Laguna Azul, Rancheros & Eolo

Mt. Fitzroy on an unusually cloudless day.

Humans' adaptability and perceptions are truly remarkable.  What may be considered initially intolerable, may just become an uncomfortable situation and afterwards, a minor irritation.  A couple of days after my arrival  here, the winds in Patagonia are still obviously noticeable but do not get in the way of my appreciation or enjoyment of the beautiful surroundings.

To put it another way, after the initial shock of the inhospitable environment, I am now thoroughly enjoying myself. Throw into the mix the following: copious amounts of good food and wine, like minded, adventure loving individuals. a tour operator's remarkable organisation and attention to detail and it's a recipe for a great time. It's at this point I should mention that Butterfield & Robinson (this is their Patagonian expedition) deserves its reputation for being the leader in luxury adventure travel. 

Anyway, back to the events of the past couple of days.  The group went up 800 metres to the Laguna Azul (Blue Lagoon). It was a four season trekking day. A lot of sunshine and wind, rain, hail and snow before reaching our destination.  We heard an avalanche from the distance in the mountain after which we arrived at the most remarkable blue lake underneath an icefall, a moving glacial river.  Wonderful.

                         

Laguna Azul

Exhausted, we retired to Helsinfors hotel for, guess what... more steak and wine (Malbec). It does get repetitive, menus in these parts, but you know this too much of a good thing is only for two weeks so why not enjoy it.

 Local guides working with B & R in La Glacieras.

 Sheep everywhere.

 Guanacos (like llamas)

 Condors

We went to see and walk around a local hacienda which is typical of these parts.  Hernando and Marina, above, run a 10,000 hectare property.  Descended from Scottish ancestry (look closely, you can definitely see it) they love and cherish their land.  But it's not easy, their way of life.  The sheep they have is constantly under attack from wild dogs and puma.  It's very expensive to run their large properties, which breed various livestock, but have minimal vegetation and punishing weather. They need to resort to tourism and giving talks to people like me (rather than train horses which they would love to focus on) for additional income.

After a nice meal with them (lamb cooked every which way, with vegetables, with chocolate (?!), with lentils) we moved on to our next hotel, the Eolo. It's a very beautiful, private relais chateaux ranch, with impressive views and 17 rooms.  A great base for the next few days of glacier experience.