Merry Christmas and Rest Day (Monday, December 24)


First, I want to wish all my family and friends a Merry Christmas.  I am sorry that I will miss all the family gatherings and celebrations this year.  Knowing I was not going to be home for Christmas if I did this trip was part of what I had to contemplate if I said "yes" to this trip.

Also, Christmas this year a little sad as it is the first Christmas without my mom who passed away this year.  Not having either of my parents around for Christmas will definitely be different and take some getting used to.  This is also the first Christmas without Cathy's beloved Aunt Ann - rest in peace.

Sr. Ann Redmond (1933 - 2018)


We are currently in El Chalten.  The famous mountain peak here just outside the city is Monte Fitz Roy.  We got several good views of it today during our little outing.  I have also included another photo from the city.



For our rest day, we took a van 37 km north of El Chatlen to Lago del Desierto (Lago means Lake).  Along the way we got a great view of Monte Fitz Roy as well as stopping at a waterfall for photos.



Once we arrived at the lake, we took a 15 minute boat ride up the lake to a point where we got off the boat and hiked up a mountain to get a view of another glacier; this one is called Gran Glaciar Vespignani.  The hike up the mountain side was steeper than we expected but worth the effort.  Below is a photo of both the glacier itself and also the rushing stream coming down the mountain from the glacier that we crossed multiple times during our climb.


Gran Glaciar Vespignani
Glacier Stream
Tomorrow we are back on the bikes.  It is hard to believe we only 4 more days of riding ahead of us.  Time is just flying by!







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The "Roaring 40's" Didn't Disappoint (Monday, December 17 - Punta Arenas to Rio Grande)

Image
As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the area we are riding in now (between 40 and 49 degrees of latitude) is called the "Roaring 40's" for the very windy conditions.  That is exactly what we had all day today.  It didn't take long after we left Punta Arenas this morning to feel the forces of the wind.  We quickly learned that riding here is not for the faint of heart or for those without adequate riding experience.  For much of the day, it took all the strength, weight, and will-power we had to keep the bike on the road.  Much of the day was spent riding with the bike leaned over just to make it go straight with the very strong side winds.  Needless to say, we are a little tired tonight. Most of the land in the area we are riding now is very flat and very desolate.  Occasionally there are some rolling hills but there is not a lot to photograph from that perspective.  There are 2 things we did see a lot of today and that was sheep and gu...
Read more

Blessings!

As I am about to depart for yet another great motorcycle trip, I am reflecting on the many blessings in my life.  I must always remember how fortunate and blessed I am to be able to do these adventures. Cathy First, for my wife Cathy that again encouraged me to take this opportunity when it came along.  She knows that as we age, some of these adventures will no longer be possible so she supports doing them now while I still can. Also, she was ok with the fact that due to the timing of this trip, we will not be together for Christmas this year.  Cathy and I have been married 35 years and we have always been together for Christmas. Family I have 2 great daughters that are both doing well, are well educated as demonstrated by their Doctorate and PHD degrees, and are making major contributions to society through their work and lives.  What more could a parent ask for?  It is such a blessing to not have to worry about how a child is doing or what they are do...
Read more