More Route 40

This is a baby guanaco. Aren't they adorable? When they are full sized they are roughly six feet tall. This was a pet at one of the estancias we stayed at. At the estancia where we stayed the second night there were 2 guanacos which had been domesticated and were basically the pets of the ranch. I thought they were adorable. Well, they are sort of free to roam the estancia so we would see them grazing and sometimes playing with the guy who seemed to be their owner. The first night, we were drinking wine and playing Phase 10 before dinner and as we played the guanacos came right up to the window where I was sitting to say hello to us. It was shocking but really cute. Then on our way to dinner we saw them at the end of the trail. I called out "Hey guanacoes, come here cuties!" and all of a sudden one of them started charging, making spitting noises and jumped right onto me then stopped, and nuzzled with Harold, another guy on the trip. Well we all thought that was hilarious but quickly walked into the restaurant. End of dinner we joked about walking out but didn't see the guanacos. I was walking down the path when from behind the building the guanaco came charging again right at me! I started running and again Harold grabbed her and everything was fine, but I could see her looking every time I was around. Next day she kept showing up in the windows and doorways of where I was and it was the joke between the group that I was not safe by myself and I quickly came to fear walking alone in case or another charge from an amorous guanaco! Cuerva de los Manos, a highlight of the trip. These caves were discovered in the 30´s and the paintings have been dated back 9000 years! We walked through down the path, through the valley and up to the caves.
At the bottom of the first hill was an El Calafate bush (behind us). The berries are like blueberries, and the plants have giant thorns, so you have to work for your snack. Levi and I really liked the berries, as you can see!
The paintings are famous and there are 37 sights in this area where paintings have been found, and more sights throughout the Patagonian landscape. Archaeologists believe they painted to ask for good hunts etc. Here you can see guanacos painted, a staple for the nomadic tribes who ate the animals and used the skin for leather and the wool for clothing.
The cave is called Cuerva de los Manos becuase of these handprints which are all over the walls. No one knows for sure why they painted their hands, but they think, again, it was a way to ask the gods for things or pray. Unfortunately many people who went to the caves defaced the walls or chipped off pieces to have in their homes, so now you view it from behind a fence. Still it was an amazing thing to see!
The group resting from our walk to the caves.
The valley we walked through after seeing the caves.
Another view from the valley. Aren't the clouds cool? They were so fun to watch, and they were always in the coolest formations!
Ok, so in the end I faced my fears and became friends with the guanacos. Turns out they are so docile you can just grab them and pet them like a dog, and they are so soft they are really fun to pet (especially in that space right between their ears!) This is muñeca, my new friend. She spits but she was really just wanting to play (or mate, still not sure about that one...) You can tell when they are going to charge or are frightened or going to spit by their ears. See her ears working their way up? No longer is she going to try to run me over! Roberto, our guide, told us that the wool is actually being used now instead of sheep wool for some blends, because it is warmer and lighter. So what do you think, should I start a farm?
So we at last said goodbye to the rugged Patagonian landscape, on our way up to the green lake district. It was insanely windy and the hills were dry and barren for the most part, but it held its own kind of beauty. There were so many wild animals we were able to observe, the skies were full of mesmerizing clouds, and the plants were delicate yet so hearty, to be able to live in such a harsh, punishing climate. I was really glad to I got to experience a side of Argentina so different from what I had seen before, and I appreciate even more the vast differences found within its borders.