Parque Nacional los Glaciares Patagonia South America!

The Glaciers National Park is in Calafate Patagonia. The Hielo Continental (ice cap) covers approximately 8000 square miles. The National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Perito Moreno Glacier shown in these photos is 2 miles wide and rises 165 feet above the surface of Lago Argentina. It is a spectacular sight!

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Here is the Glacier calving!

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Here is more, with a Condor Flying!

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The vast majority of non-Southern Amercan toruists come by tour bus, which loses you the oppportunity to drive at leisure all over the park, seeing everything, without a handler and people you don’t know. We flew into Calafate and rented a car and can visit gorgeous Pataglonia on our own. Highly recommend.

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How can ice be so beautiful?

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The Birds of Patagonia! WOW!

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Cinereous Harrier! The South American Harrier! These are stunning raptors that fiercely defend their nests. I got dove at today, inches from my head, which seriously got our attention. In a few photos you will see why. I ducked but was never afraid. It was a warning, establishing dominance. They then let me stay and take many photos! They have the second largest tail feather to body ratio in the bird kingdom and these babies can fly! I found five contiguous (joined together) feathers from the Harrier that I will post at the end. These joined together tail feathers were lost in an aerial conflict. We saw many of these sparrings. Sachem told me (see prior post) that these birds have significant spiritual meaning in many Native American cultures, and he dreamed that I would find these feathers. Check out his blog & my prior post about this! It is fascinating.
http://sachemspeaks.wordpress.com/

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He certainly knows I am here, doesn’t he?

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See junior Harriet! The source of all the protection!

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And here are my tail feathers which I will keep with me always!

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For More Info Go To:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinereous_Harrier

Please excuse me for not staying up to date on your blogs. There is no time! I will catch up with all of your posts when I return. Cheers!

Why Go To Patagonia? First the Flora & The Environment!!

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The Town of El Calafate Sheltered By The Andes and Abutting Lago Argentina, the Second Largest Lake in Argentina. It is Glacier Fed by the Andes!

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Okay, I’m Cheating a Bit. Here are Flamingos and Flora & Environment!

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I’ll Leave You With Some Sunshine & Flora! But…..Next Post Immediately Following? Fauna!!!

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Gorgeous Greece & Her Stunning Islands!

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This trip to Greece was especially memorable because we traveled from island to island on the Greek Ferry System. There were few tourists, lots of Greeks , and we were able to visit many lesser touristed islands. Our kids remember this as one of their favorite trips. It was a relaxing, wonderful time. We stayed in small, privately-owned, beach hotels, all of which had covered restaurants on the sand of the beautiful Mediterranean beaches.

Note: it is easy to book passage on the ferries before you leave. Ferries are inexpensive, full of helpful locals, and the scenery viewed from the ships, traveling from island to island cannot be beat!

Here are some highlights:

Naxos

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Tinos

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mykonos postGreece & her lovely islands are definitely worthy of everyone’s bucket list. Like most of our list, we would like to return to visit more islands!

This does however, create the delightful dilemma of an ever expanding bucket list!

Not such a bad thing though, is it?

Cheers!