We’re Going on a Guanaco Hunt!

Today was a lighter day, partly to allow everyone to recover from the long drive, and specifically to make sure Gustavo stays within his driving hour limits. We went up the road about 1 mile for sunrise, with a similar view to that from the hotel, but with our hotel and a couple of interesting land spits also in view. The light was great, pink "fire" on the clouds and the mountain tops.

After breakfast (unfortunately as accurately described by Richard) we went on a guanaco hunt, looking for these charming Patagonian llamas in interesting situations, ideally with a mountain behind them or similar. They are relaxed, curious creatures, so as long as you are non-threatening you can approach moderately close without any problem. Between about four locations we all found several promising images.

Over lunch we got thinking about the ideal guanaco image, and I came up with the idea of a guanaco on a paddle board on the lake in front of the mountains. I did mention beer was being taken, didn’t i? While none of us had such an image, Dall-E was very obliging: see This is Really Scary

After a couple of relatively lazy hours lunch was followed rather quickly by an early tea. One challenge with the Osteria Pehoe is their very fixed dining hours, which are not compatible with a sunset shoot at this time of year. As a result we had to drive 3/4 hour in each direction to another restaurant outside the park, eat, and then take photos at three locations on the way back. As this is likely to be the pattern for the next couple of days we’ll have to eat more lightly at lunch so we don’t explode.

The first stop on the way back furnished views of the mountains with amazing lenticular clouds above them.

The last stop was a short distance from the hotel, showing it on its island in context with the lake and mountains. The accommodation and dining may be a challenge, but they do have their compensations!