El Calafate Off The Beaten Path

The Municipal Natural Reservation called 'Laguna Nimes". It is the place to go see birds that have migrated here for the summer months.
The circuit is 2,500 meters long, it is a self guided reserve with bird blinds, a guide phamplet to show you what to look for at each numbered sign along the way is provided..
You will see many ducks, geese, black-necked swans, coots, Ibis, and Chilean flamingos.
In winter the water is used for ice skating.

If you want to go and watch the Moreno Glacier from El Calafate and if you are a more than 3 people group, this is really cheaper to rent a car : go to the rent-a-car on the right side of the village when facing the lakes (cheaper : from 108 to 117 pesos - 36 to 39 USD, without the 20 pesos for gasoline (200 Kilometers)). And another advice : go there really early (leave El Calafate around 5.45 in the morning), you will certainly be the firsts to arrive (and to leave) and youwill enjoy a wonderful sunrise ! Pros : it's cheaper (cheapest tours are about 70 pesos, entry of the Park (20 pesos) included) and you may leave whenever you want (and don't have to wait 4 hours and a half before coming back).

Si vous voulez visiter le Glacier et que vous etes plus de 3, il est beaucoup plus rentable de louer une caisse : allez aux agences de location qui se trouvent du cote droit du village quand on regarde les lacs (de 108 a 117 pesos - 36 a 39 USD, sans les 20 pesos d'essence a ajouter). Autre conseil : partir tot pour visiter le glacier (quittez El Calafate a 5.45 du matin), vous serez les premiers et profiterez seuls d'un superbe lever de soleil (et a repartir). Interet de tout ca : c'est moins cher (les tours les moins chers valent 70 pesos avec l'entree du parc a 20 pesos comprise) et on n'est pas obliges de rester des heures dans le coin...

What is this? A chenque is a Tehuelches tomb; the dead person was buried in fetal position, with guanaco skins and arrowheads (they believed in reincarnation); after the ceremony, all his/her belongings were burned, and people did not pronounce his/her name again (if they did so, his/her soul was held back). As an offering, they give the dead one a stone, so after a while, the tomb was surrounded by a ring of stones.
The chenques never were made close to a lake or a river (to avoid contamination); the picture shows a replica, not a real chenque, at Punta Walichu.

¿Qué es esto? un chenque es un enterramiento tehuelche; el muerto era enterrado en posición fetal, con pieles de guanaco y puntas de flecha (creían en la reencarnación); luego de la ceremonia, todas sus pertenencias eran quemadas y no se lo volvía a mencionar jamás (si lo hacían, el alma era retenida). Como ofrendas, le llevaban una piedra, por lo que luego de un tiempo, la tumba era rodeada por un anillo de piedras.
Los chenques nunca se hacían junto a un lago o un río (para evitar la contaminación); la foto muestra una réplica, no un chenque verdadero, en Punta Walichu.

Believe it or not, I found these "rupestrian paintings"made recently, over the millenia real ones... Who are the primitive people?

Créanlo o no, encontré estas "pinturas rupestres" hechas recientemente, sobre las pinturas milenarias.... ¿Quiénes son los primitivos?

I think it is better visiting the rupestrian paintings at Punta Walichu with a local guide, in order to understand the symbolism they have.
The Tehuelche men were hunters, and lived in extreme weather conditions, so the courage and the masculinity were very important characteristics; they are represented with big genital organs; if they have hands up, that means triumph. The women were tanners and "tent" and "dressmakers"; they prepared the furs and leathers, and sewed them. For them, the fertility was very important, so they are represented with large bellies.

Creo que es mejor visitar las pinturas rupestres de Punta Wualichu con un guía local, para entender el simbolismo de las mismas.
Los hombres tehuelches eran cazadores, y vivían en condiciones extremas, por lo que para ellos el valor y la masculinidad eran características importantes; son representados con grandes genitales; los brazos arriba indican triunfo. Las mujeres eran curtidoras, y hacedoras de toldos y "ropas"; ellas preparaban los cueros y pieles y los cosían. Para ellas la fecundidad era muy importante, y son representadas con grandes vientres.

At Punta Walichu there is a reconstruction of a kau, a Tehuelche tent. The Tehuelches were nomads and hunters; the guanacos (a kind of llama) and American ostrichs were their main boar; they were not fishers, because the Lake Argentino has cloudy waters, and the fishes are not abundant. They used to hunt with arcs and arrows, and with boleadoras (stone balls tied with leather belts). The guanaco furs were used as house and cloth.

En Punta Walichu hay una reconstrucción de un kau, un toldo Tehuelche. Los Tehuelches eran nómadas y cazadores; los guanacos y los ñandúes eran sus alimentos principales; no eran pescadores, dado que las aguas del Lago Argentino son turbias y los peces no abundan. Cazaban con arco y flechas, y con boleadoras (bolas de piedra atadas con tientos de cuero). Las pieles de cuanaco eran utilizadas como casa y vestimenta.

I found these paintings really touching: they represent a flood (enlarge the picture to see it); the horizontal line is the water level, and some guanacos are choked (under the line), some others are safe (over the line), and one of them is fighting for its life. Some people died in that flood; their souls are drawn as headless figures.

Encontré estas pinturas realmente emotivas: reprewsentan una inundación (amplíen la foto para verla); la línea horizontal es el nivel del agua, y algunos guanacos se han ahogado (bajo la línea), otros están a salvo (sobre la línea) y uno está luchando para sobrevivir. Algunas personas murieron en esa inundación; sus almas son representadas como figuras sin cabeza.

Walichu (or Gualicho) Point is a point situated 9 Km away from El Calafate, over Lake Argentino. There the landscape is amazing, but also you can find rupestrian paintings. These paintings are 4.000 years oldand were made by the Tehuelche natives; there are some replicas too, made 10 years ago by an artist and an archaeologist.

Punta Walichu (o Gualicho) es una punta situada a 9 Km de El Calafate, sobre el Lago Argentino. Allí el paisaje es espectacular, pero también se pueden apreciar pinturas rupestres. Estas pinturas tienen 4.000 años de antigüedad, y fueron hechas por los tehuelches; hay algunas réplicas también, hechas hace unos 10 años por un artista y por un arqueólogo.