Blogs from South America - page 6

We say goodbye to Chile today and head back to Argentina. Breakfast in in our hotel then we load our bags onto the bus to head to Calafate. We change busses, bus drivers and local guide at the Argentine boarder. Out in the middle of nowhere we stop at a sheep ranch called Chali Aike. The owner of the ranch gives us a tour of the ranch. Our lunch bbq lamb is cooking over a wood fire. He tells us how this ranch has been in his family since his great grandfather bought the property. His great grandmother stayed on the ranch while his great grandfather traveled to buy sheep. It took his grandfather two years to travel to buy the sheep and herd them to the ranch. Sheep wool has been the main money earner ... read more

As we sail north away from Antartica I will make a mention of the many research stations located here. The first permanent bases were established by the British during WWII. The Germans dropped swastika markers from planes making a symbolic claim on the Antarctic and that, coupled with Argentina's apparent sympathy towards the Nazis, prompted the English to set up a number of military bases. Today these bases, along with many others have been converted into research stations. In 1959, fifty five countries signed a treaty protecting the region and allowing research stations to be constructed. These hundreds of stations fall into 3 categories - permanent, seasonal and discontinued. One of the largest is the Amundsen-Scott base located directly on the South Pole by the US. Most of the bases are located on the coast. In ... read more

We wake up this morning with our fingers crossed. Today if the weather cooperates we will go to Cape Horn. We are told that 40% of the time the waters are too rough for us to land on Cape Horn. Cape Horn is located on Hornos Island in Chile. It is surrounded by wild seas where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet. There are powerful currents, frequent storms and narrow passage makes it a dangerous route. A memorial on the island commemorates the 800 ships that sank and 10,000 lives of seamen who died trying to sail around Cape Horn. The weather looks good and we are told to get ready to go. I wear long underwear top and bottom, travel pants (designed to keep pickpockets out of your pants), rain paints, hiking thick socks and ... read more

Last night we hit rough seas as we passed thru the Strait of Magellan. Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who let a Spanish expedition looking for a trade route around South America. In 1519 they found a bay which led them to a strait now called the Strait of Magellan which allowed them passage to the Pacific. A hike is on the agenda for this morning. We ride our zodiac boats around the lagoon and go for a hike. It is a beautiful day and we leave our life jackets on the beach. In the afternoon we take the zodiacs to Condor Glacier. We see a couple of Andean Condors which is appropriate given we are at Condor Glacier. We spot birds nesting on the cliffs. Tonight is the Captain’s Farewell Dinner so our cruise ... read more

Rainforest nourished by the Amazon, vast Savannah-like flatlands known as the Pampas, precipitous rugged Andes Mountains, and diversity of wildlife in world class proportions; Bolivia is a country with many riches for learning and wonder. But not only that, Bolivia is truly FOR THE BIRDS!!! Over 1400 species have been counted and it's crazy to see how different they all appear. If you make it through this blog to the photos, you'll see just a few of my favorite bird characters, along with a few monkeys and human characters as well...... We traveled to Bolivia with the express purpose of experiencing the Amazon basin and learning about the wildlife it supports. What we discovered was a country with warm friendly people, tourism that was struggling to recover post pandemic, and the Amazon basin experiencing a disturbing ... read more