March 12, 2008
Henry left today which makes me very sad. Glad for him that he gets to see another part of Argentina, and this is after all a work trip for him. It was such fun to travel with him, though.
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His partner, Mike, picked him up around 1:00. Anders then took a 2 hour nap (yeah!! Hence all the new blog posts). When he woke we walked down to the lake, which is about a 10-15 minute walk from here.
The lake–Nahuel Huapi–is of Glacial origin and is moraine-dammed. It is entirely located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park.
Its seven branches are named Blest, Huemul, de la Tristeza, Campanario, Machete, del Rincón and Última Esperanza. It is connected to other smaller lakes such as Gutiérrez, Moreno, Espejo and Correntoso. The deep-blue waters hold a number of islands, most notably Isla Victoria, which we hope to visit tomorrow.
The lake harbors several species of trout including rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout which attract anglers from all over the world.
A curious fact about the lake is that, despite being nowhere near any ocean and being at high altitude, it is also home for Kelp Gull and the Blue Eyed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps), otherwise strictly marine birds.
According to Wikipedia, “At the beginning of the 20th century, and following an old aboriginal legend, the rumor of a giant creature living in the deep waters of the lake took up. The creature is known locally as Nahuelito. Reported sightings of it predate Nessie and The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Local aborigines (Mapuche) called another creature el Cuero (leather) for its smooth skin. The neighboring lake Lago Lacar, has also been the site for accounts of another creature, more consistent with a plesiosaur, with aborigines describing it as a sea-cow with teeth all around it.
Members of the Buenos Aires Zoo visited the lake in 1922 trying to corroborate the reports of sightings of the prehistoric animal, but found no evidence to support the theory of such a creature.”
We didn’t see any odd creatures, just a bunch of kids swimming after they got home for school.
The Andean-Swiss homes around here are beautiful. Henry and I both love the exposed, rough hewn wood that is everywhere. Not very eco-groovy, I suppose.
