Goofy dogs and Laguna Nimez in El Calafate

There are a lot of dogs on the streets of El Calafate. They are cute and goofy, and not at all scraggly or ill-fed, as you would imagine strays to be. They look healthy, well-fed and have an enviable air of contentment about them.



What is distinctly different about these dogs is that all of them have an aura of importance about them, and run about with such an intense look of purpose on their faces, that I was tempted many times to follow them and see what exactly their important mission was!



They weren't your usual mutts. They looked like pedigree breeds, and came in all shapes and sizes. What I suspect is that while some of them are strays, others have homes (those that wear collars), but are allowed to roam free, so they all get together and have a party all day long.

If you even nodded at one, he would instantly adopt you and start trotting at your heel as if you were family. We were thus adopted by several of them whom we couldn't shake off, and so I had to stop talking to or making eye contact with many of the extremely cute mutts that we passed.



There is a market on the main street, where we stopped often to buy fruits, yogurt and bread. There were always dogs outside this market, lying patiently at the entrance, and looking at the shoppers going in and out with hope.



This cute little fellow sat still and watched us go by. I don't think he was a stray, but he made such a pretty picture against the pink walls of this house!



There is a bird refuge in El Calafate: The Laguna Nimez Reserve, which has about 70 species of birds frequenting its peaceful environment. It is a treat to birders, but the trick for them would be to get there without attracting canine company!



We took a walk there one evening. On our way there, we were promptly adopted by one girl doggie. As the three of us were walking towards the refuge, we saw one other traveler coming away from it, with two dogs in tow. Seeing the three of us, those two dogs instantly left her side and hopped over to us with a look of "ok, we're here, what are we doing now?" !

This would be bad news to birders, but we were just there for a little walk, so we were ok with their company. As we slowly walked along the narrow trail in the refuge, the three dogs stayed by our side. There was a pleasant breeze (not the gale force winds of the previous day), and the pink stalks of grass in the refuge were moving as if to a symphony.



The girl doggie stayed by our side for most of the walk, but the two boys ran loose with wild looks in their eyes. They were bursting with joy, and were in doggie heaven! There was a peaceful band of birds near the water's edge, and before we knew it, the two boys were charging at them, causing the birds to simultaneously take off in flight.



They came back to us looking very proud of what they had done. I hope they aren't damaging the environment for the birds, or hunting them ... stray dogs aren't allowed into the more fragile national parks in Patagonia for this reason. But they definitely looked like they had been to this refuge many times before.

It was also quite clear that the two male dogs were trying to impress the girl by our side - they were trying to outdo each other to see who could roll more in the slush, and come back looking more like a total clown. The girl didn't look too impressed though, and stayed very close to us even as the two wild boys kept running off, looking more and more dirty.



Without their company, this walk would have been just another pleasant stroll with beautiful scenery and birds to watch ( and not bad at all!). But with them by our side, the walk was charged with the joy of being alive!



When we turned back, they left us to adopt another man who was walking further into the refuge. These dogs love their life - it was plain to see. In their goofy grins, wild eyes and generously friendly nature there was an infectious quality, so that they left us with wide smiles on our faces too.

Onward to Patagonia!

One way to get to the Patagonian region from Buenos Aires is to fly into El Calafate, a little village located in the southwest part of Santa Cruz Province. It is named after a little bush with yellow flowers that one sees all over Patagonia, which has small, blue berries called the calafate.




From El Calafate, one can access the gigantic Perito Moreno Glacier, or take a bus over to El Chalten, from where all the hiking trails in the Los Glaciares National Park can be accessed. And this is just what we did.

As our plane approached El Calafate, I excitedly peeped out the window, expecting to see snow-capped mountains, giacial streams and greenery below me. I was a little taken aback to see a rocky desert landscape, littered with small clumps of pale brown grass. Was this really Patagonia?!

At that point, those sitting on the other side started excitedly taking photos, and when I craned over to see what they were looking at, I saw the milky, turquoise blue waters of Lake Argentino shining in the sun like a jewel amidst the brown tones of the rocky desert landscape. I couldn't get a picture, since I was on the wrong side of the plane for that.

Here is a beautiful image from NASA, showing Lake Argentino (max width 20 km, and surface area 1,466 km²!). It is a freshwater lake fed by melt water from several glacial rivers, giving it its rich turquoise color.




El Calafate is a dusty and windy place. When we got off at our hostel America del Sur and stepped in, there was a sign asking us to please leave our hiking boots at the entrance so that we wouldn't trail the sand into the hostel! Here's a picture of the hostel entrance - Lake Argentino is visible to the right.



America del Sur is a very friendly hostel, with a clean kitchen and helpful young staff. This was the common area at hostel where we had some very interesting chats with other travelers - most notably a Dutch naturalist who leads annual cruises to both the Arctic and the Antarctic - what a career!



We shared a dorm room with two women from Poland. The lovely lake was visible from our window too.


Before heading out to explore, we quickly made some lunch (Maggie noodles that we'd taken along) in the hostel's kitchen, and ate it at a table by the huge windows, with a view of Lake Argentina in the distance.



In the early 1900s, El Calafate was just a place of shelter for wool traders. It was officially founded in 1927 by the government of Argentina to promote an increase in its population. Once the Los Glaciares National Park was founded, this little town became much more popular, with increasing numbers of trekkers and travelers arriving here each year.



I will remember El Calafate as the town of roses and goofy stray dogs. Huge and colorful roses were in bloom in every yard, the stalks bending over with the weight of some of the larger flowers. Here are some pictures from around town.




Colorful roofs and fence posts, along with the flowers make this town really cheerful and charming.





The girls at the hostel told us that there are flamingos on Lake Argentina, just a short walk away. So we set out to look for them. What we didn't count on was the wind! Patagonia is a very windy place, and as we got closer to the lake, the wind was so strong that I was afraid to even move! We were being pushed in directions we didn't want to go, and eventually we just gave up and walked back to the hostel.

The stray dogs of El Calafate are silly, adorable, and the happiest dogs I have ever seen. They deserve their own post ... next time.