Patagonia, Chili & Argentina

2/6/25

[mindarae25]

PS Mar 4…..tomorrow we fly back to Buenos Aires where we all have a day room because the flights all leave late. Ours leaves at 11:15pm so you probably won’t hear from me again!

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Upper right is the bridge you walk on to cross the river so you are above the falls.

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Mar 4…..today is our last day here and it was so much fun! Karen, you are going to love this place. We were out at 7:00am to beat the crowds because it’s still the end of a 3 day holiday here. We drove to Iguazu Falls National Park(Argentina side) and broke the 1st half of the day into 2 walks, each about 1 mile long. The scenery is spectacular. My pics don’t do it justice. We had a quick lunch on our own and then we split the group into 2. Most of us opted for the “Great Adventure”, which was the pontoon speed boat ride on the Iguazu River and under the falls. It was so much fun and we all got soaked totally! It’s amazing how warm the water is. We had to put our cameras and belongings into a dry bag they give you and put on a life vest. The only arduous part is there are about 200 steps down to the dock, which means you have to come back up when it’s over! I’ve posted some videos above. We are back at the hotel and all showered, ready for HH and our farewell dinner. Thank god it’s not some home hosted thing! It’s in a real restaurant!!!

Love you all!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[mindarae25]

Right is Charlie’s butt with a butterfly on it!

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Butterflies in the sanctuary. Bottom left is the lunch we had. Those are 3 different empanadas on the left of the plate, ceviche in the cup at the top, corn muffin and then that square is Paraguan soup in solid form! In the glass is Passion Fruit pudding and then in the very center is a piece of cheese with edible wood on top. It’s actually the bark of a tree that’s been soaked in honey but it’s disgusting. Bottom right is the view from dinner. On the left end of the bridge is Paraguay, on the right is Brazil and then I am in Argentina taking this pic!!!

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Upper left is me hugging a sacred tree. Upper right is a snack prepared for us by Maria, who does the cooking for the whole community. She’s in red bottom left. Bottom right is a group of school children singing for us.

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Mar 3….Slept like a log last night. It pays to travel with doctors because they have the best drugs!! Today we didn’t have to be out until 9:00 so it was a nice relaxing morning. We hopped on the bus and drove about 1/2 hr to visit a Guarani community. This is one of the things OAT likes to do, getting us into areas where most people don’t go. Guarani is an indigenous population native to Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. We had a Guarani guide who took us on a 2 hr walk and talk thru their settlement. It was interesting except for the fact that we had to be interpreted to the whole time, which is difficult. The Guarani guide goes on for several minutes while we stand there and stare at him and then our guide interprets in about one sentence what he said. It’s frustrating because you miss all the nuances and emotion by the original speaker.

We had lunch at a butterfly sanctuary after a brief tour and then headed back to our hotel. We got back about 3:30 and had the rest of the day and evening free. Reggie and I decided it was too hot to go shopping so we went to our rooms where I promptly fell asleep for 2 hours! HH in the bar at 6:00 then we walked to a local restaurant overlooking the Paraguay River where 3 countries meet, Paraguay, Brazil & Argentina. We split a hamburgesa and a salad.

Going to bed…..💤💤😘😘

[mindarae25]

This is the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls. The Falls are about 2 miles wide and are the widest single waterfall in the world. This is another group picture of which I am sick of taking!! Pretty much everyone has gotten sick from us!😩

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Mar 2…..we didn’t do anything yesterday except travel. This morning we had to be out by 7:00am to catch a flight to Iguazu. It was only a 1 1/2 hr flight but everyone is tired of all the long bus rides and interior flights. We’ve also been in and out of 3 countries, Argentina, Chile and Brazil which involves crossing borders and immigration. We started out in Chile, then to Argentina, then back to Chile, then back to Argentina, then onto Brazil, and now we are back in Argentina!!!! When we flew in today we boarded our bus(fortunately they’ve been giving us big buses so we can all spread out and not share a seat) and drove across the border of Brazil to that side of Iguazu Falls. It was so fucking crowded, because it’s a 3 day holiday here, and it must have been in the 90’s with 90% humidity, that it was tough to enjoy. We walked about 1 mile, dripping with sweat, enjoyed the scenery as best we could and then drove back across the border(it took us almost 2 hrs) to the hotel.

Really lovely hotel and we had the best dinner of this whole trip! It was a local lake fish called Picu. I think it was probably the best piece of fish I’ve ever had. A fresh salad came first, which is rare in these parts. I was too tired to shower and am writing this in bed. I forgot to take a pic of dinner, sorry.

I’m feeling much better today. My cough is down and my side hurts less. Thanks everyone for all your concern. Love and miss everyone.😘😘😘

[mindarae25]

[mindarae25]

Mar 2….i know I haven’t been posting much but I’m tired and sore and coughing and ready to come home. Last night the 6 of us went out for Italian and said goodbye to Tim & Lynn. They aren’t going to Iguazu Falls and everybody else is. Today we fly to Iguazu where we cross the Brazilian border and walk thru Brazilian Falls National Park.

That’s all for now.🥰

[mindarae25]

Mar 1…. Today is a travel day. We leave Patagonia for Buenos Aires.

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Stunning scenery!

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Me on a horse. This is the mountain range that inspired the Patagonia label. Douglas and Susie Thompkins ended up living here in Argentina. He died in a kayak accident some years ago and she is generously giving their money to save the wilderness.

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Us at the ranch. They made us wear those gaucho hats! First course of lunch was pickled Hare. It was really good. Bottom left is the platter they served lunch on. It has squash, potatoes, veggies and lamb. Right is how the lamb as cooked.

[mindarae25]

Feb 26 & 27…sorry I didn’t post for a couple of days but I’m sick! Charlie got sick about 5 days ago and I caught it 2 days ago. Just when I got my cough in good shape now it’s bad again! 😫. We had a 10 hr bus ride out of Torres del Paine to El Calafate. Several stops along the way, icluding one for lunch. We got to Calafate at about 6:00pm in time for a brief cleanup then dinner at 7. We fell into bed and woke up for breakfast and a 9:00 departure. We drove just a short distance, thank god, to a sheep ranch for lunch and a tour of the workings of the ranch. Yesterday was Tim’s Bday so the ranch made him a bday cake. It was very sweet. Got back to the hotel at about 2:00. We decided to walk into town for some shopping but I came away with nothing. So sad! I felt really crappy by the time I got back from town and slept thru HH and Tim’s bday dinner. I didn’t even wash up or brush my teeth! Next thing I knew it was 6:45 this morning.

Today we are driving 2 hrs to the Pedro Molina Glacier, a short hike then back to the hotel. I want to see it very badly but I’ll probably sit out the hike. Tonight is our goodbye dinner because tomorrow we split up. Some are going home and others are going to Iguazu Falls.

Love and miss you 😘

[mindarae25]

Top left is Moxie on steroids! Top left is at the steak restaurant that Lynn found. Bottom is a portion of the 20ft high sign in Punta Arenas.