High In Patagonia

You know those magic moments?

The times when everything falls into place, and happiness just wells up and overflows and you can’t help but grin and think: I wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything in the world.

That’s why I travel. And that’s how I feel right now.

I’m writing in El Calafate, gateway to the glaciers of Southern Patagonia. Today I went on a – free - Land Rover expedition into the barren hills a thousand meters above town, overlooking Lago Argentino and the high peaks at the end of the Andes.

The wind blasted over the high desert, erratic boulders scattered on the plain. We stopped for lunch in a yurt sheltered by sandstone pillars above a little meadow where horses grazed. I ate fresh grilled steak on a baguette and drank a glass of Malbec wine, then another steak, then another Malbec and then someone filled my cup again, up to the brim, and Man the sunlight was pure and everything was wonderful and the Land Rover bucked and plunged, pointing straight down one moment, so that bright turquoise Lago Argentino filled the windshield - baby icebergs scudding like sailboats far below - and a moment later, rocking back in our seats the mountains loomed above, wispy gray clouds and – straight up now – the most brilliant blue sky.

Back in town I was dropped off at my new hotel – free - the best in town. The bellman insisted on carrying my pack upstairs and put the keycard into the slot by the door, so that the power went on – the TV went on too; it was tuned to a music channel and a song by The Killers was playing and I felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

The only thing is, I wish I could share this feeling. I want to go out and get another bottle of wine and toast everything in sight. So – friends and family, wherever in the world you are, raise a glass with me and remember how magical this marvelous world can be.

I wish you were here.