So, after our full day excursion experience, we were back to half days, preferably not too draining half days. GG left me to take an experienced horseback ride through the country while I went on the “easy” animal hike – some ups and downs while we observed guanacas, flamigos, rheas, and possibly a puma in their natural environs. We would then rendez-vous at the estancia for a traditional Patagonian lamb bbq – I was very much looking forward to this.
That "easy" hike - not so easy! Not contemplated in that intensity level assignment was the 120 km/hr winds blowing that day. However, miraculously, this was the only hike of our stay where I did not take a fall! We did spot all of the animals cited, except for the elusive puma.
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| Playful guanacos... |
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| Papa Rhea and little chick rhea's following behind... |
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| Pink flamingos... |
A van fortunately picked us up for a 45 minute drive to the estancia which was the perfect amount of time for our faces to recover from the treacherous wind conditions.
I arrived at the estancia before GG so I was just a wee bit concerned about her whereabouts. But, fortunately the fresh empanadas and pisco sours that greeted me at the door helped ease my concerns. Sure enough, a few moments later GG walked through the door absolutely exhilarated by her ride!
We feasted on the famous Patagonian lamb while we chatted with many interesting and new acquaintances from explora – a semi-retired doc from Columbia who kept peppering me if I’d return to med school and a young couple from London who quit their jobs in digital advertising to travel around south America for a year. I very much enjoyed chatting it up with them.
Here are some sites and sounds from lunch...
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| A sea of empanadas cooking on the fire... |
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| BEFORE: Patagonian Lambs roasting on an open fire.... |
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| AFTER: Clearly the group was not shy about going for seconds... |
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| Lunch is served... |
After finishing up lunch, it was time for another beginner horse ride that GG agreed to go on in order to continue fostering my horse education.
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| Our trusty friends... |
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| Our sleeping friend... |
I attempted to chat with another honeymooning couple from SF who are also taking an extended honeymoon and will be in Atacama when we are there – he works at Google. Needless to say conversation plus beginner equestrian skills is a near impossible combination.
After an uneventful ride, we got back to our room to find a grand surprise. Our friends at Explora filled a bubble bath with rose petals, candles, chocolate and a bottle of bubbly in our sink! Once again, another above and beyond moment!
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| Surprise and delight! |
We relaxed and then made our way down to our final dinner…it was delicious, as usual, and we said some goodbyes and made our way back upstairs for sleep. We had the good fortune of another half day to do a hike and lunch before heading to Punta Arenas
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