Yesterday, Wednesday, was not the best day in Patagonia. In the morning, it was overcast, but by the afternoon it was really raining. We took a hike in the morning to Lago Toro (as in Lake Bull), which had a lovely view of the lake, but otherwise was not very notable. You may have noticed that we have Flat Stanley along, courtesy of Susan and Phil Yost, who asked us to take him for their niece, or nephew, or young friend (I can’t remember which). This was Flat Stanley’s first hike.

In the afternoon, we split up. Jessica and David hiked at Pingo River, near the Grey Glacier, where they got soaked from the rain. Lenny and I climbed a mountain (Lenny says it was a hill, but I say it was a mountain), where we got soaked from the rain. Marina took a horse back ride at Lago Linda, where she got soaked from the rain. So all in all, a pretty wet day.

Today, the weather more than made up for its misbehavior of yesterday. We had an absolutely glorious, sunny, spectacular day. We went on a three hour hike in the morning that took us past cave paintings, magnificent scenery, and assorted wild life: lots of guanaco – which are the “second cousin twice removed” of the llama (according to Marina) – they seem to be a combination of a llama, a deer, and a camel; condors – which we saw soaring in front of the Three Towers; a fox, flamingos, swans, but no puma.

The hike ended with a drive to the Quincho, a ranch just outside the park where Explora operates some stables. There we ate lunch in a yurt-like structure, with a fireplace in the middle. Lunch was a “typical gaucho barbeque” that included lamb and salmon roasted slowly over the fire, corn or meat empanadas, and brownies for dessert (something tells me that the brownies were not so typical).

Marina stayed at the stables for another horseback ride, while the rest of us headed home to prepare for David and Jessica’s third wedding. We started inviting everybody at the resort, and expect a good turnout!

-- Donna