R. David Morrow's Hiking and photography site: March 2022

Of the 26 people signed up for this trip only 11 actually showed up. That turned out to be a good number. The ordeal of filling out the papeerwork online for the covid restriction proved almost too much for our leader. Our first day Feb 17-18 , we flew from Las Vegas to DFW to Buenos Aires. Then the next day we flw on to Iguazu falls. We got covid tested for entry into Argentina,

On the way to the hotel we stopped at a restaurant that had a nice garden and a butterfly farm

A type of bush primrose.

A Red Postman butterfly

Red Rim butterfly

Dont know this one but it is the kind you have seen that is irridescent blue on the top of the wings.

Interesting foliage

Gray cracker butterfly

The group and guide (Luis) on an excursion to a native village exhibit.

Shaman and the local guide.

A lecture on various plants of the jungle.

The path we took thru the forest.

Lunch stop with various local dishes.

The big wheel in Brazil that we could see from the hotel

The next day, feb 19, we took a bus to Brazil's side of the falls.

There is a well constructed walkway along the edge of the river with many views of the falls. It was very humid but no mosquitos were seen

The Coatis here beg for food and do not understand the work NO. So we were advised not to carry any food they could smell.

Buzzards flying over the falls.

Looking into the main falls

Buzzard flying below the lookout.

a Plush Crested Jay

When the sun came out there were rainbows everywhere.

The walkways below the falls were pretty crowded. Most people did wear masks.

A seep spring on the way back to the bus.

Purple heart

Day flower

Selfie

On day 3, Feb 20, we took a bus to the Argentina side of the falls. Raised walkways give access to the top of the falls.

This is the vortex where the falls start.

Looking down thru the mist

Brazillian Orchid tree

Toco Toucan

This is as far as the tour boats go upstream. They turn around at that first little rapid.

This is a waterfall that they drive the boats into for excitement

Boat entering the side waterfall

Everyone enjoying getting wet. We stayed out to take the photos.

Capuchin monkeys

Black Vulture

Google cant identify this butterfly

Toco Toucan

chestnut-bellied euphonium in a guava tree

Yellow-fronted woodpecker

After Iguazu falls on Feb 21 we flew back to Buenos Aires for a couple more days in the hotel we started at there. And a city walk in Buenos Aires

The evening dinner (included)

Walking along the waterfront.

Cityscape

pedestrian bridge over the waterway.

Austral Parakeet

Changing of the guards

Inside the cathedral

Almost 8:00 AM

The exterior of the cathedral

We had lunch at this place

After Buenos Aires we flew to El Calafate on feb 23 and had a PCR test at the hotel there for entry into Chile later.

A walk in Calafate in a birding area. These are Southern Lapwings

Southern Lapwing

Flamingo

Calafate bush

Swallows on Calafate bush

Harrier

Chimango Caracara

Andean Ruddy duck

Red Shovler

Yellow-billed pintail

Red Shovler

Gray Fox

Rufous collared sparrow

Flamingos

Black faced Ibis

Where we had lamb pizza

We took the bus to the Glaciers National Park to see the Perito Monero glacier the next day

Crested Caracara

Black chested buzzard eagle and crested caracara

Black chested buzzard eagle

Lesser Rheas

austral parakeets

Perito Monero glacier

Fire bush

Glacier calving click this link

Perito Monero glacier

Fire bush

Perito Monero glacier

After the glacier we flew back to Buenos Aires, and then to Santiago, and then to Punta Arenas for the part of the trip in the Torres del Paine area

From the airplane flying into Santiago. Santiago is next to the highest mountains of the Andes.

After arriving in Punta Arenas we took a bus to the Torres de Paine park and out hotel at Lago Grey.

Lesser Rhea

Guanacos

Young Guanacos

Lesser Rhea

Flamingos

Brenda in front of the Torres del Paine area.

The view out the window of our room at Lago Grey. The iceburg is from the glacier at the other end of the lake.

The glacier at the other end of the lake and people walking on the gravel bar near the hotel. It is about 6 miles to the glacier. I can measure it on google and find an exact distance.

The same iceburg

Calafate Sours made with Glacier Ice.

Common chickweed

The next day a hike along some lakes to a viewpoint of the Torres del Paine.

Unidentified blooming bush

Violet

Crested Caracara up close

The view of the mountains over the lake

Nice waterfall and rainbow

Some kind of primrose

The pathway to the overlook mentioned before.

A tour boat on Lago Grey that can take people to the glacier. We didnt go there.

A cell phone photo of the view on the morning we left Lago Grey.

The iceburg that morning had gained a darker blue color.

We took the bus out a different entrance of the park and had views of the same mountains we had hiked to the previous day.

This is a view over Nordenskjold lake

Zoomed in on the mountains

Brenda in front of the view. Many busses park here.

We saw more guanacos from the bus today

We saw a Puma family too. The white thing in the middle might be an old kill.

Andean Condor.

We had a cookout at a ranch near this little waterfall. Most of the group went of a horseback ride but Brenda and I went birdwatching.

Unindenified blooming bush

Female Magellen Woodpecker. the largest woodpecker in south america.

The male woodpecker.

Gray-flanked Cinclodes...i think

Another Chimango Caracara

After the ranch visit we drove to the boat for the rest of the trip. We were tested for covid again before getting on the boat. And again a couple of days later. We had temp checks every day.

The first glacier excursion from the boat.

Frozen sea otter?

It was raining the day of the first excursion so Brenda and I stayed on the boat and took pictures of the zodiacs comming and going.

In the afternoon it was clear and we joined the group on a hike over a hill with views. It was advertised as difficult with hand over hand rope work required.

The hand over hand rope section. We didn't use the rope because laying on the ground it was wet and dirty. No need anyway.

Little beaver pond part way up the hill.

common berry bush. It looked like our heather but grew taller and had berries about blueberry size. Mutilla, or diddle-dee. edible.

Another common bush called Prickly Heath. Has larger edible berries and white bell shaped flowers like our white heather. each leaf has a sharp point.

The flowers of prickly heath. And the sharp leaf tips

A blooming heath and a fruiting one side by side.

Comming down the hill

Close up of the beech leaves. there are many types of beech trees here and they take up the nitch that conifers do in our northern latitudes.

Mosses and spore stalks

Devils strawberry. A low ground cover.

Another pond

Fire-eyed diucon

Mudflats with algae

View of the boat from the Zodiac

Looking toward the mountains and a sand-spit where part of the group went for and easier forrest walk instead of the rope hike.

You can see that part of the group getting ready to come back to the boat

Porpoise

A different hike to the edge of another glacier

various mosses

Moss, devils strawberry, and diddle-dee. The diddle-dee can have berries even when it is only and inch high.

Club Mosses

Diddle-dee berries on a plant that is smaller than the berries are.

Much larger Diddle-dee bush

Some of the prickly heath bushes had pink berries

The ship again

Verry strange flightless ducks escaping from the path of the boat. They would scoot very fast over the water using feet and wings but not flying at all.

A glacier from the ship along "Glacier Alley"

Out dedicated waiter, Oscar

Our guide Jorge

Zodiacs getting ready to land on Cape Horne. The seas were rough that morning at dawn so brenda and i stayed on the ship again. Everyone who went got soaked and had trouble drying their shoes before it was time to come home.

The sign at cape horn. Taken from the ship

The monument at Cape Horn

The landing party at cape horne.

A flying Imperial Comorant

A Giant Petral

An Albatross

Penguins on the water.

Magellands Commorant

Eye-bright

Unidentified

daisy?

Mistletoe

Sticktight

Forrest

Plack to Charles Darwin on the building you could see down below in the last lookout photo

Back on the ship the last day. Seas were too rough to dock in Punta Arenas and we were trapped on the ship for several hours. Some played cards but most were ready to get off and remove their masks. I suspect this is where I contracted Covid.