Upon arriving in El Calafate, I am immediately reminded of my hometown of Fernie, B.C., and Banff in the Canadian Rockies. It is a tourist town - shops, hotels and restaurants line the streets and I hear about 4 different languages as we walk around looking for a place to eat. I pass three cars parked together and each has a different license plate - Argentina, Chile and Paraguay.
On our first full day we are happy to take it slow; it’s been awhile since we had nothing pressing to do and it’s wonderful. We have a tasty lunch at a restuarant designed to look like a library. The steps leading up are painted to look like you are walking on giant books. It's genius. Our big plan for the day involves a walk around Laguna Nimez, a reserve that borders Lago Argentina. The glacier fed lake is stunning - I think it is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen, the blue is practically indescribable, so I will let my photographs do the talking here. The wetland is home to almost 100 species of birds and we see plenty, but my main objective here is to see flamingos in the wild. I have seen one or two before, in the Galapagos, but they were so far away that they hardly count. Luckily there is a huge group of them in the lagoon as soon as we enter. They are so pink that they are almost fluorescent. I watch them for a while and to my delight, they start flying. They don’t fly far, but capturing birds in flight is my favourite thing to do. They look different from the flamingos I’ve seen in zoos before, these are Chilean Flamingos and their wings are lined with black. They are gorgeous. We spend a few hours wandering around the lagoon and make our way back to the town centre for a tasty Argentinian steak and some red wine. #elcalafate #dawnellesalantphotography #lagoargentina #lagunanimez