In between epic trips to see glaciers and hike mountains, we countered with down time visiting playgrounds. Suddenly, foot dragging and energy loss from walking down the street (never mind hiking) would be replaced with hours of wind sprints and playground shenanigans. El Calafate was great for that- it has great, modern playgrounds with plenty of shade and choice of artillery: sticks/light sabers, sticks/guns, sticks/sonic screwdrivers.
We also took advantage of visiting a couple museums: El Centro de Interpretacion Historica Calafate, where tickets got us entry and a free yerba mate, plus a lesson on how to prepare and drink Argentina's favorite tea. The museum, though small, was packed with dinosaur bones and assorted fossils including a complete skeleton of everyone's favorite: the giant sloth. It also contained compelling stories of Aonikenk (Patagonian) Indians and the history that unfolded thereafter. We watched a video on glaciers before re-circling the museum for a 2nd and 3rd time listening Mark re-tell the stories of the dinosaurs for a 2nd and 3rd time. Just to be thorough.
Deets was dying for more interactions with glaciers, so we hit up the Glaciarium, a luminous yet dark maze of sciency things about ice. Indeed, it was pretty cool. We could have paid the extra fee to enter the ice bar below but seeing as how I object to pretty much any bar with cover charges and wasn't feeling it for a 10:00am cocktail, we opted to play outside and attempt some family photos before the shuttle arrived.
For sake of more outside play and education we visited the Laguna Nimez Ecological Reserve, home to more than 80 bird species. After paying the entry fee, it was only then that the employee informed me that between stations 8 and 9 it would be essential to remain silent so as not to spook the nesting falcons. Doing so could result in bird attacks. I don't care for birds. They kinda scare me with all their potential to peck and claw and attack- and here I was, willingly entering enemy territory with two time bombs. The falcons were very active: babies chirping like hell to get their breakfast and multiple sets of squawking parents were flying extremely low overhead. Perhaps the kids could sense my anxiety as I urged them to be absolutely quiet because they followed suit and we completed the circuit without major incident. For what it's worth, the Reserve really delivered. We saw a mess of different birds including ducks, geese, ibises, and flamingoes. To my pleasure, most of them were far away and totally uninterested.
We also took advantage of visiting a couple museums: El Centro de Interpretacion Historica Calafate, where tickets got us entry and a free yerba mate, plus a lesson on how to prepare and drink Argentina's favorite tea. The museum, though small, was packed with dinosaur bones and assorted fossils including a complete skeleton of everyone's favorite: the giant sloth. It also contained compelling stories of Aonikenk (Patagonian) Indians and the history that unfolded thereafter. We watched a video on glaciers before re-circling the museum for a 2nd and 3rd time listening Mark re-tell the stories of the dinosaurs for a 2nd and 3rd time. Just to be thorough.
Deets was dying for more interactions with glaciers, so we hit up the Glaciarium, a luminous yet dark maze of sciency things about ice. Indeed, it was pretty cool. We could have paid the extra fee to enter the ice bar below but seeing as how I object to pretty much any bar with cover charges and wasn't feeling it for a 10:00am cocktail, we opted to play outside and attempt some family photos before the shuttle arrived.
For sake of more outside play and education we visited the Laguna Nimez Ecological Reserve, home to more than 80 bird species. After paying the entry fee, it was only then that the employee informed me that between stations 8 and 9 it would be essential to remain silent so as not to spook the nesting falcons. Doing so could result in bird attacks. I don't care for birds. They kinda scare me with all their potential to peck and claw and attack- and here I was, willingly entering enemy territory with two time bombs. The falcons were very active: babies chirping like hell to get their breakfast and multiple sets of squawking parents were flying extremely low overhead. Perhaps the kids could sense my anxiety as I urged them to be absolutely quiet because they followed suit and we completed the circuit without major incident. For what it's worth, the Reserve really delivered. We saw a mess of different birds including ducks, geese, ibises, and flamingoes. To my pleasure, most of them were far away and totally uninterested.
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| The kids fully in charge. |
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| Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve |
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| These guys weren't messing around. |
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| Swooping in for its kill. |
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| Black faced Ibis: Argentina's squirrel. They were everywhere. |
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| Yellow Billed Pintails. |
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