Given all the challenges we have experienced with air travel on this trip, there was little surprise that our return flights were cancelled and we had the choice of rebooking a day earlier or a day later.  The former choice would have meant missing our second soccer match, the latter missing an additional day of work.  Our new itinerary had a connection through Bogata.  In my extensive travels, it is the only airport I have ever flown into that features machine gun nests lining the runway.  Not exactly the most welcoming sight.  Of the 8 flight segments planned for this vacation, only one was taken on the originally booked flight.  Despite all the canceled and delayed flights, the unavailability of gasoline for the rental car, and a flat tire, this has still been a wonderful vacation.  Perfect weather at all the key moments, an opportunity to hike with and play on the same soccer squad as Nico, and a great team effort to deliver what we are proudly touting as an undefeated record in South America (1 win, 1 tie; this is the way fat, old soccer players embellish their story).

Colonia del Sacramento, located in southwestern Uruguay is one of the countries oldest with a population of 27,000. Between Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the UK, it has changed hands a dozen times. It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site. Nicolai and I took the ferry from Buenos Aires for a brief visit this afternoon. It was a nice departure from the hustle and bustle of BA if not the heat and humidity. We made a leisurely walking tour of the tree lined streets and enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner on the waterfront.

This evening we faced the Abril Football Club. Our Concord United team consisted of 13 over-50 players and 2 twenty-somethings (both sons of team members). The Abril club looked to be an over-40 squad of 18 members with one or two old dudes thrown in to maintain appearances. Their goalie was an ex-professional Independiente player named, Gustavo Moriconi. Despite the age mismatch and some very one-sided officiating, we managed a 1:1 tie which felt like a victory. Nico had the lone US goal, a blistering full volley from the top of the box. The game ended a few minutes early when one of their players was ejected for an extremely violent tackle which nearly provoked a brawl. Despite the inelegant conclusion to the match, we dined with several of the Argentine players and parted on excellent terms and with a nice trophy in hand. Playing on the same team with Nico in a highly charged and competitive match will be one of my fondest memories and the highlight of this trip.

The Argentine first division Boca Juniors beat Lanús at the famous Bombonera stadium this evening. Said to have the most enthusiastic sports fans in the world of soccer, the non-stop singing and chanting throughout the match would support that reputation. Our attendance at the game was bracketed by two very memorable meals. We lunched at Napolese in San Telmo, an eclectic Italian restaurant / museum featuring a collection of antique racing cars, clothing, artifacts and motorcycles, all for sale. I had the Malfatti in a lamb stew (being freshly made as we walked in) and Nico had the Gnocchi. Delizioso!

We spent several hours walking about the San Telmo neighborhood taking in all the sights and sounds.  I found the people and artwork  to be more interesting than the famous market of this area.

Diner after the game started at 10 and ended at midnight. It was a fancy affair at La Brigada.  The fixed menu included all manner of meat (kidney, intestines, sweat breads, short ribs, skirt steak, and plain old steak).  Argentinian’s are crazy for their meats.  I would be content to stick with a vegetarian diet for the next month just by way of recuperation.

The motivation for our trip to Argentina was an international friendly soccer match between Concord United and two teams from Buenos Aires.  Our team, pictured above in traditional Argentine jerseys, includes a mix of our over 50 and over 56 teams with the addition of Nico and the son of another teammate. We are pictured below with our first opponents, wearing USA jerseys, after the match which we won by a score of 4-2.  Nico had two assists and played very well.  I had a single blocked shot on frame, a nice mid-air volley off a corner kick.  Once again I skipped dinner to try and rest my vocal cords which have not improved at all.

Today’s travel glitch took the form of a flat tire on our rental car. Fortunately, the spare was is good shape and we lost no more than ten minutes. Our destination for the morning was the Perito Moreno Glacier where we found overcast conditions and more rainbows. I have always wanted to capture images of a calving glacier and that  dream was realized this morning.  I managed a 32 frame sequence which I subsequently converted into a 4 second movie.

Fortunately our afternoon flight to Buenos Aires was uneventful. We arrived at our hotel by 6pm and connected with the rest of my soccer team. I have developed a rather serious case of laryngitis and opted to turn in early rather than join the team for dinner and late night debauchery.

Overnight a weather front rolled in and the katabatic winds picked up waking me several times wondering if I had adequately staked the tent. When morning arrived our tent was still standing and I decided to hike up to Laguna Torre again for first light while Nico and Ray slept in. After shooting the panorama above, I hiked most of the way out to Mirador Meastri for a nice view of the glacier. When I returned, I was met by Ray and Nico and a bird of prey which I do not recognize.

The threat of imminent rain provoked us to skip breakfast and begin our 8km descent to El Chaltén right away. On the bright side, the precipitation behind us created magnificent rainbows.

Ray and I hiked down at about the same slow pace while Nico literally ran ahead. We made a plan to meet up with him at the trail head with careful instructions to take the left hand fork so as to arrive closer to our car.  When Ray and I arrived at the base, Nico was nowhere to be found and we concluded that he took the wrong fork (probably a good thing because we lost the trail and wound up with a VERY treacherous descent into town). Ray stayed with the packs while I hiked another 1km to the car.  We spent the next hour trying to locate Nico.  Fortunately, other hikers were quick to remember a man with one leg on the trail.  I finally found him after backtracking up the Laguna Torre trail.

With that bit of excitement behind us, we had a leisurely lunch in town before setting out for Calafate.  Realizing we needed to gas up for the trip we located the only gas station in town only to discover that they would not have fuel until tomorrow (maybe).  Thank God for Laura (our hostess at the Casa Andina).  She told us this was not an uncommon occurrence and had several liters of gas and hose on hand.  Without her assistance, the remainder of our Patagonian adventure and potentially our flight back to Buenos Aires would have been at risk.  Fortunately, the drive was uneventful and full of beautiful landscapes and fauna.

After dining in El Calafate we continued on to Lago Roca where we spent the night in a nice camping bunk house.

Nico and Ray left camp pre-dawn to complete the very demanding 1 hour climb to Laguna de los Tres so that they could be there for sunrise (if you zoom in you will see them among others gathered at the near side of the lake).  This is the same hike that Kyle and I did when we were here some 7 years ago.  I setup so that I could photograph them in the foreground.  Among the photos I took this morning is a 21 frame stitched panorama which is one of the best images I have ever made in my life.  It will be shared with friends and family but never posted for fear of theft (it really is that good).  After breakfast we broke camp and started another 8km trek to the De Agostini campground, a short distance from Laguna Torre.

After making camp, Ray and Nico opted to rest after their difficult early morning climb.  I opted to make the short ascent to Laguna Torre so I could get some photographs in before the approaching clouds obscured the peaks.  I arrived just in time and was also rewarded with some baby icebergs in the foreground. When I returned to camp, I set out to construct a proper chair with back support (pictured below) with available materials.  The thirty-minute effort was well worth the subsequent comfort.  I am normally very good at sharing but warned Nico and Ray to steer clear of my chair.

Our day began with a 2:30am wake up call and 3:00am transfer to the airport from our hotel in Buenos Aires (paid for by the airlines due to yesterday’s cancelled flight).  We arrived in El Calafate by 8:00am and were on the road, headed to El Chaltén in a rented car an hour later. Along the route we stopped a few times to get pictures of distant Mount Fitz Roy in the background on what could not be a more perfect day. Our excitement growing with each kilometer of the three hour drive, we reached our destination shortly after noon.

When we arrived in the town of some 350 year-round inhabitants our first objective was to connect with our climbing partner, Ray Himenez. Easier said than done without cell coverage. Our first stop was the Casa Andina where we had all planned to stay the night before. We bumped into the owner, Laura (the most helpful person on the planet-more on this later) who let us know that Ray was on a bike ride and provided the exact route. Nico independently located a lovely restaurant while I was able to locate Ray just as he was returning to town. After enjoying a lunch of delicious empanadas, we located the trail head, repacked our bags for the climb and set out on our 8km hike to Campamento Poincenot.

Weather conditions were perfect making for a comfortable ascent and good photography. After making camp, Nico and Ray hiked an additional two hours for a nice view of the Glaciar Piedras Blancas from the base of the lake while I opted for photography of the same destination, pictured below, from a different vantage point.

Just add water, dehydrated meals have evolved to a level that make it hard to call it camp food. Nico and I shared a delicious lasagna with meat sauce before retiring to our 2-person tent for a very welcomed night’s rest.

Lest anyone think that travel is all glamorous, our experience today should change that perspective. At 2am I received a message stating that our LATAM flight from Puerto Iguazu to El Calafate through Buenos Aries had been cancelled. In my experience it is best to get to the airport as soon as possible for rebooking in such situations. When we arrived we were second in line (not bad). Unfortunately, the couple in front of us got the last seats on a reasonable alternative flight (dammit!). Instead we got booked on a flight that would require an overnight in Buenos Aries and have us arrive late the next day in El Calafate, twenty four hours after our scheduled rendezvous with climbing partner, Ray Himenez (Shit!) I figured out a crazy alternate routing with Aerolineas Argentina which would get us to El Calafate the same day. It was already boarding but the agent was willing to hold it for us. He tagged our bags and put them on board. Meanwhile, we were waiting on LATAM to sign over the fare. We waited and waited but they took forever. Eventually, our new flight could wait no longer, our bags were pulled, and we were back to square one. After 2.5 hours of negotiations with the gate agents we came up with another option that will get us into El Calafate by 8am tomorrow. No sooner than getting our new tickets that flight was delayed by 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that such delays are not uncommon in South America.

After sleeping for more than 10 hours (something I never do), Nico and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the hotel before getting off to an early start on the Upper Circuit Trail. In doing so we beat the crowds and the rain, both of which increased throughout the morning. By the time we returned to the hotel the rain had reached a torrential downpour and we were soaked to the bone. I found it preferable to the oppressive heat and humidity we experienced yesterday.

After using the hair dryer in our room to dehydrate our clothes we set out in the afternoon for the Devil’s Throat. While not the most photogenic vantage point, it is certainly the most awe inspiring, primal encounter of a waterfall I have ever experienced. The volume of water and immersive field of view is utterly hypnotic and I experienced a sense of euphoria coupled with an overwhelming urge to jump into the torrent.

Reaching the Devil’s Throat required a train ride followed by a walk out to the middle of the river on an elevated cat walk. The rain slick surface made it a treacherous endeavor for Nicolai who in the end proved to be less prone to slipping than I was. While waiting for the train we were entertained by a troop of monkeys that were jumping around constantly scouting for an easy lunch.

We spent the evening in Puerto Iguazu where we visited Las Tres Fronteras, the point at which Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay all meet. Pictured below is Argentina in the foreground, Brazil across the river on the right and Paraguay across the river on the left.

After four flights spanning more than 24 hours, Nicolai and I finally arrived at Iguazu Falls by early afternoon.  I wasted no time before launching my drone for a view that best captures the magnificence of these falls, possibly the most impressive I have ever seen.   Later we hiked what is known as the lower circuit trail which let us get up close and personal with both the falls and local wildlife.

After our hike, Nico relaxed in the infinity pool which offers a nice view of the falls while I did a little more photography.  We are staying at the Gran Meliã Iguazú (pictured on the far right below) within the Parque Nacional Iguazú. Across the river in Brazil, there is a lovely empty room in the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas (pictured on the left) that we are also paying for, a consequence of the Brazil visa fiasco from yesterday. I have cautioned Nicolai not to grow too accustomed to fine hotels.  The remainder of our trip will become increasingly more down-to-earth (as in sleeping down on the earth).

When I went to check in for our flights to Brazil, I discovered to my utter horror, that our Brazilian visas were not the standard 10 year variety, but rather a temporary version that was created especially for the 2014 World Cup which we used on our last trip to Brazil. With our flight less than 24 hours away, there would be no way possible to obtain the proper visa (minimum 3 day turn around). The grand plan was to fly into Foz do Iguaçu and spend one night on the Brazillian side of the famous Iguazú Falls and then cross over to the Argentinian side and spend a second day and night there before heading south to the Patagonia region. Instead, I had to rebook our travel into Argentina which proved to be a major hassle on virtually every front you can imagine. It took until 3am to finally secure seats on a route through Miami, Panama City (pictured above, taken from my window seat) and Buenos Aires and then a ground transfer to a different airport and a final flight to Puerto Iguazú. Fortunately, I found a fare that was not much more than the original one I booked back in September and I was able to get a credit with Delta for the price of the original tickets, good for one year. The new flight departed several hours earlier than the original one and Maya was kind enough to leave one of her classes early to drive us to the airport. All is well that ends well, so I can only be thankful for the final outcome. While on one of the flights, I photographed the passenger below whose head was beautifully backlit by the setting or rising sun (can’t remember which) shining through her window.

When I am in Argentina next week, I plan to use my drone for aerial photography in the Andes.  I am sure each flight will yield very special photos.  Given that the drone can be lost on any given excursion, it is prudent to use a new memory card with each flight.  The drone can be replaced but not so the photos that go down with it.  My drone uses micro SD cards that are very tiny and easy to misplace.  At work this morning I designed and printed out a circular card dispenser. Ten individual memory cards sit in little trays.  The cover snaps into the base and can be rotated.  When the access slot is positioned over a tray, the card below it can be removed.  I am very pleased with the design and can’t wait to put it to use in the field.