Photo-Finish Friday --Summer at the End of the World

January 2009 off the south coast of Argentina.
Winter is cold here, but the summer there has a bite to it.

Photo-Finish Friday --Close to the End of the World

Beagle Channel, Argentina

Photo -Finish Friday --Catching Some Rays

Sunbathing, Argentina style.

Photo Finish Friday -- Penguin Beach

Penguins on the beach at Punta Norte, Argentina.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Morning Over Argentina

An early morning view.

Here's the south east edge of Argentina with the Andes rising above the land.

We were on our way back to Argentina from our stopover in the Falklands.

As I've said before, it was wide open with a bracing sea cold. Barren of people for the most part, but filled with the other creatures, those who are kitted out for the life in the water and adapt to it to survive.

It's quiet there. The space lets a mind expand beyond the borders and in the silence you can hear yourself think.

Photo-Finish Friday - A Few Minutes From the End of the World

Tierra del Fuego.

During our bus tour in Tierra del Fuego we stopped along a lake to have a walk along the shore. It was relaxing and invigorating at the same time.
All stops should be.
I took about 600 photos during our cruise from Argentina to Chile and I took as many as I possibly could while Tierra del Fuego. I'd wanted to go there since I was 12. I've long forgotten why, but the name alone is compelling.
This spot is close to the south end of the land, but it wasn't quite the end of the world.

Photo-Finish Friday - At the Dance

The forest of Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina. I believe I caught the trees dancing.

The magnificent forest of Tierra del Fuego is one of my favourite spots on Earth. It is relatively undisturbed as it is a national park.
I would love to wander there and spend time in the forest. Yes, I'd talk to the trees, and I have an honest belief that if I could take the time I would hear their response.
Perhaps they might ask me to join their dance.
I would.

Photo Finish Friday - On the Rocks

Sea lions and cormorants share a rock island in Beagle Channel, Argentina.

Photo Finish Friday -- The End of the World

It's way off in the distance and you have to look through the ladder on the catamaran to see it. But if you look closely you'll see one of the main attractions in Beagle Channel, Ushuaia, Argentina. It's a lighthouse and it's billed as "The Lighthouse at the End of the World."
I have other photos of it. Certainly better ones that are more than a lonely post in the distance. But I loved the dark moodiness of this one. It emphasizes the end of the world without detracting all that much from the lighthouse.

Photo Finish Friday - Beagle Channel

An island in Beagle Channel outside of Usuaia, Argentina.

We spent a lovely morning on a catamaran exploring Beagle Channel. We went by the Sea Wolves Island Nature Reserve and saw the lighthouse at the end of the world.
This scene touched me. I don't know what the structure is, but I found it lonely and beautiful as though it had taken a stand against the elements and refused to give in.

Guanacos

We passed by several guanacos on our way to see penguins. Some were alone, a few in small groups, and then this lot.

Guanacos are one of the four camelids and are native to the arid regions of South America. I'd already seen llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas in the wild in Peru so getting to see them meant I've now seem them all in their natural habitat. That is quite a treat.

It was hot day, near +30C, dry and dusty and that lends itself to relaxation and letting one's mind wander about until you need it for something. I noticed something interesting. If I hadn't been paying attention, or say, if I'd been sleeping and then woke up to see the landscape and these critters I would have spent several confusing minutes convinced I was in the southern Alberta looking at antelope. Color and size are similar enough to fool me for a few minutes.

ETA: Several paragraphs are missing from this post. I have no idea where they went and I can't remember them well enough right now to re-create them.

Gratitude Monday - Argentine Coast

I loved this sight. It's a simple sight and that is its power. Ocean, mountains, the Argentine coast. Land to the right of the photo and nothing but open ocean to the left.
It was magnificent and I'm so grateful to have seen it.
Why?
Because it means I have travelled. It means I was there and I got to see something new, different, and unusual for my life.
It was cold, refreshing, empty, and silent. What could be better?

Photo Finish Friday - A Lonely Stretch Of Penguin

This stretch of Argentine beach at Punta Norte is for penguins only.
Despite the lonely look, there are several hundred Magellan penguins lined up along the water and many more in their burrows on the hillside

Sea Lions in the Sun

Sea lions bask in the hot midday sun on an Argentine beach.

A loner.

Enjoying the sea air.


We went on several side trips during our cruise and made sure to see as much sea life as we could find. These happy critters looked like they were enjoying their day at the beach.
Our port was Puerto Madryn and this is from Punta Norte.

Gratitude Monday - The Sunset at the End of the World

Sailing into the sunset on our way from the Falklands to Argentina.

I am grateful to have seen this sight.

I loved being on the open ocean. It was broad and empty and quiet. Such places let one expand in mind and provide the room to think and grow.

Rushing humanity with its attendant quest for constant contact is rendered moot and seen for what it is, fundamentally absurd.

It is a simple sunset at the bottom of the world, and it is incomparable.

Photo Finish Friday- Cruising Along

The viewpoint at Abraham Lake west of Rocky. It's one of my favourite scenes.

If you nice people will excuse me I'll be gone for a bit.
Mr. Goat and I are away until Feb. 02 on a cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Valparaiso, Chile, with a stop in the Falkland Islands. We go through the Straits of Magellen and around Cape Horn. I get to wander around Tierra del Fuego.

It's a combination celebration of our 10th anniversary back in September, my 50th birthday in November, and my successful recovery from that nasty bit of business with heart failure last year.

We leave tomorrow. I will leave a nightlight on for anyone who'd like to stop by the blog while we're out.
Please talk amongst yourselves.

I'll see about a fresh post around the end of the first week in February.