Yesterday we had such dense fog that the noon time Aerolineas flight diverted from El Calafate. This morning we had hard ice on the car windshields. We got a dust of snow on the ridge to the south but heavier snow on higher hills to north. More water in the “dry” lake meant more flamingoes this morning. They obviously are not restricted to tropical climates!
By lunch time we had blue skies with calm winds, and today’s airliner had no problem landing. I included a screen shot of webcam from Mount FitzRoy. It shows the past 3 hours as photos. In the space of two hours the sky went from clear blue to completely overcast. It can change rapidly in Patagonia. We don’t foresee wave conditions for several more days.
We hosted a gathering of various chiefs from the airport to express Airbus Perlan Mission II’s appreciation of their support and good will. We had representatives from AeroClub Lago Argentino (our hosts in the hangar), ANAC (similar to FAA Pilot and Aircraft Certification), EANA ( similar to Air Traffic Control), LADE (represents the Air Force in remote areas), London Supply (manages the airport) It actually allowed several agency heads to chat in the hangar about areas of mutual interest. After the meeting the team pulled the wings off Perlan 2. Since we have a few days before the next wave flight there were some projects inside the fuselage that we wanted to improve.
Martin and Jackie made the second from scratch home-cooked team dinner for 15 hungry folks. First you go to the store to see what produce and spices are available. When I found fresh garlic, ginger root and small(ish) green onions, it had to be a stir fry! Several folks went out for ice cream after we cleaned up. The dairy products are delicious in Patagonia. The calafate berry is tiny, purple and tart. It makes an amazing calafate ice cream. Legend has it that if you eat calafate berries you will return to El Calafate. We plan to be back next year!
Perlan Soars! Perlan Se Eleva! Jackie
Martin Heltai daily photos. Use with attribution https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rbfer205mu2aufm/AABVhjdu2ULzPCEhy13Isl65a?dl=0
