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Sunday, November 8, 2015

A Wild And Wonderful Day Of Discovery In El Calafate, Argentina

It is my second day in El Calafate. I found out what the name of the town means. Literally it is a meeting place where people can avoid the wind. In 1999, 4000 people lived here. today some 25,000 people call this town home. I am happily exhausted right now. I spent the day on a spectacular tour. I told a wild van and boat ride ending up at the incredible Perito Moreno glacier that is 4 kilometers wide and and 30 kilometers deep. This is roughly the land area of the city of Buenos Aires. Our adventure started in a van riding for hours on unpaved roads with bone-jarring results. We looked at several estancias (ranches) and some historical sites. We stopped at one charming estancia and took a tour of the horse training and sheep shearing areas. The owner graciously invited us to share with him a gourmet luncheon with incredible Argentina wine. It was quite a charming experience. Afterwards w rode the van to a boat and took a long ride on Lago Roca to get to the Perito Moreno glacier. I am glad that i brought my parka because it was freezing cold. We took some incredible pictures and videos. We got off the boat and did some hiking around the glacier. We ran into 5 very unfriendly bulls. When they saw 12 humans lined up they decided not to attack. We got back in the boat and rode very close to the glacier. We got returned to land and went to the visitor's center for a national park that includes the glacier. It was FREEZING and man was I thankful that I had my heavy winter clothes!!!!!! It was also stunningly beautiful. I feel wonderful after this most educational and exciting day!!!!!

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