderful green salad, Mendoza red wine, and delicious flan with white cream for dessert. Again at the mercy of the generator gods, several of us sat near the fire and enjoyed an extra "10 drops" of wine, a cigar, and then we retired early to our somewhat Spartan accommodations, to get a good night's rest for the long trip on dirt roads that awaited us the next day.
I also have to mention the cutest border collie puppy that was on this ranch. She must have been no more than 6 months old, and she certainly captured our hearts. She hung around until after our feast was over and enjoyed some of the left-overs. It was great fun to watch her playing with and chasing 2 cats on the ranch. Makes me miss my dog Mulligan all the more. (Give him a hug for me, Chuck!)
And just for good measure, here is a picture of a horse and its keeper that we saw at the first ranch.- Bob (email me by clicking on my name)
posted by Robert Sette at 8:54 PM
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