The photographers visit Laguna Nuñez Bird Preserve before dawn and get some great bird shots.
We have a full day’s drive to our next stop, Estancia Cerro Guido. As we take off we all say silly things like: We’re off like a herd of turtles! We’re off laughing and scratching! But Jonathan says: Off like a prom dress! We stop in town and I scurry around trying to find a birthday card for Karen; today is her birthday. That was not an easy task. When I finally find a place that had cards I couldn’t decipher what they said! I also bought a box of confections of the region for a little gift. Today we call Karen “The Birthday Chick.” We all stop at the grocery store and buy a bunch of wine. Heaven forbid we’re caught short. And Jonathan rounds up food for our picnic lunch. While we’re on the road, we come upon about 15 raptors (Caracaras, Variable Hawks and Buzzard Eagles) around a carcass. What a photo opportunity! We also watch a sheep round-up with 3 gauchoes and about 8 to10 dogs. It’s really interesting to watch the process.
They eventually run the huge flock across the road. What a sight! We stop for our picnic and a bathroom stop. I’m in the toilet and the window is open. I hear moaning and groaning and wailing just outside the window! It was Stuart after taking a fall on the icy concrete. I swear that level of commotion should only be used if someone cut off your leg without anesthesia. We arrive at the estancia at about 5pm. It’s quite a large place. It includes a school for the workers’ children and about 20 dog kennels. It looks like a modest place but looks can be deceiving. We are escorted to the guest house and our rooms. We are amazed at our beautiful rooms! There are huge king beds
with luxurious bedding. We even have a fireplace. We have a wine get-together in the large,
elegant front room.
Our orders were to meet at the reception desk at 7pm to get our passports and go to dinner together. Howard and I are there right on time but no one else shows up. Jonathan says in a stern voice: You are not following orders! We make our way to the dining hall. A gaucho in full regalia is roasting a lamb for our dinner over a huge circular barbecue. The dining room is lovely with a gorgeous view of the snow-covered mountains we will travel to tomorrow. We start with Pisco Sours (of course) with coin-shaped pieces of fry bread and Pebre. Jonathan and I look at the wine list and order a red Matetic wine (the winery we visited near Santiago). It is perfect with the lamb–the best lamb we’ve had! Karen gets a cake with candles and we all sing “Feliz Cupleanos Para Usted.” We get an extra dessert of cheesecake and Cherimoya juice. It really was a great evening and a great birthday celebration. We drift back to the guest house and sink into our wonderful beds.