We set our alarm for 6:30 am and promptly showered, packed, and readied ourselves for an 8 hour day of hiking and canoeing. Ate breakfast. Of note is the Argentinian penchant for SWEETS (in my book - desserts) for breakfast! I don't mind the sweet roll or crumb cake for breakfast - but caramel? I had toast and yogurt and coffee.
Our tour bus picked us up promptly at 8am at Hotel dos Andes and we were driven to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Norbie is our hiking guide, Valentin is our canoeing guide, and Pepe is our driver. We are accompanied by about 12 others from France, Brazil, Germany, and a couple from California.
Norbie, Valentin, and Pepe have a great sense of humor and kept us laughing most of the bus ride and for the duration of the tour. There is a light rain today (typical as this area gets about 60 days of rain / snow per year) and it is cool but the park is simply gorgeous. I can only imagine what it would be like on a sunny day! We did a 4 to 5 mile hike and meandered by the water , through the forest, and up and down the hillside. Learned a bit about the native Yamana people who were sea-going nomadic people. They lived like many native peoples - naked. The women would cover themselves with seal grease and would go into the water to catch shellfish while the men would stay on the canoes and hunt seals. As we walked our guide Norbie pointed out old Yamana camping areas where one could see remnants of shells from the shellfish that had been crushed there. We also learned quite a bit about the flora and fauna of the area and had plenty of time to take photos along the way.
Stopped for lunch at a backpackers rest area in the park. Our guides pitched a tent for us with picnic tables inside and cooked our lunch over a fire. We shared bottles of Argentinian wine and enjoyed a lovely meal.
Then we gathered to dress for the "canoeing" (actually an inflatable zodiac). We were all given very "trendy" waterproof pants, rubber boots, and a life jacket. Valentin provided a short hilarious orientation for the canoeing and off we went! Valentin was in our boat with the 4 women of our group and we kicked butt! Saw lots of birds and funny flightless steamer ducks that ramp up to take off from the water, but essentially walk across it to a new place! Hilarious to watch. The weather cleared up a bit and we even got some sunshine. We ended the canoeing at the terminus of the Pan-American Highway (Route 3, which extend from Alaska all the way to the tip of South America). Very few people travel to the terminus of Rte 3 by canoe, but we did!
After a long but lovely day, we were driven back to our hotels. After cleaning up , we met for dinner at Kuar. Good meal. Later in the evening we found Sally Wahrmann and Michele Chan and invited them up for a drink in our apartment. Can't say enough about the fabulous tour we had through Canal Fun. Looking forward to tomorrow's half- day horseback ride and a better night sleep tonight!
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